Meditation is the key to success for an individual. There are millions of examples to prove this right. According to the famous chiropractor, Dr. Joe Dispenza, “meditation is the means for you to move on from your analytical mind, into your subconscious mind”. He also said that “learning is forming new connections in the brain, and memory is sustaining/maintaining those connections”. 

Multiple studies have suggested that meditation is directly linked to higher memory and IQ. Memories shape our personalities. Researchers have suggested that individuals that are successful in every aspect of life usually have higher IQ levels. Success through enhanced memory and higher IQ makes them a valuable trait. 

Meditation-and-the-brain research have been conducted in the past, while profound studies come out every other week. Therefore, meditation boosts psychological, physical, and mental benefits. 

How does Mindfulness Meditation Increase one’s IQ level?

Mindfulness meditation is not only good for a person’s psychological health, but it also makes a person  smarter. Mindfulness meditation can boost brain waves in the alpha, beta, and gamma range which are responsible for creativity, deep thinking, and problem-solving respectively. A boost in creative thinking improves cognitive performance, and an increase in intellectual capacity can result from mindfulness meditation. It also increases the IQ levels of individuals who practice mindfulness meditation.

1. Enhanced Creativity and Concentration

Using brainwave training, Siegfried Othmer, former President of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, studied individuals who meditated. The study confirmed that mindfulness meditation increases IQ by 23%, which was a remarkable discovery.

A follow-up study conducted after a year showed that meditators not only had an improved IQ but also had a long-lasting effect of meditations. Those individuals had a substantial increase in creativity, concentration, and self-awareness levels. 

Mindfulness meditation provides improvements in memory, an increase in brain growth, higher emotional intelligence (EQ). 

2. Creativity and Logical Brain Functions

The most astonishing discovery while studying the brain was that the majority of human beings use one half of the brain more than the other half. Meditation and brain studies reveal that when we meditate, it helps to sync the two hemispheres of the brain. which considerably allows faster neural communication and increased processing power. In harmony, the logical left brain and the creative right brain are able to solve problems with ease which boosts creativity. Deep thinking magnifies, along with focus and concentration. Mindfulness meditation has proven to help individuals achieve “whole-brain synchronization,” which is a state that is found in many successful people. Therefore, synchronized brain functions help increase IQ levels, so meditation boosts memory.

3. Expanded Brain Size

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin discovered that mindfulness meditation increases the “gray matter thickness” of specific brain regions. Mindfulness meditation makes the muscles of the brain increase in folds which makes it faster and smarter. Multiple research shows that meditation is a major brain enhancer that has the ability to boost intellect on all levels. Meditation boosts memory by increasing intellect.

4. Improved Self-Awareness 

Mindfulness meditation is the key to unlock the hidden talents of insight and intuition. Improved self awareness produces measurable changes in the way we see beyond what a person can see with their five senses. It cannot be measured with tests or quizzes but is extremely valuable on all levels. Intuition is, therefore, directly linked to IQ level; the stronger the intuition, the higher the IQ. Therefore, meditation boosts memory by improving self-awareness. 

How Does Meditation Boost Memory?

There are multiple ways through which memory can be enhanced. Different meditation techniques have been proven to boost memory such as from studying for examinations to picking up a new programming language to just remembering people’s names. 

1. Increased Activity

During meditation, activity in the hippocampus and frontal lobes of the brain, which are important for memory, increases dramatically. Long and short-term memory are both improved as a result of meditative brain stimulation, making it easier to complete tasks at different professional and occupational levels. 

2. Improved Functioning

Additionally, when the brain is in the delta or theta phase (also known as slow brain signals), the brain’s plasticity, or the capacity to reorganize itself, increases. Individuals, when focusing their attention through mindfulness meditation on their breath, provide the ideal type of rest for their brain. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, resting the brain improves its functions; therefore, meditation boosts memory. 

3. Lowered Stress Levels

Multiple studies on mindfulness meditation are in progress, where one research on the “effects of meditation on consciousness and cognition” revealed that individuals who meditated 20 minutes a day for four days straight enhanced their memory and cognition while lowering stress levels. 

It’s noteworthy to mention that individuals who experienced such remarkable changes had never meditated before. Instead, only 80 minutes of meditation in 96 hours resulted in such priceless and impeccable changes. 

4. Stress Hormone Reduction

When an individual is in a stressful situation, they may face difficulties in trying to remember something. One can blame memory problems on the body’s main stress hormone, cortisol. 

Cortisol is responsible for fogging the brain’s most essential memory aspect, the hippocampus. It effectively downgrades the ability to spontaneously recall stored information, especially when in the body for a long time. 

Mindfulness meditation and cortisol reduction are directly linked according to scientists at UC Davis. In just a matter of a few weeks, mindful meditation reduces cortisol levels significantly. Therefore, memory and cortisol levels are inversely proportional, such that the higher the memory, the lower the cortisol levels. Hence, proving that meditation boosts memory. 

Conclusion

Reactions to external stimuli enslave many individuals because they never learn to think through and rationally handle their emotions. A person cannot control vulnerable circumstances and forces, but one can develop the ability to change their reaction to them. It is critically important for an individual developing the ability to work through their feelings in a calm and thoughtful manner. Mindfulness meditation is an all-in-one meditation practice that focuses on all aspects of healing.