How 7 Days Of Meditation Can Rewire Your Brain

Meditation is one of those things that’s…

1. commonly associated with “wellness”
2. sometimes gets a last name too, “wellness woo”

As you know, at 10almonds we endeavor to bring you health science information that is well-evidenced, and/or if something’s speculative based on early research but promising, we’ll tell you that, too.

So, first things first: mindfulness meditation is incredibly well-evidenced.

See for example: No-Frills, Evidence-Based Mindfulness

Next things next: the brain can indeed be rebuilt as we go, improved as we go, and in lay terms “rewired”.

See for example:

• Building Your Brain At Every Age
• Is There A Limit To How Much You Can Improve Your Brain?
• How To Improve Your Brain In Your 90s

So, what’s this about 7 days of meditation?

The integrated brain

Researchers (Dr. Sierra Simpson et al.) did a study amongst participants at an intensive 7-day residential retreat involving about 33 hours of guided meditation, lectures, reconceptualization, and group healing practices.

Some observations that she and her team made:

• The brain became more integrated: fMRI showed changes in functional integration within the default mode and salience networks during meditation, along with reduced whole-brain modularity. These patterns may reflect changes in how brain networks communicate.
  • Learn more about this: How To Engage Your Whole Brain ← and the benefits that this has for brain health, including in the context of stroke recovery
• Neuroplasticity increased: blood plasma collected after the retreat stimulated greater neurite growth in lab-grown neurons. The post-retreat plasma also increased BDNF signaling, a pathway strongly associated with neuronal growth, learning, and plasticity.
  • Learn more about this: Prozac’s Effect On Neuroplasticity ← for a drug-based approach to achieve similar ends
  • And, for that matter: Ways To Boost Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF)
• Cellular energy metabolism changed: post-retreat plasma increased glycolysis in laboratory cells, suggesting changes in how cells processed glucose for energy.
  • Learn more about this: Why Do We Age?
• Natural pain-control pathways increased: researchers detected greater activity in endogenous opioid pathways, which are part of the body’s own pain-regulation system.
  • Learn more about this: How Nature Provides Us With A Surprisingly Powerful Painkiller
• Immune signaling changed: both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory pathways increased. This is important because it doesn’t mean that meditation simply “reduced inflammation”, but rather, reorganized it. Remember, some inflammation is necessary and good!
  • Learn more about this: Bromelain vs Inflammation & Much More ← for a dietary approach, and it’s why unlike most anti-inflammatory compounds, bromelain can also enhance healing rather than slowing it down
• Gene regulation changed: exosome-associated microRNAs and other molecular signals changed, including pathways connected with brain function and neurotransmission.
  • Learn more about this: Dr. Greger’s Anti-Aging Eight

Note: while the first item there was fMRI done during meditation (we must imagine a Darth Vader style meditation chamber with an MRI machine), the blood tests were done at the end of the retreat, so those changes may have been partially because of other factors at the retreat, rather than purely ascribable to the meditation, as we can do with the fMRI results.

You can read this paper in full, here: Neural and molecular changes during a mind-body reconceptualization, meditation, and open label placebo healing retreat: an observational study

What does this mean for us in practical terms?

It was an observational study so nothing is outright proven in terms of cause and effect (“open label placebo” basically means “not placebo because people know whether they’re part of the intervention group or not”), but this is very promising for the benefits of a) meditation and possibly b) simply having a relaxing week-long retreat.

Once the usefulness and health benefits of meditation have been established, often people want to meditate, but complain they don’t have the time.

But that’s not the real reason, though, is it?

Let’s face it, a basic meditation can give benefits within two minutes. Or within two breaths, for that matter. So, it’s not really for a lack of time.

The real reason is because it doesn’t feel productive, and it’s not fun. For us to feel motivated to do a thing, usually we need at least one or the other. And even if we know it really is productive, it not feeling that way will hobble us.

So, instead, check out: Meditation Games That You’ll Actually Enjoy

Or if you’d like a zero-effort approach, then perhaps: The Science Of Sounds

Take care!