Meditation and Brain Chemistry

I've been using a meditation program that utilizes CDs with a technology that induces certain brain wave patterns and supposedly causes your brain to form new connections, particularly between the hemispheres. This program is called The Holosync Program and it's offered by Centerpointe.com. This is the website: http://centerpointe.com/  So far, (and I've been using the program for about a month), I'm very pleased with the results. The CD's are very pleasant and relaxing, and seem to put me into a fairly deep space. Since I'm a certified hypnotherapist, I know a lot about trances and altered states. Some of the materials that came with the program mention actual changes in brain chemistry as a result of meditation. I googled "meditation and brain chemistry" and found the following helpful summary. This is from the site of a Holosync competitor called Equisync: http://www.eocinstitute.org/dhea_gaba_cortisol_hgh_melatonin_serotonin_endorphins_s/48.htm

The following material is completely consistent with the Holosync booklet, but offers a little more detail (The quote is italicized):

The Positive Effects Meditation Has on Your Body‘s Natural Chemistry

GABA 

People who regularly meditate have considerably increased levels of the neurotransmitters GABA. What is GABA and why is it so important? GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid) is one of the major inhibitory neurotransmitters in your central nervous system. It‘s best known for stabilizing mood disorders. Anxiety, tension, insomnia, and epilepsy are believed to be due to the failure to produce adequate levels of GABA. In a study at Yale University, people with panic disorder were found to have 22% less GABA than people without panic disorder. Addicts, including those addicted to alcohol, drugs, tobacco, caffeine, food, gambling, and even shopping, all have one thing in common: not enough GABA. As you can see, GABA is very important!

DHEA

Meditation provides a dramatic boost in DHEA hormone levels. We now know that low levels of DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) are strongly associated with the risk of heart attack, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, and chronic fatigue. On the positive side, DHEA enhances memory, alleviates depression, and causes a remarkable improvement in a person's sense of psychological and physical well-being. It also provides strong support to your immune system—so much that many scientists are convinced that a deficiency in the DHEA hormone is what contributes to the collapse of our immune systems during old age. 

Melatonin

Melatonin is a hormone manufactured in the brain by the pineal gland, from the amino acid tryptophan. Levels of melatonin in the blood peak before bedtime and its function is to create restful sleep. Research has also revealed that it is a powerful antioxidant. Stress, however, significantly lowers melatonin levels. People who meditate are able to maintain healthy levels of melatonin by reducing stress and restoring balance. As a result, they sleep more soundly and wake up feelingrefreshed each morning.


Serotonin

Meditation also increases the production of serotonin within our brains. Serotonin is a main neurotransmitter and has profound influences over your mood and behavior. Depleted serotonin levels are directly linked to depression, obesity, insomnia,narcolepsy, sleep apnea, migraine headaches, premenstrual syndrome, and fibromyalgia. In treating anxiety and depression-related disorders, drugs such as Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft help to restore healthy levels of serotonin. But why put yourself through the adverse side effects of these costly medications when you can achieve the same results by using Equisync audio technology?

Endorphins

Endorphins are a category of neurotransmitters that the body uses as an internal pain killer. These compounds are also responsible for the all-encompassing sense of happiness we sometimes feel. Endorphins are thought to reduce blood pressure and have been linked in the fight against cancer. People who exercise know endorphins well, as they produce what is known as 'runner's high'. These same pleasant feelings are also experienced by people who meditate, and studies show this is due to the higher levels endorphins that meditation elicits.

HGH 

Deep meditation dramatically boosts levels of human growth hormone (HGH), which your body naturally produces. It stimulated your growth throughout your childhood and sustains your tissues and organs all the way through your life. Starting in your 40s, your pituitary gland, the pea-sized structure at the base of your brain where growth hormone is produced, gradually decreases the amount of HGH it creates. The body's diminishing supply of HGH causes the frailty that comes with aging—decreased bone density, decreased muscle mass, increased body fat, weakening heart contractions, poor mood, lack of motivation, and poor exercise capacity. This is why so many people nowadays spend lots of money to take HGH. It‘s a very important hormone when it comes to our overall health and well-being.

Cortisol 

Cortisol is the one hormone you want less amounts of and meditation is proven to significantly decreasethis harmful hormone. Higher and more prolonged levels of Cortisol, an age accelerating hormone, in the bloodstream has been found to have effects such as decreased bone density, elevated blood pressure, suppressed thyroid function, weakened cognitive performance, chronic stress, blood sugar imbalances such as hyperglycemia, decrease in muscle tissue, lowered immunity and inflammatory responses in the body, increased abdominal fat (which is related to many more health problems than fat deposited in other areas of the body), heart attacks, strokes, increased levels of "bad" cholesterol (LDL) and decreased levels of "good" cholesterol (HDL), which lead to other health problems. Too much cortisol is very damaging to your body and meditation can help reduce the risk of its many harmful effects.



Here is what Bill Harris and Holosync have to say about these levels after using meditation:


"Holosync's beneficial effect on key hormones: In a before an after study of people using Holosync audio technology, the following changes were noted in levels of DHEA, cortisol and melatonin:
> In just three days, over 68% had increases in DHEA levels, with an average increas of 43.77%. Several people had incrases of 50, 60, even 90%.
> 68% of the people had their Cortisol levels drop an average of 46.47%, and serveral more people had Cortisol descreases of up to 80%.
> Melatonin levels increased an average of 97.77%, with positive changes happening in over 73% of the people. Many had improvements of 100, 200, even 300%...


What does this mean to you? It means that listening to CDs containing Holosync technology not only dramatically lowers stress by regulating the biochemical source of stress, it also means that Holosync slows the aging process and increases both longevity and well-being!


I will continue to report on my progress and results in this blog, and in my companion blog: http://robertpostsreality.blogspot.com/


In my next post, I'll give you the recipe for my Lifeforce happy shake...