The practice of sitting down and quieting the mind has been portrayed as the solution for all mental woes. Media reports of its incredible mind benefits are extensive, but the question is, can meditation improve logical reasoning? Dive into the neuroscience of this mental stillness practice, including what studies say about its benefits and drawbacks.
What Constitutes Logical Reasoning?
Logical reasoning is the analytical approach to decision-making. For instance, deciding to go to the grocery store now or later depends on whether you have the time and budget. You finalize the decision after confirming you have both money and enough time to do the chore. This chain of thought succinctly describes how you use logical thinking.
When faced with options, the standard cognitive response is to consider and weigh the facts before reaching a sensible conclusion. Logical thinking is the systematic approach people apply to make informed decisions in their lives, careers and relationships.
The frontal lobe is the part of the brain responsible for this and other functions like emotions, personality, self-control, judgment and movements. It's involved in tasks that entail problem-solving, rationalization and attention span. Regarding location, it's right behind the forehead and makes up between 25% and 40% of your brain’s cerebral cortex.
How Meditation Impacts Cognitive Health?
Meditation is ancient, but scientific studies related to it are still in their infancy. Here's what researchers have found while researching its cognitive effects.
Increased Reaction Times
A 10-minute breathing meditation and a 10-minute active listening activity may enhance reaction times. Researchers wanted to find out whether mindfulness meditation affected participants' thinking skills compared to other activities. Twenty-two meditators and 20 beginners participated in the study. Both did a 10-minute breathing mindfulness meditation and 10-minute active listening task, with a 10-minute break between each one.
The results showed practitioners and beginners had faster reaction times after doing both activities compared to their initial performance. However, the positive change was more significant in those who did mindfulness meditation than active listening, especially on tasks requiring attention, inhibition and flexible thinking. A single session of mindfulness meditation can level up cognitive performance.
Improved Cognitive Functioning and Symptoms
A 12-minute daily meditation for eight weeks may boost memory, perceived cognitive functioning, verbal fluency and quality of life. Breast cancer survivors experienced unceasing cognitive and psychological distress associated with their treatment. Experts wanted to research whether Kirtan Kriya meditation — a practice involving breath work, chanting, finger movements and visualization — and listening to classical music could improve these troublesome symptoms.
All 27 people who joined the study — regardless of whether they did the meditation or listened to music — enhanced their perceived cognitive impairments, verbal memory, fluency and quality of life. Those who listened to music had lower stress, too.
Meditation could be a cost-effective method for minimizing cognitive symptoms among breast cancer survivors. If you know someone with the condition, they may find this drug-free approach helpful in managing mental stress.
Enlarged Volume and Thickness in Multiple Brain Structures
Long-term meditation may increase the volume of gray matter and thickness of the cortex region in the brain. Researchers looked at the effect of long-term daily meditation on the brain structures of people with mild Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment. They recruited 48 individuals with zero meditation knowledge to join the study and divided them into meditation and control groups.
Before the study started, the meditation group completed training on the four types of inner reflection for over two weeks. Then, they were instructed to do guided meditations for 30 minutes for six months. Meanwhile, the control group was given coloring books to work on for 30 minutes daily for the same period.
Although 15 of 48 participants dropped out before the six months were up, the researchers captured enough evidence using magnetic resonance images to weave a conclusion. The meditation group showed higher gray matter volume in the frontal regions than the control. They also observed increased volume in the right thalamus and hippocampus.
These positive changes in multiple brain structures may result in upgraded cognitive efficiency. Exercises for quieting the mind may improve your logical reasoning.
Can Meditation Improve Logical Reasoning?
How can mental stillness make you great at winning arguments? Given that it can impressively alter some neural networks, the practice may also influence the region affiliated with rational thinking. Here are pieces of evidence that focus on this specific merit.
