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Altered States of Awareness

Altered States of Awareness

Altered states of consciousness represent significant deviations from one's normal mental state. These deviations can range from subtle changes in awareness to profound transformations in perception, thought processes, and sensory experiences. Altered states of consciousness can be triggered by various factors, including drug use, meditation, hypnosis, illness, or even intense fatigue.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 19, 2025

Combining Behavior and EEG to Study the Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Episodic Memory

Combining Behavior and EEG to Study the Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Episodic Memory

Published on: May 11, 2020

Sleep-Based Brain Age Is Reduced in Advanced Inner Engineering Meditators.

Jayme C Banks^1,2, Sepideh Hariri^3,4, Kestutis Kveraga^3,4

¹Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114 USA.

|June 19, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Advanced meditation practice was associated with a significantly lower brain age in long-term practitioners compared to control groups. This suggests meditation may promote brain health and counteract typical aging processes.

Keywords:

Brain health Electroencephalography Meditation Sleep Wearable device

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Assessment of Age-related Changes in Cognitive Functions Using EmoCogMeter, a Novel Tablet-computer Based Approach

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Last Updated: Sep 19, 2025

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Assessment of Age-related Changes in Cognitive Functions Using EmoCogMeter, a Novel Tablet-computer Based Approach

Published on: February 14, 2014

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Science
Psychology

Background:

Meditation is increasingly recognized for its potential health benefits.
Objective neurophysiological measures are needed to assess meditation's impact on brain aging.
Understanding meditation's effect on brain electrical activity during sleep is crucial for brain health research.

Purpose of the Study:

To quantify the effects of advanced meditation on brain electrical activity during sleep.
To investigate the potential impact of meditation on brain aging and health using neurophysiological data.
To determine if advanced meditation practice is associated with a younger brain age compared to chronological age.

Main Methods:

A prospective cohort study involving meditators and healthy/pathological comparison groups.
Overnight electroencephalography (EEG) was used to record brain electrical activity during sleep.
Physiological measures of brain age were derived and compared to chronological age.

Main Results:

Meditators (n=34) exhibited an estimated brain age 5.9 years younger than their chronological age (p < 0.001).
Comparison groups showed varying deviations in brain age, with some pathological groups exhibiting significantly older brain ages.
Healthy controls showed minimal deviation from chronological age, highlighting the distinct effect observed in meditators.

Conclusions:

Long-term advanced meditation practice is associated with a significantly lower brain age.
These findings suggest that advanced meditation may enhance brain health and potentially slow brain aging.
Objective neurophysiological evidence supports the beneficial effects of meditation on the aging brain.