Reseach at the Harvard Medical school has also yielded some interesting results. Results show some unexpected changes in brain structure through meditation.

Sara Lazar, psychologist and leader of the study says, "Our data suggest that meditation practice can promote cortical plasticity in adults in areas important for cognitive and emotional processing and well-being."

In 'plain speak' this means that in some areas of the brain the lining gets thicker proportional to the length of time that a person has practised meditation. These changes indicate that a meditator learns to process emotions and thoughts in a way that makes them feel happier.

There are indications that meditating may slow the ageing process.

Sarah Lazar says: Our data suggest that one small bit of brain appears to have a slower rate of cortical thinning, so meditation may help slow some aspects of cognitive ageing.

That's good news for all ageing meditators!