Description

According to Aristotle, people can choose to be happy. A new study shows that it is possible for you to grow a happier brain physically using practices such as meditation. Science has already determined the hormones that give rise to emotions like desire or pleasure, but no one has been able to say for sure where feelings of well-being and overall contentment come from. Kyoto University scientists set out to get the answer. They gathered 51 volunteers and asked each one of them to rate their own levels of happiness. They then scanned the brains of the volunteers to try and see if there were any differences between the glum individuals and the upbeat ones. Surprisingly, the happier people had a larger precuneus (an area of the brain). This means that you can work happiness like a muscle. Some studies in the past have shown that it is possible to boost grey matter in your precuneus with regular meditation. This explains why meditators experience feelings of bliss and even general contentment. The scientist who oversaw this study said that medics could now measure the things that increase happiness in people.