When a busy day is done, and you’re finally tucked in bed and fast asleep, your brain gets a break from that seemingly endless daily barrage of stimulation.
For researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, that made for an ideal opportunity to take a look at brain waves in their most natural, uninfluenced state.
They wanted to find out if long-term meditation could increase gamma power.
Basically, gamma is a pattern of brain waves that’s usually associated with perception and consciousness – not to mention some plasticity-related processes like attention, learning, and memory.
Under the guidance of psychiatrist and neuroscientist Giulio Tononi, MD, PhD, Fabio Ferrarelli and colleagues worked overnight using high-density electroencephalography (hdEEG) to compare the brains of long-term meditators (LTM) with those of folks who had never meditated.
They recruited 29 right-handed LTM participants and the same number of non-meditators, matching for age and sex – all between their late 30s and early 60s.
The meditation group was made up of folks who had been practicing for at least 3 years, had also participated in at least 3 one-week intensive retreats.
Each participant was recorded all night using high-density EEG, and for an added control, the sleep technician was blind to group assignment.
After a lot of long nights, and thanks to a few pieces of hi-tech equipment, the researchers had some exciting data to show.
Compared to the non-meditators, the LTM group had significantly increased gamma brain waves.
What’s cool is that these waves have also been linked with increased compassion, happiness, and optimal brain function, and are often used as a measure of lasting brain change.
While we can’t draw too many conclusions from the experiment because it wasn’t randomized, these findings add to the growing body of evidence that meditation can change the brain.
You can find the details of this study in Volume 8, issue 8 of PLOS ONE.
And now I’d like to hear from you. Are you using meditation to improve the way your brain works? Have you suggested it to a client to help them enhance cognitive function, or create brain change? Please leave a comment below.
Thanks a lot for sharing this wonderful post. I really appreciate your kind efforts. I’ve recently started to learn about meditation about 6-7 months back. It’s truly an inspiration for Beginners like me.
Thanks for sharing.
Jenny
As a recovered scientist with a long standing interest in yoga. I have been on a personal journey that seriously messed up my sleep patterns. My feeling is that the problem probably related to a number of factors that include healing & brain rewiring. While I have been on this journey at some point on sleepless nights I started listening to guided meditations & I have had some crazy physical reactions & consequently beautiful rest full sleep. Our bodies are so much more amazing and beautiful than we give them credit for
Until we reached age of 4 during the normal state of eyes open, awake and alert our brains were functioning in the delta state, with brain waves function at less than 4 Hz. But still when we have deep sleep our brains function in the delta state..
From age of 4 to 7, during the normal state of eyes open, awake and alert our brains were primarily operating in theta state, with brain waves functioning mainly between between 4 to 7 Hz. Now we experience this level of brain wave activity during sleep and during states of fear when the body goes into a fight,-flight or freeze response, (hyper arousal, or the acute stress response). This is a powerful level from which to initiate change and in this state, we only need mostly just one or couple of experiences of learning to change our behaviour.
From the age 7 until we reached our puberty, during the normal state of eyes open, awake and alert our brains were mainly operating in the alpha state of 7 to 14 Hz. Now during light sleep, meditation, or eyes closed relaxation we reach alpha state. At this level effective learning can take place after about 21 repetitions. Practice a new behaviour for about 21 times and that behaviour becomes a habit. Strong levels of physical healing can take place when the brain is at 10 Hz
Since puberty during the normal state of eyes open, awake and alert our brain operates in the beta state, 14 to 21 Hz during the normal state of eyes open, awake and alert. In this state it may take many thousands of repetitions to learn a new behaviour. To create significant change in our lives at this level takes extensive deal of time and effort.
Brain waves less than 7 Hz are very ideal for rejuvenating and to maintain good health.
