Many studies have looked at what happens to the brain when a long-term meditator meditates, but up until now none have covered what happens to first-timers who decides to give meditation a go. A Harvard researcher has conducted the world’s first study on first-time meditators, detailing how the brain grows grey matter when a person meditates. Myscienceacademy.org reports: Other studies have shown that meditation improves IQ, and lessens depression. In addition to these benefits, meditation also: Reduces alcohol and substance consumption, reduces blood pressure (Chiesa, 2009), Decreases anxiety, depressive symptoms, and relapses (Coelho, Canter, & Ernst, 2007; Kim et al., 2009) Helps patients suffering from various types of chronic pain (Chiesa & Serretti, in press) Lowers the incidence of stress (Chiesa & Serretti, 2009) Aids cancer patients (Ledesma & Kumano, 2009) Most people think they have to meditate for years before they start seeing any of these improvements, but a study conducted by Chiesa, Calati, and Serretti shows that after just eight short weeks of meditation, people start to experience improved cognitive functioning. Still not fast enough for you? Meditation for the First Time Here’s what happens to the brain after someone completes just one meditation session who has never meditated before: People start to become less [...]