In a groundbreaking study, researchers from Massachusett Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical school confirmed that advanced meditation practices have the potential to reverse the brain’s biological age. Both the schools are affiliated with Harvard University.
The study focuses on advanced meditators attending the “Samyama Sadhana” retreat and described it as a refresher course for those who have previously attended an 8-day meditation program called “Samyama.”
Commenting on the findings, Sadhguru said, It is wonderful that modern science is able to identify and measure the impact of the subjective sciences on the human mechanism. Enhancing the exuberance & vibrancy of the human mechanism will naturally slow the aging process & cognitive decline. Every human being must invest in their own mental & physical wellbeing. We owe this to ourselves, to the people around us and to coming generations.”
He reshared the original paper which was posted by Dr. Bala Subramaniam, Director, Sadhguru Center for a Conscious Planet at BIDMC, Anesthesiology, Harvard Medical School. Dr Subramaniam wrote, “Our new study in Mindfulness (https://rdcu.be/emo2O) shows advanced meditators have a 5.9-year younger brain age! Meditation may hold the key to reversing brain aging. Proud to be part of this groundbreaking research.”
Check out the post here:
It is wonderful that modern science is able to identify and measure the impact of the subjective sciences on the human mechanism. Enhancing the exuberance & vibrancy of the human mechanism will naturally slow the aging process & cognitive decline. Every human being must invest in… https://t.co/lEDlPMImcc pic.twitter.com/8ynup9ZGuJ
— Sadhguru (@SadhguruJV) May 18, 2025
Lead researchers noted that “brain age” estimations, which are based on neural patterns during non-REM sleep, were notably lower in the meditation group compared to non-meditators. In some cases, the difference was as much as a decade or more. This suggests a strong link between regular meditative practice and the preservation or even rejuvenation of brain health.
According to the paper, “This study was a single-site, prospective cohort study (conducted August 25, 2021, through September 26, 2021) of meditators attending the “Samyama Sadhana” retreat (September 1–5, 2021).”
Two healthy comparison groups and four comparison groups with varying degrees of age-related brain pathology are included. Using overnight electroencephalography, physiological measures of brain age were derived and subtracted from chronological age, measuring the deviation of apparent brain age from chronological age,” it further stated.
These findings come at a time when the conversation around brain health and aging is more urgent than ever, especially as neurodegenerative diseases and age-related cognitive decline are on the rise globally. While previous research has shown meditation’s benefits on stress and well-being, this study is among the first to use a biological marker – brain age, to show a possible slowing or reversal of neural aging.
Comments and messages poured in from his followers and devotees. One user wrote, “A 5.9 year younger brain age1 What an incredible discovery. We are the only ones to not trust our age old Yoga practices,” another commented, “So happy to see such papers that confirm what advanced meditators have always experienced. For those who need scientific proof to justify any time spent towards inner wellbeing, here it is! Hope to see more such studies for tools against the mental health pandemic.”
Another user wrote, “It is wonderful to see that the immense benefits of inner engineering practice is being proved scientifically!! At least the physical ones. Kudos to the researches. The life changing spritual benefits will remain unquantifiable though!!”
The study also emphasises that while more large-scale studies are needed to confirm the long-term effects, the data so far are promising.
This could mark a turning point for how both Eastern wellness practices and modern neuroscience approach aging. As more people seek holistic strategies for mental and physical longevity, mixing ancient meditation with modern research might just hold some of the answers.