0.5 Hz – Relaxation, Soothe headaches
0.5 – 1.5 Hz – Pain relief. Endorphin release
0.9 Hz – Euphoric feeling
1 Hz – Well being. Harmony and balance
1 – 3 Hz – Profound relaxation, restorative sleep. Tranquility and peace
2.5 Hz – Production of endogenous opiates (pain killers, reduce anxiety)
2.5 Hz – Relieves migraine pain. Produces endogenous opiates
3 – 8 Hz – Deep relaxation, meditation. Lucid dreaming
3 – 8 Hz – Increased memory, focus, creativity
3.4 Hz – Helps achieve restful sleep
3.5 Hz – Feeling of unity with everything. Whole being regeneration
3.9 Hz – Self renewal, enhanced inner awareness
4 Hz – Enkephalin release for reduced stress
4 Hz – Allows brain to produce enkaphalins, all natural pain killer
4 Hz – Full memory scanning. Releases enkephalins
4.Hz – Vital for memory and learning. Problem solving, object naming
4 – 7 Hz – Profound inner peace, emotional healing. Lowers mental fatigue
4 – 7 Hz – Deep meditation, near-sleep brainwaves.
4.5 Hz – Brings about Buddha’s state of consciousness, Buddhist chants.
4.9 Hz – Induce relaxation and deeper sleep
4.9 Hz – Introspection. Relaxation, meditation
5 Hz – Reduces sleep required. Replaces need for extensive dreaming
5.3 Hz – Allows relaxing breathing, free and efficient
5.5 Hz – Inner guidance, intuition
6.5 Hz – Activates creative frontal lobe
7.5 Hz – Activates creative thought for art, invention, music. Problem solving
7.5 Hz – Ease of overcoming troublesome issues
7.8 Hz – Schumann earth resonance. Grounding, meditative, Leaves us revitalized
8 Hz – Associated with the mouth. Brings creativity
8- 10 Hz Super-learning new information, memorization, not comprehension.
10 Hz – Enhanced serotonin release. Mood elevation, arousal, stimulant
10 Hz – Provides relief from lost sleep, improves general mood
10 Hz – Mood elevator. Used to dramatically reduce headaches
10 Hz – Clarity, subconscious correlation. Releases serotonin
11 Hz – Relaxed yet awake state
11 – 14 Hz – Increased focus and awareness
12 Hz – Centering, mental stability.
12 – 15 Hz – Relaxed focus, improved attentive abilities
12 – 14 Hz – Learning frequency, good for absorbing information passively
13 – 27 Hz – Promotes focused attention toward external stimuli
13 – 30 Hz – Problem solving, conscious thinking
14 Hz – Awakeness, alert. Concentration on tasks, Focusing, vitality.
16 Hz – Bottom of hearing range. Releases oxygen/calcium into cells
18 – 24 Hz — Euphoria, can result in headaches, anxiety.
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For Christians, I teach my patients the Centering Prayer which originated with Benedictine monasteries around 400AD. Visit contemplativeoutreach.org. Is also called Contemplative Prayer.
Thanks so much for this Ruth! I have been meditating for 40 years (began with TM and expanding into other practices over the years). I know that meditation is the single most significant daily practice I have honored. It has allowed me to navigate this glorious journey of life…including all of the painfully challenging, dark and difficult times…with a greater sense of mindfulness, ease, grace and joy! And…my sleep has been exceptionally wonderful for all these years. I have always been in such gratitude for the great sleep I get….envied by others. With this study, I now know why….hadn’t connected the two previously!
I look forward to sharing your post with the women from across the country in my Joy In Living ‘Welcome To Meditation’ tele-seminar. They are all having such fun in learning easy meditative practices…the ultimate self-care, and I am having the time of my professional life teaching it!
Hi Anna,
I’m BRAND NEW at this and have never been able to meditate, nor can I turn my brain off, especially when it’s time to sleep! Can you please tell me what would be best for me, especially with the horrific insomnia! I’d also LOVE LOVE LOVE to be completely balanced. Thank you Anna.