Boosts Critical Thinking
Meditation encourages one to focus on inward thoughts, which experts believe is associated with critical thinking. Forty-nine college students took the California Critical Thinking Skills Test and answered survey questions to measure their critical thinking skills. Researchers found a positive link between critical thinking and the frequency and type of meditation, specifically a focused attention practice.
One feature of critical thinking is the ability to identify and evaluate one's own thinking — a shared component of meditation. Based on this, your critical thinking can bump up with these zen sessions.
Better Logical Thinking and Cognitive Functions
Meditation may boost logical thinking, mind regulation and cognitive level. Scientists evaluated the impact of meditation on cognition using an electroencephalogram and functional MRI. The former measures the electrical activity in the brain, while the latter detects changes associated with blood flow. The meditation techniques included the following:
- Mindfulness
- Full attention
- Jhana
- Yoga asanas
- Mind body intervention
- Open meditation
- Heartfulness
They found it led to better functional connectivity — or the ability of brain regions to interact with each other. The practice also positively affected neural plasticity — neurons' ability to grow or reorganize. Together, they boosted mind regulation, cognitive level and functions, including logical thinking. Heartfulness meditation was particularly useful in fixing sleep patterns, reducing stress and controlling disease in the short term.
Increased Sustained Attention
A loving kindness meditation session positively affects beginners' behaviors, cognition and physiological responses. Researchers used advanced tools to gauge the effects of mindfulness on the brain, behavior and physiology of first-time practitioners. They found participants had developed better attention post-meditation through a shorter response time on a task. Pulse pressure also decreased while blood flow to the brain improved.
Loving kindness meditation may enhance logical reasoning through longer sustained attention — a valuable cognitive skill. It helps you process information more efficiently and facilitates effective decision-making. Based on these studies, mental exercise to quiet the mind can positively influence logical reasoning.
What About the Adverse Effects of Meditation?
The global meditation market was worth $7.41 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to $28.8 billion by 2031 at a CAGR of 18.5% from 2024 to 2031. Its rapid launch to the West has made others skeptical about whether the growth is due to its effectiveness or because it can be capitalized on.
You've probably heard people claim you can rewire your brain through it to get rich or achieve the life of your dreams. If it was that easy, everyone would be wealthy. You seldom hear studies delving into the dark side of meditation. Here’s a bit of research citing its drawbacks.
No Effects on Creativity
Scientists initially proposed that open-monitoring meditation can improve creativity by enhancing cognitive flexibility. Cognitive flexibility is the brain's ability to adjust thinking to meet the demands of a changing environment.
All 62 participants were put into three groups. The first two groups engaged in an audio-guided task — either an open monitoring meditation or a narrative about house plants. The third group had no task.
After two weeks, researchers found no significant changes suggesting meditation enhanced creativity. No associations were found on cognitive flexibility. One reason they suspect is the complexity of the meditation and how its effects on individuals can greatly vary.
Induced Adverse Effects
Most studies on meditation focus on its benefits. Few discussions of its disadvantages exist, so some researchers reviewed its potential harm. Of the 6,742 citations, 83 — or about 1% — reported detriments.
Of those 83 studies, 55 reported participants experiencing at least one type of adverse event:
- 33% experienced anxiety
- 27% experienced depression
- 25% had cognitive anomalies
- 11% had gastrointestinal problems and suicidal behaviors
Experts found these unwanted events were common during and after meditation practice and could happen in people with zero history of mental health problems. This analysis provides a balanced perspective on both the positive and negative consequences of this mind stillness practice.
How Can Meditation Improve Logical Thinking?
Meditation lower stress, which promotes better logical reasoning. The body’s natural response to pressure is to slip into fight-or-flight mode and inform the brain of an external threat. As a result, you get anxious and tense and stop thinking objectively. Your critical and logical thinking freezes, which sometimes leads to impulsive decisions.
