How Meditation Helps Regulate Emotions, Enhance Memory, and Boost the Immune System

If you're pressed for time and struggling to relax, you might want to try meditation—it could help.

In recent years, mindfulness meditation has become increasingly popular, and many people are convinced of its benefits.

There is evidence that practicing meditation for just a few minutes each day can improve sleep, regulate emotions, boost immunity, and even physically recalibrate the body's response to stress and pain.

Dr. Michael Mosley, host of the BBC science program, explored in his podcast Just One Thing how this ancient yet seemingly simple practice can bring powerful benefits.

The Monks Are Right

Meditation is a vital component of the traditions of monks, as well as Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism.

Meditation is not a new practice; it has a long history. Tibetan monks have been meditating for many hours each week, a practice that can be traced back to the 7th century.

At the same time, it is an integral part of the Hindu, Taoist, and Buddhist traditions.

It wasn’t until the 1970s that mindfulness meditation was introduced to the West by American cognitive scientist Jon Kabat-Zinn. Since then, over 8,000 studies on mindfulness meditation have pointed to significant effects.

Research has shown that spending just a little time each day focusing on breathing and scanning the body can improve working memory and even change the brain’s structure and function. It can lower stress levels and alter the immune system—without requiring long-term practice or expertise to see positive results.

The Power of Intention

One study found that just 8 weeks of meditation can shrink the amygdala, which is great news for stress relief.

Another study showed that less than two months of meditation practice could improve participants' immune responses. After 8 weeks of practice, those in the treatment group had a stronger antibody response to the flu vaccine.

So why does a practice that seemingly focuses only on the mind have such a powerful impact on the body and immune system? The key is that stress is reduced.

Going Back to the Root

The amygdala in the brain is the region responsible for initiating the fight or flight response. Under stress, it triggers the body to produce more stress hormones, such as cortisol, which weakens the immune system. Interestingly, studies show that meditation can completely reshape and alter this entire process.

One study found that just 8 weeks of meditation can shrink the amygdala, which is great news for stress relief. It can also lead to long-term changes in the brain’s functioning, including how it controls pain, memory, and attention.

Controlling the Brain

Even meditation a few times a week, for as little as 10 minutes at a time, can be beneficial.

Dr. Sara Lazar, an associate professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School, explains that meditation is similar to strengthening muscles through exercise. It can train the prefrontal cortex—the brain’s main control center—to better focus on what it pays attention to.

This can improve working memory, which is the ability to “remember information and use it skillfully." It’s also a vital skill for problem-solving. Additionally, meditation can change how we experience pain.

Pain Control

Mindfulness meditation can alter our response to physical pain. Brain imaging studies show that this is mainly because meditation helps train the brain to separate the pain response from the physical sensation itself.

For some people, especially those with chronic pain, pain is inevitable—but meditation can truly change how we react to pain, both behaviorally and mentally.

Meditation and Memory

Some yoga practices also include meditation and breathing exercises.

New data shows that meditation can cause lasting changes in the brain’s circuitry, which is important for long-term memory.

Dr. Lazar had individuals aged 65 to 80, with no prior meditation experience, learn to meditate. Just 8 weeks later, they found that the volume of the hippocampus—an area critical for long-term memory—increased. They also discovered that this memory improvement could last for a year or more.