I use to think of meditation as only something Zens Monks or spacey Yogis did in their spare time when they weren’t too busy being blissed out on their own superiority. Turns out I have been doing meditation all along and didn’t know it. Who would have thought at age five I was a blossoming mediator when I was transfixed on my Transformer toy. Turns out what counts as meditation is just a brain change where a person moves from the default mode network(rumination, self doubt, and creativity) towards the task approach network (one point of focus). The default mode network isn’t completely the villain of the brain, but if we spend too much time there, things can get ugly. So therefore training your brain to switch modes and balance out where your attention goes is quite good for your mental health. That is all meditation is; “practicing switching your attention.” If you think of the default mode network as automatic pilot, the task approach network is just switching to manual transmission. It’s a signal to your unconscious brain that you have things under control in this outside world and the brain can stop worrying about what hasn’t happened yet and focus on what’s right in front of you.

• FACT: Meditation activates and strengthens the insula cortex which focuses on positive body sensations and empathy. Meditation also strengthens the corpus collosum which are the brain fibers connecting the left and right hemisphere. Last but not least, mediation also strengthens the lateral prefrontal cortex, which is very important in focusing attention.
• TAKEAWAY: When you meditate consistently the amount of gray matter in your brain will increase. This means these parts of your brain will actually expand in size, causing them to be more likely to be used in the future. So regular meditators feel better, have more successful relationships, and come up with solutions to problems quicker because both hemispheres can communicate faster. Meditations are also better at focusing on the task at hand and completing tasks quicker.