Meditating can help reduce stress levels. Focusing on your breathing means uncoupling from erratic thoughts, driving pressure and haywire emotions. It reverts your stress response to normal. Your reasoning restores, allowing you to view things from an unbiased standpoint and make a more informed decision.
What Meditation Techniques Boost Logical Reasoning?
Meditation affects each person differently, and not all styles suit everyone. What works for others may be ineffective for you. The benefits of leveraging it to enhance cognition can vary based on the frequency and length of practice, meditation type and familiarity with the techniques.
Here are nine common types of meditation. Try practicing one and see if it works for you:
- Movement: Tai chi and qi gong are the best examples of gentle movements combined with mindfulness. The outdoors is the perfect setting for these centering sessions since integrating nature into the practice can reduce stress. Sun exposure boosts vitamin D production, puts you in a good mood and strengthens your immune system. It’s a two-in-one form of self-care.
- Mindfulness: You allow thoughts to pass through your brain without any judgment. The practice is about detaching one's self from the mind.
- Spiritual: It’s an inner peace cultivation through contemplative prayer or anything with religious meaning.
- Focused: You control the mind by focusing on one point, either the breath or external influences like a candle flame.
- Transcendental: You settle the body and mind by repeating a mantra in your head.
- Mantra: Similar to transcendental, but you can voice out the words.
- Loving-kindness: It involves using positive scripts that promote self-love.
- Visualization: The practice entails creating visual scenes that involve the five senses.
- Progressive: The best example is a body scan, which promotes relaxation and relieves muscle tension.
Based on the above studies, mindfulness, focused and loving-kindness are the styles associated with enhanced cognitive functions.
What Are the Challenges of Using Meditation to Improve Logical Reasoning?
Meditation is comparable to a drug that has two sides — one is the cure and the other is the side effect. Practitioners may face challenges during their practice, inhibiting their progress. Some of them include the following.
Lack of Consistency
Because it's been depicted as the cure-all for mental worries, people expect instant results when they dive into these zen sessions. However, benefits may not be evident unless you consistently practice.
Difficulty With the Technique
All forms of meditation follow a specific strategy or pattern. Beginners may learn the theory but find it challenging to apply the correct techniques during practice sessions.
Identifying the Adverse Effects
Although not widespread, some may encounter detriments while practicing. One study revealed 22% of over 700 practitioners reported unpleasant meditation-related experiences. Shockingly, 3.1% encountered severe effects requiring countermeasures, 0.9% had very severe effects with lasting consequences and 0.2% had an extreme impact demanding hospital admission.
Like pain relievers, meditation may be generally safe. However, a tiny fraction may experience disadvantages.
How to Incorporate Meditation Into Your Daily Routine
If you want to engage in this inner peace cultivation practice, the best advice is to start small. Get proper training on the techniques from an experienced teacher. Their guidance can help you overcome obstacles or sidestep negative consequences during practice. Here are other tips to integrate meditation into your daily life:
- Start slowly by focusing on the breath for one minute. It may seem easy, but sitting down with nothing but your thoughts is sometimes the most challenging thing to do.
- Try chore meditation. For example, focus on the in-breath and out-breath while washing the dishes.
- Download a free app. You’ll find plenty of meditation apps online. Try using one to cultivate the habit of sitting down daily for awareness.
- Find the best time to meditate. Some do it right after getting out of bed, while others do it before they turn in at night.
- Strive to be consistent. Some meditation apps have a habit tracker to monitor practice frequency. Otherwise, you can manually record your progress.
Meditation May Improve Logical Reasoning
Studies have proved meditation may enhance logical thinking. However, it depends on the frequency of practice, length and familiarity with the technique. Some people may experience harmful effects, so if you want to practice safely, learn from someone experienced.
Beth is the mental health editor at Body+Mind. She has 5+ years of experience writing about behavioral health, specifically mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Beth also writes about the power of human design to reveal our potential. You can find her on Twitter @bodymindmag. Subscribe to Body+Mind for more posts by Beth Rush.
