Mental Wellbeing

Yoga for better mental health – Harvard Health

A sharper brain

Harvard Medical school describes the benefits of yoga to mental health.

When you lift weights, your muscles get stronger and bigger. When you do yoga, your brain cells develop new connections, and changes occur in brain structure as well as function, resulting in improved cognitive skills such as learning and memory. Yoga strengthens parts of the brain that play a key role in memory, attention, awareness, thought, and language. Think of it as weightlifting for the brain.

Studies using MRI scans and other brain imaging technology have shown that people who regularly did yoga had a thicker cerebral cortex (the area of the brain responsible for information processing) and hippocampus (the area of the brain involved in learning and memory) compared with nonpractitioners. These areas of the brain typically shrink as you age, but the older yoga practitioners showed less shrinkage than those who did no yoga. This suggests that yoga may counteract age-related declines in memory and other cognitive skills.

Research also shows that yoga and meditation may improve executive functions, such as reasoning, decision-making, memory, learning, reaction time, and accuracy on tests of mental acuity.

Makes You Happier

All types of exercise have the incredible power to enhance your mood by reducing stress hormone levels, boosting the production of the delightful feel-good chemicals known as endorphins, and increasing the flow of oxygenated blood to your brain. However, yoga offers even more benefits. It has the remarkable ability to positively impact mood by elevating the levels of a brain chemical called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which is closely linked to improved mood and reduced anxiety.

Meditation also reduces activity in the limbic system — the part of the brain dedicated to emotions. As your emotional reactivity diminishes, you have a more tempered response when faced with stressful situations.

DISCLAIMER

No information on this website, regardless of the date of publication, should ever be relied upon as a replacement for direct medical guidance from your physician or another qualified healthcare professional.