"What mindfulness does is it can buffer stress, you become aware of challenges and those more ruminative responses, a tendency to worry," explains Barnhofer. What's fascinating about this area of research is that mindfulness, which appears to be such a simple process, can have a measurable effect. He also encouraged me to be more mindful in daily life – say when cooking or running, to really focus on the moment, bringing my mind back to what I was doing, as well as noticing how often it wanders. My instructions were to be as aware as possible to the present moment – and pay attention to things I might usually ignore, such as where my thoughts go, and what occupies my mind from moment to moment. The full mindfulness course can be accessed online for free. In addition, I had one weekly meditation session with Barnhofer, who guided me over Zoom. For 30 minutes a day, either as one single session or two 15-minute sessions, I practiced a guided mindfulness meditation by listening to a recording. The question is, would this work in my brain? Over six weeks, Barnhofer modified a mindfulness research course for me to try out. Stress can also directly inhibit neuroplasticity, so managing it allows the brain to remain more plastic. That's because when the stress hormone cortisol increases and remains high, "it can become toxic for your brain", says Barnhofer. Research has found that after only a few months of mindfulness training, certain depression and anxiety symptoms can ease – though as with any complex mental health problem, this may of course vary depending on individual circumstances. It can improve attention, relieve pain and reduce stress. Research has shown that mindfulness is a simple but powerful way to enhance several cognitive functions. I was surprised that something as simple as mindfulness can play such a crucial role in keeping our minds healthy. He's currently running a study on the effects of mindfulness in managing stress and difficult emotions, with a special focus on individuals with severe depression. So, with the help of Thorsten Barnhofer, a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Surrey in the UK, that's what I set out to do. And there's good reason to want to boost our brain – an increasing number of studies suggest it can play a role in delaying or preventing degenerative brain diseases. Neuroscientists and psychologists are now finding that we have the power to control that to some extent. Every time we learn a new skill, our brain adapts. It was once thought to be limited to youth but we now know it's a constant force in shaping who we are. This is called neuroplasticity, which simply means the brain's ability to adapt and evolve over time in structure and function. Our brain has an incredible ability to adapt, learn and grow because by its nature, it is plastic – that is, it changes. Along the way I learnt techniques we can all use – with some powerful results. By altering aspects of my daily life, I hoped to find out if it is possible to strengthen crucial connections in our brain, and keep our mind healthier in the process. My goal was to investigate whether there's a way we can influence meaningful brain change ourselves. The hum of the scanner is somewhat hypnotic, and I worry a little bit that drifting off will affect how my brain appears on the resulting images.Īs a science journalist I've always been fascinated by the workings of the mind, which is how I found myself inside a scanner at Royal Holloway, University of London, to have my brain examined before embarking on a six-week brain-altering course. It also feels impossible to keep my eyes open. I was told to focus on a black cross while the functional Magnetic Resonance Imagine (fMRI) machine does its noisy work. "It's surprisingly hard to think of nothing at all", is one of my first thoughts as I'm lying in the maw of a machine that is scanning my brain.
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