The world today is increasingly distracting, with faster media and social networking sites increasing the speed at which we can access information and the amount of time we feel we need to stay connected. A recent study suggests that one key value of meditation may be that it helps the brain deal with this often overstimulating world.

The study, published online on April 21 in the Brain Research Bulletin, was conducted by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It found that modulation of the alpha rhythm in response to attention-directing cues was faster and significantly more enhanced among participants who completed an eight-week MBSR mindfulness meditation programme than in a control group. Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), an imaging technique that detects the location of brain activity with extreme precision, the researchers measured participants’ alpha rhythms before, during and after the eight-week period. They found that  meditators were better able to focus their attention and thus choose relevant new information easier and faster.

Lead researcher Catherine Kerr, PhD, of the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at MGH and the Osher Research Center at Harvard Medical School, explained the findings in this way:  Our discovery that mindfulness meditators more quickly adjusted the brain wave that screens out distraction could explain their superior ability to rapidly remember and incorporate new facts.

Christopher Moore, an MIT neuroscientist, goes further : These activity patterns are thought to minimize distractions, to diminish the likelihood stimuli will grab your attention. Our data indicate that meditation training makes you better at focusing, in part by allowing you to better regulate how things that arise will impact you.

The implications of these findings go far beyond just meditation and could lead to developments in helping people who suffer from dysregulated brain function in ADHD (Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) and other conditions.