healthbriefs


Meditation Boosts Brain Power U


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Many consumers are careful about the goods and services that they purchase. They make sure that these products have a minimal impact on the environment, and that they are better for people and for our communities.


I help my clients do the same thing for the companies that they invest in.


niversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) research- ers first discovered that specific regions in the brains of long-term meditators were larger and contained more gray matter than those of a non-meditating control group; that was in 2009. Now, a follow-up study by the UCLA Laboratory of Neuro Imaging suggests people that medi- tate regularly also display stronger neuronal connections between brain regions and less age-related atrophy (shrink- age) in all areas of the brain. The study comprised 27 active meditation prac-


I work with people who want their investments to reflect their deeply held values and beliefs. My clients often have a passion for social issues such as diversity, human rights, and fair trade. Many are also concerned about protecting our environment.


Contact me to learn about having your investments line up with what really matters...to you!


I work with clients who want their investments to reflect their personal values and beliefs. My clients often have a passion for social issues such as diversity, human rights and fair trade. Many are also concerned about protecting our environment. Contact me to learn about having your investments line up with what really matters to you.


Mitch Fine Financial Advisor 7500 Dallas Parkway Suite 500 Plano, TX 75024 972-943-7219


titioners (average age 52) and 27 control subjects, matched by age and sex. The number of years of meditation ranged from five to 46 and included various styles. Using a type of brain imaging known as diffusion tensor imaging, or DTI—a new imaging mode that provides insights into the structural connectivity of the brain—the researchers found that long-term meditators have white matter fibers that are either more numerous, more dense or more insulated, throughout the brain. Although such tissue tends to decline with age, the study suggests that it can be preserved through active meditation practices. Researcher Eileen Luders remarks, “If practiced regularly and over years,


meditation may slow down aging-related brain atrophy, perhaps by positively af- fecting the immune system. Meditation appears to be a powerful mental exercise with the potential to change the physical structure of the brain.”


Does Yawning Cool the Brain? W


© 2011 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC.


hen we feel the urge to yawn in cooler weather, we should succumb—it might do us good. New research suggests that beyond signaling fatigue or boredom,


yawning might be a physical reaction to cool an “overheated” brain. A study at Princeton University is the first to show that the frequency of yawn-


ing varies with the season and that people are less likely to yawn when the heat outdoors exceeds body temperature. The research monitored 160 people, 80 per season, during winter and summer in Tucson, Arizona. According to the research- ers’ theory, it is possible that yawning in cooler temperatures works to cool the brain, while yawning in warmer conditions appears to provide no similar relief. Research associate Andrew Gallup remarks, “The applications of this research are intriguing… for better understanding diseases and conditions such as multiple sclerosis or epilepsy, which are accompanied by frequent yawning and thermo- regulatory dysfunction.” Excessive yawning may prove a helpful diagnostic tool.


Mitch Fine Financial Advisor


7500 Dallas Parkway Suite 500


Plano, TX 75024 972-943-7219


mitchell.fine@smithbarney.com © 2011 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC.


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