Five minutes a day of this can keep your brain from age-related shrinking

Just like your height, your brain shrinks as you age. This shrinkage causes weaker communication between various parts of the brain. This slowing down of the brain’s functions is normal. But that doesn’t mean it’s entirely necessary. There’s a simple way to slow down this shrinkage and help keep your brain younger longer. What’s more, it’s completely free.

Past studies have shown that exercising the mind keeps your brain flexible and improves your memory. But it hasn’t prevented shrinkage. The more brain matter we have, the better and more youthful our brain remains. So we need a way to prevent shrinkage.

A number of supplements like ginkgo and phosphatidyl choline can feed your brain and slow down aging as well. However, these nutrients don’t prevent shrinkage either.

But a team of researchers at UCLA has found a simple, free therapy that slows down age-related shrinkage. The solution is daily meditation.

Two years ago, these same researchers discovered that some parts of the brain in meditators were larger than those in a control group. Now their new study has found that not only was there less shrinkage, the various parts of their brains communicated better with one another. The connections throughout their brains remained strong instead of weakening over time.

It doesn’t seem to matter what type of meditation they used. The length of time they meditated was more significant. The subjects of this study meditated for 2 to 46 years. The longer they meditated, the larger their brains.

If you already meditate daily, don’t stop. And if you don’t meditate yet, it’s not too late to begin. Don’t know how? Books, tapes, and meditation groups are easy to find through the Internet. So are various meditation techniques. Try them out until you find one that you feel comfortable with and begin meditating five minutes a day. Gradually increase the amount of meditating time to half an hour a day. Regular meditation not only preserves your brain’s size, it can lower high blood pressure and energize you as well.

Your voice of reason in Women's Health,

Dr. Nan

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/231132.php.