Study says, Breath-focused Meditation can Sharpen your Mind.

It has long been claimed by Yogis that meditation and ancient breath-focused practices, such as pranayama strengthen our ability to focus on tasks and now, for the first time a study by researchers at Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, explains the neurophysiological link between breathing and attention.

The research shows that meditation and mindfulness practices directly affects the levels of a natural chemical messenger in the brain called noradrenaline. 

This chemical messenger is released when we are challenged, curious, exercised, focused or emotionally aroused and if produced at the right levels, helps the brain grow new connections, like a brain fertiliser.

In other words, the way we breathe directly affects the chemistry of our brains in a way that can enhance our attention and improve our brain health.

Researchers found that participants who focused well while undertaking a task that demanded a lot of attention had greater synchronisation between their breathing patterns and their attention, than those who had poor focus.

Michael Melnychuk, lead author of the study explained "Practitioners of yoga have claimed for some 2,500 years, that respiration influences the mind. In our study we looked for a neurophysiological link that could help explain these claims by measuring breathing, reaction time, and brain activity in a small area in the brainstem called the locus coeruleus, where noradrenaline is made. Noradrenaline is an all-purpose action system in the brain. When we are stressed we produce too much noradrenaline and we can't focus. When we feel sluggish, we produce too little and again, we can't focus. There is a sweet spot of noradrenaline in which our emotions, thinking and memory are much clearer."

"This study has shown that as you breathe in locus coeruleus activity is increasing slightly, and as you breathe out it decreases. Put simply this means that our attention is influenced by our breath and that it rises and falls with the cycle of respiration. It is possible that by focusing on and regulating your breathing you can optimise your attention level and likewise, by focusing on your attention level, your breathing becomes more synchronised", he added.

Breath-focused meditation and yogic breathing practices have numerous known cognitive benefits including increased ability to focus, decreased mind wandering, improved arousal levels, more positive emotions, decreased emotional reactivity, along with many others. 

Traditionally there are two types of breath-focused practices - those that emphasise focus on breathing [mindfulness] and those that require breathing to be controlled [deep breathing practices such as pranayama]. 

In cases when a person's attention is compromised, practices which emphasise concentration and focus, such as mindfulness where the individual focuses on feeling the sensations of respiration but make no effort to control them, could possibly be most beneficial. 

But when a person's level of arousal is the cause of poor attention, for example drowsiness while driving, a pounding heart during an exam or during a panic attack, it should be possible to alter the level of arousal in the body by controlling breathing [pranayama]. Both of these techniques have been shown to be effective in both the short and the long term.

Original Source: Trinity College Dublin