Meditation Classes

Can a 12 Minutes a Day Meditation Practice Make a Difference?

Meditation induces a heightened state of awareness and focused attention. Various studies demonstrate the practice can help relieve stress and manage anxiety, reduce inflammation, and improve memory and attention to boot.

Brain scans have shown that meditation makes the brain bigger, expanding its essential parts and strengthening its connections. The practice has also been found to weaken the amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for negative emotions and the creation of trauma.

12 Minutes a Day Meditation Practice – 8 Week Study

Studies by Dr. Andrew Newberg, director of research at the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health and a physician at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, showed some incredible benefits in subjects that meditated just 12 minutes a day:

Subjects with memory problems on a 12-minute meditation program over eight weeks experienced significant increases in blood flow to the prefrontal cortex and other brain areas. Even their memory improved. In another study he conducted with adults whose average age was sixty-two, the results revealed notable improvement trends in mood, anxiety, tension, and fatigue after eight weeks. All these were measured through neuropsychological tests, and they correlate to changes in blood flow to the brain.

KEY POINT: Their meditation time was 12 minutes per day.

Ref: A. B. Newberg et al., “Meditation Effects on Cognitive Function and Cerebral Blood Flow in Subjects with Memory Loss: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20164557/

Ref: A. S. Moss et al., “Effects of an 8-Week Meditation Program on Mood and Anxiety in Patients with Memory Loss, “J. Altern. Compliment. Med. 18, no. 1 (January 2012): 48-53.