Among the well-known benefits of meditation, which include physical relaxation, attention enhancement and better sleep, the mind-body intervention of meditation has been found to contribute positively to the neuroplasticity of the human brain.
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to form structural and functional neural connections throughout life. At a young age, our brains grow exponentially, and during adolescence, this means organizing thoughts and memories to create a healthy understanding of our life experiences. Neural adaptation allows the brain to learn new skills, recover from injury, and adapt to changing environments. Many studies have shown that meditation helps our brain’s memory capacity and cognitive function. So it seems we can teach an old dog new tricks and meditation is one way to go about it.
Practicing meditation trains your brain to focus, and when we add the power of mindfulness — paying attention, on purpose, to one thing in the present moment — it helps us redirect our minds when we get distracted. An article by Dr. Scott Loeb published in Lone Star Neurology explored meditation and memory, stating: “By repeatedly focusing attention and cultivating meditation, it strengthens specific neural pathways. Mental exercise through meditation builds stronger connections between cells.”
Meditation practitioners learn to work with how they perceive the world, ourselves, and others. This can positively affect our lives, behaviors, and relationships.
In the book “Altered Traits,” psychologists Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson discuss research they performed on masters of meditation vs. novice meditators. Using MRI data and gray matter voxels, they examined the brain of Tibetan yogi Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, who began meditating at nine years old and comes from a lineage of Tibetan Buddhism teachers and masters. Rinpoche’s brain looked about eight years younger than what would be considered normal for a 40-year-old.
Additionally, the ability of master meditators to keep their minds focused for long periods indicates that meditation develops areas of the brain engaged in structural growth. Meditation can stimulate changes in the brain that encourage development in the hippocampus, a region vital for memory. As we age, using meditation to stimulate brain areas that enhance attention and memory may be another reason to bring these practices into our lives.
In Buddhism, meditation practitioners learn to work with how we perceive the world, ourselves, and others. This can positively affect our lives, behaviors, and relationships. Although the Tibetan master Rinpoche didn’t need proof of the benefits of his lifelong practice, it was interesting that science corroborated what he already knew from Buddhist philosophy. He has since written extensively about his experience collaborating with brain scientists in the book The Joy of Living.
Meditation also helps maintain attention and working memory during stressful times. Indeed, this is one of the most common impetuses for bringing meditation into a family’s routine. One study on human resources personnel, as explained on neurosciencenews.com, “showed that those who underwent MBSR training were able to maintain their attention and working memory capacity, even during periods of high stress, compared to a control group that did not receive the training.”
What about the most problematic aspect of memory loss, dementia? A study published in the National Library of Medicine in which “the effects of Kirtan Kriya meditation and music listening on cognitive outcomes in adults experiencing subjective cognitive decline, a strong predictor of Alzheimer’s disease,” suggested that the practice of meditation “can significantly enhance both subjective memory function and objective cognitive performance in adults with subjective cognitive decline, and may offer promise for improving outcomes in this population.”
Another study done in Boston and published in Virginian Rehabilitation & Wellness found that meditation strengthened the cerebral cortex, an area of the brain that handles mental functions such as learning, concentration and memory: “Regular meditation increases blood flow to the brain, which leads to a more robust network of blood vessels in the cerebral cortex, which reinforces our ability for memory capacity.”
The potential for using meditation to enhance the brain’s neuroplasticity is exciting. Harvard researchers reviewed more than a dozen recent studies examining the effects of either mindfulness or cognitive training on older adults with MCI (mild cognitive impairment). “For people with MCI, practicing mindfulness over several weeks to months seemed to sharpen attention, memory, and other mental skills, and ease anxiety and depression. Similarly, cognitive training was associated with better memory, executive function, and mood.” Indeed, it is exciting to scientifically notice fundamental changes in key brain areas that traditionally change and weaken over our lifespan.
Regardless of how it’s been proven, incorporating meditation into a family’s daily routine seems like a win-win option for members of all ages, and practicing meditators will confirm these benefits in their own lives. Many options exist if you want to incorporate meditation into your daily routine or your family’s daily routine. Pre-recorded practices can easily be found online, and Mindful Frontiers offers a wide range of guided meditations on Insight Timer and YouTube. A personalized workshop can also be arranged if one-on-one guidance works better for you.
Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC, a Benefit Corporation (BCorp) based in Taos, New Mexico, whose mission is to welcome a mindful future, one present moment at a time, and is dedicated to promoting community wellness through mindfulness and meditation. We offer individuals, families and organizations a variety of practices designed to support and nurture positive social-emotional growth. Anne-Marie, lifelong Taoseña, is a certified meditation leader and labyrinth facilitator. Mindful Frontiers can be found on social media and the Insight Timer app. The website is MindfulFrontiers.net.
Initially published in The Taos News, May 8, 2025
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