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Are Yoga and Meditation Good for my Brain? A Scientific
Take on Stress Management Yes!
Yoga, meditation, and visualization are all excellent
ways to learn to manage your stress levels. Reducing
stress, and the stress hormones, in your system is critical
to your brain and overall fitness.
Why is this so? It's clear that our society has changed
faster than our genes. Instead of being faced with
physical, immediately life-threatening crises that demand
instant action, these days we deal with events and
illnesses that gnaw away at us slowly, without any stress
release.
Dr. Robert Sapolsky, in an interview about his book
Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers, points out that humans
uniquely can get stressed simply with thought, turning
on the same stress response as does the
zebra. But, the zebra releases the stress hormones through
life-preserving action, while we usually just keep
muddling along, getting more anxious by the moment.
Prolonged exposure to the adrenal steroid hormones
like cortisol, released during the stress response,
can damage the brain and block the formation of new
neurons in the hippocampus, which is the key player
in encoding new memories in your brain. Recent studies
have shown these neurons can be regenerated with learning
and environmental stimulation, but while short-term
stress may improve attention and memory, chronic stress
leads indirectly to cell death and hampers our ability
to make changes and be creative enough to even think
of possible changes to reduce the stress.
What are the best defenses against chronic stress?
- Exercise strengthens the body and can reduce the
experience of stress, depression, and anxiety.
- Relaxation through meditation, tai chi, yoga, or
other techniques to lower blood pressure, slow respiration,
slow metabolism, and release muscle tension.
- Biofeedback programs that provide real-time information,
allowing you to learn effective techniques for reducing
stress levels.
- Empowerment, because attitudes of personal confidence
and control of your environment resolve the stress
response.
- Social network of friends, family, and even pets
help foster trust, support, and relaxation.
If you want to learn more about the science behind
these recommendations, you can enjoy these scientific
papers:
- Bedard M, Felteau M, Mazmanian D, Fedyk K, Klein
R, Richardson J, Parkinson W, Minthorn-Biggs MB. Pilot
evaluation of a mindfulness-based intervention to
improve quality of life among individuals who sustained
traumatic brain injuries. Disabil Rehabil. 2003;25:722-31.
- Bremner JD. Traumatic stress: effects on the brain.
Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2006;8:445-61.
- Czeh B, Muller-Keuker JI, Rygula R, Abumaria N,
Hiemke C, Domenici E, Fuchs E. Chronic Social Stress
Inhibits Cell Proliferation in the Adult Medial Prefrontal
Cortex: Hemispheric Asymmetry and Reversal by Fluoxetine
Treatment. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2006 Dec 13; [Epub
ahead of print].
- Warner-Schmidt JL, Duman RS. Hippocampal neurogenesis:
opposing effects of stress and antidepressant treatment.
Hippocampus. 2006;16:239-49.
- Sapolsky, RM. Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers (Owl
Books; 2004). ISBN: 0805073698
Author: Alvaro Fernandez
Alvaro Fernandez is the CEO and Co-Founder of SharpBrains.com,
which provides the latest science-based information
for Cognitive Fitness and Cognitive Health, and has
been recognized by Scientific American Mind, MarketWatch,
Forbes, and more. Alvaro holds MA in Education and MBA
from Stanford University, and teaches The Science of
Brain Health at UC-Berkeley Lifelong Learning Institute.
You can learn more at http://www.sharpbrains.com/
Keywords : yoga, meditation, mbsr, cognitive fitness,
cognitive health, cognitive training, cognitive reserve,
scientific brain training, brain teasers
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