Meditation as the Fountain of Youth?

The risk of mental illness and neurodegenerative disease increases as people age. A new study conducted by UCLA researchers found that meditation appears to help preserve the brain’s gray matter, the tissue that contains neurons—the nerve cells that transmit signals to and from the brain. Scientists compared 50 people who had been meditating on a regular basis for years and 50 people who had never meditated. Athough both groups showed a small loss of gray matter, the group that practiced meditation did not see gray matter decline as much. Researchers noted however that meditation is not the only connection to preserving the brain’s gray matter; lifestyle choices, personality traits, and general brain differences come into play too. bit.ly/16E28ox