Hi Nancy! I just wanted to say that I was completely in the same place in life a few years ago, a bit hyperactive and in constant mental stimulation – my mother gave me a TM (transcendental meditation) class as a gift and it honestly did change my life forever, in the best way. I have so much respect for all types of meditation but TM is what I’ve integrated into my life the most consistently, and what’s nice about this particular school of meditation is how widespread the community is… you can find a class or teacher pretty much anywhere in the world, in my experience. Before I started meditating, I was happy but just felt always a bit on the edge and like I was doing a lot without necessarily enjoying all of it. I also felt like I was missing out on something and just not quite operating in the most effective way possible. I honestly thought the process was going to be boring and was annoyed at the idea of taking 20 precious minutes out of my life to add in “one more thing.” Now, it’s the one more thing I always get to, no matter what, because it makes absolutely everything in my life fall into place and become way more streamlined and effective. And it’s the opposite of boring! Meditating can make me feel calm if I’ve been too stressed and hyper, excited and inspired if I’ve been feeling apathetic, blissful when I’ve been feeling down, and smarter and sharper when I’ve been feeling brain-fuzzy. It honestly let’s me access whatever I need to at any given time and some of my best ideas float in during or after meditation. Just wanted to give my two cents and some insight into one meditation experience! Best of luck to you 🙂
My husband had very serious heart surgery last December. Practicing mindful meditation is definitely helping the healing process become more rapid. We can both see and experience the benefits of mindfulness and meditation.
We do not have to be sitting and passive to meditate either. Here is a concentration activity that can be done in any number of situations where we are engaging the world.
I frequently teach people a game called ‘Just Say Gone’ based on techniques developed by Shinzen Young. Here is a quick description of the game.
In this game you score points every time you notice something leaving your awareness. Since we think in three modalities that are easy to monitor (see,hear,feel or visual, auditory, kinesthetic /emotional) there are three areas to look for points.
In the visual/see area every movement of your hear with eyes open has object disappear from your visual field. So you just say gone noting what left your visual field. In the auditory/hear field every pause in sounds coming from music, or other’s speech, or even a clock would indicate an ending. So you just say gone. Every time you complete an exhale; it is over. So you just say gone. Similarly for any body movement.
For the competitive individual there are few limits on how in depth this noting can happen and how quickly. The results of this exercise is an acute awareness of the present moment and severe limits our ability to mentally talk, day dream, or think in our typical analytical ways.
The resulting state is a deep sense of peace and connectedness to our surroundings.
Enjoy!!
That is the best most strate forward easy Peezee most affective game ever before… Thank you… U connected my thoughts for me! Thank you thank you for school counselors with an open mind!!!
A (very basic) question: how is meditation different from sleep? What does the brain do in meditation that it doesn’t do during sleep? I’m asking, even though I’ve been doing TM (on and off, admittedly) for
41 years. Many thanks.
I don’t meditate per say, I have been training my brain a couple times a week with my 2 channel eeg device. I almost always include training gamma up across which ever sites I might be training at the time. I wonder what my brain would look like in such a study? Does nero-feedback training move the brain to resemble a mediator?
The word “meditation” intimidates people… I just look at the back of my eyelids for 20 minutes during quiet time… It looks like amebas in a Petri dish.. Interesting and dreamy…
Meditation has changed my life. For the beter. I recommend it without doubt. For people who have trouble getting started I would suggest guided meditaion to get you in the right place. Its a great way to start and such fun too. Hey! give it a whirl!
The worst that can happen- you will feel like you had a nice rest!
The best that can happen- you will change your life!!!
Yes I can say that I am a different person, not as easily stressed out like myself more, ablbe to listen more compassionately life is lighter am over 80 and loving life more to a large degree I feel meditation has helped have done mindfulness weekends and would like to preach from the rooftops but it is not preaching! the best ann
This is an arltcie that makes you think “never thought of that!”