A change in your habits can be hard to stick to — even when it’s for the best. But what if it only took one week to feel results?
A new study from researchers in San Diego evaluated the impacts of an intensive seven-day retreat focused on meditation. The centuries-old practice has been linked to a variety of mind-body benefits like stress relief.
During the retreat, 20 people engaged in a total of 33 hours of meditation, excluding other lectures and activities. To track how people’s brains changed throughout the retreat, researchers had individuals undergo brain scans to see which areas of their brain were the most active. They also collected blood samples.
At the end of the retreat, researchers had participants fill out a questionnaire to better understand their subjective experiences.
The team noticed a few changes. When researchers added blood samples taken after the retreat to lab-grown neurons, they found that the neurons produced longer branches and more connections, suggesting possible neuroplasticity. The body’s own pain medication was activated, too — concentrations of endogenous opioids, or naturally occurring chemicals that impact the same systems pain-relieving drugs do, increased after the retreat.
Now, for the questionnaire results: Those who reported higher feelings of transcendence and altered consciousness tended to be the same people whose biological markers showed significant changes following the retreat.
Scientists said it was surprising, as the meditation’s effects appeared to mirror those of psilocybin [SY-loh-SY-bin], a psychedelic mushroom.
Although further research is needed, as the number of participants in the study was small — it can’t hurt to take a deep breath.