In the business world, the practice of mindfulness is gaining traction. Perhaps you haven’t realized that the hype’s claims are backed by real research. Recent research has shown that nonjudgmental, present-moment mindfulness practices may really alter neural circuits. Each employee in today’s complicated corporate world, and especially their leaders, should be aware of the manner in which these practices might modify the brain. So what are affirmations?
What Studies tell You
By studying participants who had previously completed eight-week mindfulness training, we contributed to this line of research in 2011. Both individuals seemed to have much higher grey matter densities. Since then, several more neuroscience research facilities across the world have investigated the brain-altering effects of mindfulness practices like meditation. In order to determine which parts of the brain are consistently affected, a team of researchers from the University of British Columbia and the Chemnitz University of Technology was able to pool data from more than 20 individual experiments this year. They counted and identified at least eight separate areas. Following, we will focus on two that, in our view, are of crucial importance to businesspeople.
How The Right Options are Found To be Effectove
People with ACC injury are more likely to act impulsively and aggressively without thinking things through, and those with damaged connections between the ACC and other brain areas score worse on tests of mental flexibility. In addition to having a diminished capacity for focus, ACC injury victims often display other symptoms of dysfunction. However, compared to non-meditators, meditators have been found to perform better on tests of self-regulation, such as being able to ignore irrelevant information and provide correct answers more often.
Additionally, they show more activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) than individuals who don’t meditate. The ACC is linked with both self-regulation and the capacity to draw wisdom from one’s past in order to make better choices in the present. Scientists speculate that the ACC might be of paramount importance under conditions characterized by high degrees of uncertainty and fast changes to the surrounding environment.
The hippocampus is the second key region of the brain to investigate
Here’s a region of the brain where those who took part in our 2011 mindfulness program showed increased grey matter. This part of the brain, which is shaped like a seahorse and located deep inside the temporal lobes on both sides of the brain, is a part of the limbic system, which is a group of brain structures associated with emotion and memory. Cortisol receptors line its surface, and research suggests that chronic stress may kill this organ. The stress hormone cortisol has a hard time binding to it because of the receptors that surround it. Actually, those with stress-related illnesses like depression and PTSD have a smaller hippocampus than the general population. All of this points to the importance of this area of the brain in terms of resilience, another skill that is crucial in the competitive business world of today.