Meditation in Time Magazine

The January 16th issue of Time features a one-page story on meditation as part of a larger special report on how to sharpen our mind. The meditation article, "How to Get Smarter, One Breath at a Time," says that scientists are finding that meditation not only reduces stress but also reshapes the brain, changing it in ways that appear to increase attention span, sharpen focus and improve memory.

In support of this, Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, a staff writer for Time, cites the recent work of Sara Lazar, a research scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Lazar found that the daily practice of mindfulness or insight meditation by Boston-area workers thickened parts of their brain's cerebral cortex, which is responsible for decision making, attention and memory. This thickening is important because as we age, our cortex becomes thinner. Lazar was a participant in the 2004 and 2005 Mind and Life Summer Research Institutes (MLSRI).

Besides Lazar's study, Cullen notes Richard Davidson's studies on meditation and its effect on the brain. Davidson is the director of the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin. Cullen further says that Davidson has collaborated with the Dalai Lama since 1992 in studying the brains of Tibetan monks. Davidson is a Mind and Life Institute board member.

In conclusion, Cullen reports that some corporations, including Deutsch Bank, Google and Hughes Aircraft, have started offering meditation classes. She says that not only does meditation make employees sharper, but employers find that it improves productivity by preventing stress-related illness and absenteeism. Meditation also helps people get along with each other.

To subscribe and read the article, go to the Time website at http://www.time.com/time/, or check your local library or newsstand.

Source: email correspondence from http://mindandlife.org