Altered Traits

Altered Traits explores the science behind meditation techniques and the way they benefit and alter our mind and body.

Multitasking is something we are constantly doing in the world today. Many people even take pride in juggling responsibilities each moment and try to get better at it.

In 2009, a scientist at Stanford ran a study on multitasking. He found that, contrary to popular belief, the brain is incapable of multitasking. Instead, when we attempt to multitask, our brain has to work much harder by switching between multiple tasks quickly. This shifting means we lose concentration and have to take more time to refocus on the original task. He also found that people that often multitask more easily fall prey to distraction, and they have to use more of their brain to concentrate.

Do you want a great replacement for all that multitasking? The effects of meditation are even better for those who tend to multitask frequently. In a 2016 experiment, psychologists had one group meditate for 10 minutes, and another browse the internet for 10 minutes before they both took a concentration test. During the exam, meditators performed better, and the improvement was most significant for those who regularly multitasked.

As for long-term effects of meditation, a 2013 study found students who learned and practiced meditation for two weeks before a graduate school entrance exam improved their scores by up to 30 percent. They also experienced reduced distraction after meditating. Next time you are tempted to multitask to get more done, try meditation instead, you’ll probably get more done, and your brain won’t feel so exhausted.

When we’re lying on the couch after a long day at work to rest, we’d like to think we’re giving our mind a break. But in reality, we’re not. When we’re doing nothing, parts of our brain are highly active. Though your brain is only a small percentage of your body in mass, it takes up 20 percent of your energy to run. Whether we’re solving a calculus problem or sitting in a hammock outside, we’re using the same proportion of energy. This is because even if you’re not doing anything, your brain stays active in what is known as “default mode.” When we’re in default mode, our mind wanders, which is correlated with unhappiness. Our unoccupied brain tends to look back on past mistakes and anxieties and dwell on them. It’s not good for your brain to always go to default, and this is where meditation will help you. A study found those that the areas of the brain that run full-time in default mode were “relatively deactivated” in people who were experienced meditators. We are just starting to discover that regular…