Could Meditation Solve the Chronic Stress Crisis?

Stress is toxic for your body and your brain..

It causes your blood pressure to rocket… leads to weight gain… lowers your life expectancy… and it can make your brain shrivel too. 

This was the conclusion of a huge 8 year study by UT Health San Antonio. They gave 2,000 people memory tests and then scanned their brains. 

After the end of the study, the researchers were shocked to discover a common link between people who developed severe memory loss. And this link was that they all suffered from chronic stress. 

Yet more alarming, their brains were physically smaller by age 50 too.

“We found memory loss and brain shrinkage in relatively young people long before any symptoms could be seen,” said study author Dr. Sudha Seshadri, professor of neurology at UT Health San Antonio

Why is stress so toxic to the brain?

It’s all to do with the stress hormone cortisol.

It’s cortisol that puts your body into “fight or flight” mode. When that happens, non-essential functions get shutdown so the body prepares itself for action. 

For our ancestors, cortisol played a vital role in our survival.

But in today’s stressed out world, cortisol levels can stay too high for too long.

The result is many muscles and organs get starved nutrients. This includes your brain, causing it to shrivel and shrink. 

When your brain shrinks, memory loss, emotional instability, brain fog, and confusion then follow.

As Dr Seshadri notes, “Higher levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, seem to predict brain function, brain size and performance on cognitive tests.” 

So if you find yourself stressed out a lot, it’s vital to find ways to feel calm, and relaxed.

A great way to do it is with meditation.

Meditation can help relax anxious thoughts. It’s a powerful way of improving your mind too. 

In fact, researchers at Harvard, Yale, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found Buddhist monks have physically larger brains packed with neurons.

But if you’re like me, you may find meditating tough. Perhaps your mind won’t stop wandering, and suddenly you think of things you need to do.

If that sounds like you, you may like to try the Let’s Meditate app.

It’s my favorite way to meditate because it guides you on what to do.

What I also love about Let’s Meditate is that it has different types of meditations depending on what state of mind you want to achieve. 

This includes: 

• Attracting abundance
• Scanning your body for stress
• Envisioning a brighter future
• Empowering yourself to achieve your goals 

Best of all, Let’s Meditate is FREE!

 All you do it put on some headphones, choose your favorite meditation, and then be whisked away to a place of blissful peace and calm.

If you give it a try, I’d love to know how you got on?

>>>Click here to find out more about the Let’s Meditate App

Source

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/24/health/stress-memory-loss-under-50-study/index.html

Meditation found to increase brain size

Disclaimer – Statements made in this article have not been approved or verified by the FDA. This information is not intended to be a substitute or replacement for any medical treatment. Please seek the advice of a healthcare professional for your specific health concerns. Individual results may vary.