Use of meditation for improving attention in studies and helthy life

Meditation refers to various meditation techniques or practices designed to control the focus or attention. Most of them have roots in Eastern religious or spiritual tradition. These methods have been used by many different cultures around the world for millennium.

Today, many people use meditation outside of its traditional religious or cultural environment as a form of body and soul of medicine. Many claims were made about its significance in the development and improvement of health and well being. Studies on these claims, as well as how meditation can work.

Meditation can increase Empathy

Previous studies of the brain, showed that when someone witnesses another person in an emotional state, such as disgust or similar activities are considered in the minds of both peoples. This shows that the physiological basis for empathy, is defined as the ability to understand and share the experience of another person. Now research at the University of Wisconsin has used advanced brain imaging (fMRI, functional magnetic resonance imaging) to show that compassion meditation, a particular form of Buddhist meditation can increase the human capacity for empathy.

In the study, researchers compared the brain activity in meditation with experts on subjects just learning technique (16 in each group). They measured brain activity during meditation and at rest, in response to the sounds of a woman in distress, the child laughs, and busy restaurant designed to evoke a negative, positive, neutral or emotional reaction.

The researchers found that both novice and expert meditation have shown an increased response of sympathy when a meditative state. However, the expert meditation showed a much greater response, especially negative sound, which may indicate a greater capacity for empathy as a result of their intensive training of meditation.

Potential grew for empathy, the authors say, may have clinical and social significance. The next step, they say, is to investigate whether compassion meditation leads to a more altruistic behavior or other changes in social interaction.

Meditation May Make information processing in the brain more efficient.
Blink-care "occurs when two things appear to face very close succession, but the brain does not perceive the second part of the information, because it is still processing in the first place. Richard Davidson and his colleagues tried to determine if intensive mental training through meditation can enhance within the brain to process information, reducing the "attention blink".

The researchers compared two groups of people meditating, 17 experts and 23 novices, to see if either was the best in the recognition of two pieces of information specified in quick succession.

Participants were tested at the beginning and end of the 3-month period. For intermediate 3 months practicing meditation participate in a retreat, during which they pondered over the next 10-12 hours. New users participated in the 1-hour meditation, and were asked to meditate for 20 minutes a day during the week before each test.

Researchers have discovered that intensive training did reduce the "attention blink". Participants who were trained in mental were more inclined to believe that both pieces of information, not just one, because the brain is to use fewer resources to determine the first part of the information, leaving more resources for the detection of a second. The researchers also note that this study supports the idea that brain plasticity, or ability of the brain to adapt, there is lifelong.
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