|
E-mail this page to a friend!
Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Daily Yoga Meditation Shown to Improve Memory, May
Prevent Alzheimer’s
Older participants not only gained better memory but
their brains worked better
 June 12, 2007 – Your memory getting faulty?
Cognitive ability not what it used to be? New research with older
people finds stopping other activity for a daily meditation session can
improve your thinking and your memory. The leader of the study thinks
these daily 12-minute Yoga sessions may even prevent Alzheimer’s
disease.
"This exciting study confirms what we have been
observing in clinical practice for many years, that meditation is one of
the most effective tools to address memory loss," said Dharma Singh
Khalsa, M.D., president and medical director of the Alzheimer's Research
and Prevention Foundation, the non-profit organization which sponsored
the study.
"While we are planning additional research in this
area, we can say today with confidence that daily meditation is
recommended as part of an integrated brain longevity strategy to delay,
even prevent, cognitive decline," he continued.
Andrew Newberg, M.D., assistant professor of
radiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and the
study's principal investigator, concurred.
"For the first time, we are seeing scientific
evidence that meditation enables the brain to actually strengthen
itself, and battle the processes working to weaken it," said Newberg.
"If this kind of meditation is helping patients
with memory loss," he continued, "we are encouraged by the prospects
that daily practice may even prevent neurodegenerative diseases such as
Alzheimer's."
Practiced by millions of individuals to reduce
stress and anxiety, improve concentration, and even lower blood
pressure, meditation is among the most commonly used alternative
therapies in the world.
Yesterday, at the Alzheimer's Association's
International Conference on the Prevention of Dementia in Washington,
D.C., results from a University of Pennsylvania study were unveiled
confirming for the first time that daily practice of meditation can
improve cognitive function among individuals with memory complaints.
Researchers began their investigation by conducting
a series of neurological and memory tests on each subject, who ranged in
age from 52-70, with either a history of memory complaints or a
diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment.
Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT)
scans, a brain imaging technique which measures cerebral blood flow,
were also conducted on each subject.
Following the initial tests, subjects were taught
the techniques of Kirtan Kriya, the most widely practiced meditation in
the Kundalini Yoga tradition, and instructed to practice a 12-minute
meditation each day for eight weeks. This form of Yog is a repeated
chanting of sounds and finger movements designed to help the mind focus
and become sharper. (Read more below)
While follow up testing confirmed statistically
significant improvements in memory among all of the study's subjects,
the most significant outcome of the study was the stark contrast between
the pre and post-training SPECT scans.
Follow up scans showed dramatic increases in blood
flow to the posterior cingulate gyrus, the region of the brain
associated with learning and memory. It is the first region of the brain
to decline in individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, which
helps to explain why the blood flow-producing meditation has such a
profound impact on cognitive functioning.
For more about this study and the Kirtain Kriya
practice used -
http://www.alzheimersprevention.org/research.htm
For more information, please visit the
Alzheimer's Research and Prevention Foundation -
http://www.alzheimersprevention.org/.
Center for Spirituality and the Mind, Penn State
-
http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/radiology/CSM/index.html
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
