Normally, we consider meditation as a way to relax, lower our stress levels and calm our minds, but scans show that our mind processes more thoughts and feelings during meditation than when we just relax.
Mindfulness, Zen, Acem, Chakra, Buddhist and transcendental meditation are just some of the countless ways to meditate, but the purpose behind them is basically the same: more calm, less stress, better concentration, greater self-awareness and better treatment of thoughts and emotions.
But very little research has been done about what and how the techniques work - at least so far.
A team of researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Oslo University and the University of Sydney are currently working to determine how the brain works under different forms of meditation. Their latest results are published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
The different meditation techniques can actually be divided into two main groups.
One type is concentrated meditation, in which the meditating person focuses on his or her breathing or on certain thoughts and thereby suppresses other thoughts.
The other type can be called free meditation, where the person who meditates effortlessly focuses on his or her breathing or on a meditation voice, but without the mind being allowed to wander as it pleases.
"Nobody knows how the brain works when you meditate. Therefore I would like to study it," says Jian Xu, a doctor on St. Olavs Hospital in Trondheim and researcher at the Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging at NTNU.
His test is based on MRI scans of 14 people who had extensive experience with the Norwegian technology Acem meditation. In addition to simple rest, they examined the two different mental meditation types, free (nondirective) meditation and more concentrated meditation.
The research team wanted to test people who already used meditation because they doubted what to do while they were in the MRI scanner.
Free meditation proved to result in higher activity than normal relaxation in that part of the brain that is reserved for the treatment of self-related thoughts and feelings. But when the subjects performed concentrated meditation, the activity in this part of the brain was almost the same as when they just relaxed.
"I was surprised that the brain's activity is greatest when a person's thoughts move freely on their own instead of when the brain is set to be more focused," Xu says.
"When the subjects ended up with a specific task and did nothing special, there was an increase in activity in the area of the brain where we treat thoughts and feelings. It is described as a kind of resting network. And that was this area, It was most active under free, non-directive meditation. "
"The study shows that free meditation allows for more room for treating memories and emotions than concentrated meditation," says Svend Davanger, neurologist at the University of Oslo, and co-author of the study.
"This area of the brain has its highest activity when we rest. It represents a kind of basic operating system, a resting network that takes over when external tasks do not require our attention. It is remarkable that a mental task like free meditation results in yet Higher activity in this network than normal rest, "says Davanger.
Acem meditation is a technique that falls under the category of free meditation. Davanger, who himself meditates, believes that good research is dependent on having a team that can combine personal experience with meditation and a critical attitude towards results.
"Meditation is an activity that is practiced by millions of people. It is important that we find out how it really works. In recent years there has been a sharp increase in international research on meditation. Several universities in the United States use A lot of money for research in the field. So I think it's important that we are also active, "says Davanger.