How to pump your brain in 2 months to stop worrying and become happy

How happiness is related to how the brain works

Happiness is a subjective experience that all people strive for. This state includes both an emotional component - for example, when a person is more often happy than suffering, and a cognitive one - when he evaluates his life as good.

In 2015, scientists from Kyoto University in Japan decided to check whether it is possible to determine the subjective level of pleasure from life by the state of brain structures.

Using questionnaires, they found out how happy the participants in the study feel: how often experience positive and negative emotions, whether they suffer from anxiety and whether they have a goal in life.

Based on this information, scientists calculated the level of subjective happiness, and then using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compared the state of various brain structures.

It turned out that the level of happiness can predict the state of the precuneus, a section of the parietal lobe on the inner surface of the cerebral hemispheres. Those who were satisfied with life and had a goal, experienced positive emotions more often and were less anxious, the volume of gray matter in this structure was greater.

Fore cunee plays important role in the subjective experience of people and is responsible for self-awareness. Thanks to this structure, we combine up-to-date information from the outside world with our experience from the past and plans for the future.

In other words, the prewedge works like a kind of filter that determines how we will see ourselves and the world around us.

Scientists decided that this is quite compatible with the concept of subjective happiness. The more gray matter in the precuneus, the less a person worries about the past and future and enjoys the present moment more.

The good news is that this brain structure can be developed, and two months is enough for noticeable results.

What exercise helps to pump the brain

Scientists have long noticed that the state brain can be changed by training mindfulness. This is a state in which a person is present in the present moment - he sees, hears and feels everything, but does not evaluate.

To develop awareness, meditation is used - a practice that includes concentration on an object or phenomenon, one's own body or breath.

Numerous studies showthat regular exercise with it increases the volume of gray matter in different parts of the cerebral cortex, cingulate cortex, insula, hippocampus, cerebellum and other areas of the brain. And these structures are involved in the processes of learning and memory, managing emotions, processing information about oneself, and perceiving the body and the surrounding world.

Thus, meditation has long been recognized as a means for pumping the brain.

However, most often in experiments, experienced practitioners were compared with those who had not practiced at all before or were taking their first steps in practice. In 2019, scientists from the Otto von Guericke University in Germany decided to test whether meditation can affect the state of the brain in a short time. It turned out that yes.

After 8 weeks of training, participants had increased cortical thickness in the precuneus, an area that is enlarged in happy people. And the more changes there were, the better the participants assessed their mood.

In addition, practitioners have changed the thickness of the cortex in the lower part of the temporal gyrus. Moreover, those who built up more gray matter in this area had a lower level of anxiety. That is, regular practice for two months provided physical changes in brain structures, made people calmer and happier.

What is especially great is that you do not need to take courses, buy subscriptions or any devices to complete it. You can start exercising tomorrow - and immediately feel the positive changes.

How to prepare for brain training

First, decide what time you will meditate. It is best to do this in the morning when the brain is still fresh. The effect of the practice will last for several hours, so you can start the day with a great mood.

Find a quiet place where no one will disturb you, turn off your phone and ask your loved ones not to disturb you for the next hour.

Also you need pick up a comfortable position in which you will meditate. It is important that the spine is straight from the coccyx to the neck, and the back does not touch the wall or the back of the chair.

Firstly, this way nothing will prevent your chest from expanding during breathing. Second, by sitting up straight, you are less likely to fall asleep while meditating.

Here are some good options:

• Sitting on a chair. Choose a firm chair or stool. Sit with your knees bent at a right angle and your feet flat on the floor. Do not lean on the back, keep your back straight, put your hands on your knees.
• sittingon the knees. Get on your knees, lower your pelvis on your heels, straighten your back and place your hands on your hips, palms down.
• On the bench for meditation. You can buy one or make your own from a board and a few screws. Get on your knees, place a bench over your ankles and lower your pelvis. This way your feet won't get swollen.
• sitting cross-legged. You can sit in a Turkish position with your legs crossed, or try the “happiness pose” - putting the back of one foot on the shin of the other. If you are uncomfortable, sit on a rolled-up blanket, a block for yoga or thick book. This will make it easier to keep your back straight.

Once you've settled on the pose, place your palms on your knees and relax your shoulders. You can also fold both brushes with boats and put one on top of the other, and connect your thumbs with a house.

Close your eyes and start practicing.

How to Meditate to Boost Your Brain in 2 Months

As a rule, beginners are advised to start the practice by concentrating on the breath.

Watch your breath

Concentrate on inhaling and exhaling. Don't try to control the breath, just watch.

Focus all your attention on the process. What sensations arise in the face - the nostrils, the triangle between the nose and lips. What happens in the throat, how the chest rises and the stomach swells, the ribs diverge to the sides.

You may notice a slight delay after you exhale, feel your heart beat in your neck or chest, and notice any other effects.

Sooner or later you will catch yourself thinking about something. For example, planning business or recall a recent conversation. These distractions will be frequent at first, especially if you haven't had enough sleep or are tired. Don't beat yourself up, just come back to your breath and stay in the present moment.

If you get distracted too often, try counting your inhales and exhales to yourself. Say: "one", "two", and so on up to 21, and then start again.

Spend 10 minutes like this. This will be your first meditation.

Watch your thoughts

In this variant, it is important not to try to clear your head of thoughts, but also not to get involved in them.

Imagine that the flow of your thoughts is a river, and you are standing on the bank and looking at it. And every time you think about it, go into the water and it will carry you. Don't let the current take you - stay on the shore and just watch.

Treat all thoughts equally. They are simply products of your mind, and none of them is more important than the other.

The insight into some valuable idea should be no more important to you than the memory of a recent stupid joke or some nonsense resembling dream visions.

Don't judge thoughts as good or bad. Just notice that they have come, don't try to suppress them, and let them go.

Increase time gradually

At first, it may be difficult for you to concentrate for a long time. As with body training, mind exercises take time to get used to.

Try to start meditating for 10 minutes and use only the concentration on the breath. Then every day add five minutes, and by the end of the first week you will be meditating for 40 minutes, and the next you can start with 45.

You can concentrate on breathing all this time or combine different options with each other. For example, for the first 15 minutes, focus on inhaling and exhaling, and the remaining time on thoughts.

Start a diary

In the study, participants meditated every day for 45 minutes straight, concentrating on thoughts. It’s great if you manage to do this all two months without missing a single day. However, life imposes its limitations, and sometimes there is simply no time or energy left for meditation.

To keep you motivated, try to lead diaryas if you were participating in an experiment. Write down daily how long you practiced, what you concentrated on, what sensations arose during or after the session.

Try not to skip days. If you can’t meditate for 45 minutes, spend at least 10 minutes meditating and write about it in your diary. After eight weeks, you will be able to evaluate how hard you have been practicing and compare your state before the meditations and the current moment.