Meditation may help people improve their ability to tune out distractions in everyday life, according to a new study from Yale University.
Researchers asked 10 experienced meditators and 13 people with no meditation experience to practice three basic meditation techniques: concentration, loving-kindness, and choiceless awareness, according to ABC News. The participants' brain activity was then observed through functional magnetic resonance imaging while they were practicing the meditative techniques and when they were instructed not to think of anything in particular.
They found that experienced meditators may have less activity in the "default mode network," areas of the brain associated with distraction and daydreaming, WebMD reports.
"The default mode is when you ruminate, think about yourself, or daydream," study researcher Judson Brewer, MD, PhD, told WebMD. "Everybody has it, but experienced meditators have a different type...They're constantly looking out for mind wandering."
This network has been linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, and Alzheimer's disease, according to WebMD.
"One of the things that meditation and basic mindfulness seems to be doing is quieting down this region of the brain," said Brewer, as reported by ABC News. "It absolutely makes sense, given what we know about the default mode network."
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
