The Ultimate Meditation Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
3 min
The Ultimate Meditation Quiz
Image: Martin Puddy/Getty

About This Quiz

Breathe in, breath out, breathe in, breathe out. How much do you know about the benefits of mindful meditation?
Meditation is focused on training which part of a human being?
your mind
your body
your heart
What is a defining trait of Focused Attention meditation?
You give up on the idea of focusing your mind.
You learn to focus your mind on everything, and nothing, at once.
You focus your mind on one thing.
What is neuroplasticity?
The ability to change the brain's functionality and structure
Drug-assisted meditation
The science of creating plastic brains

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OMM stands for what kind of meditation?
Open Mind Meditation
Oral Mentor Meditation
Open Monitoring Meditation
Some people say meditation can help you improve your "qi," which is what?
emotion
life force
health
Samatha meditation is designed to help you do what?
improve your body's health
tame your mind
find new insights

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How can meditation change the brain's aging process?
It can slow it down.
It can speed it up.
It can completely stop brain aging.
What does the practitioner monitor during OMM meditation?
breathing
visual inputs
awareness
What is a mantra?
a vocalization with spiritual meaning
a super-positive phrase repeated endlessly
prayer beads used for meditation

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How can meditation prevent you from becoming ill?
increases your blood flow
boosts your immune system
helps you visualize germs as your enemies
About how long must you practice meditation before your brain begins to change?
about eight weeks
about eight months
about a year
What is the point of nirvana?
total happiness
freedom from bonds
to rock out

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A study by Wake Forest University showed that meditation's pain relieving properties were sometimes more effective than what?
Hydrocodone
Aspirin
Morphine
Ultimately, mindfulness is just what?
exercise for your mind
a path to religion
new Age hocus pocus
The brain's posterior cingulate is related to which functions?
self-control
self-relevance
self-awareness

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Some experts say you should AVOID meditation at what part of the day?
at bedtime
when you first wake up
after lunch
What is MBSR?
meditation-biased soul reactivity
mindfulness-based stress reduction
meditation-based self realization
What is the brain's temporoparietal junction associated with?
mind wandering
cognition
empathy

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A National Health Interview Survey found that Americans use mediation more than what other destressing technique?
massage therapy
yoga
chiropractic adjustment
In some rare situations, meditation can lead to what?
psychosis
cancer
circulatory problems
An altered state of consciousness is any brain state different than a normal waking state that features what kind of brain waves?
Beta waves
Gamma waves
Alpha waves

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Meditation may increase what sort of oscillations in the brain?
Gamma wave oscillations
Delta wave oscillations
Alpha wave oscillations
One research team found that meditation increased gray matter in which part of the brain?
brain stem
frontal cortex
cerebellum
What typically happens to our frontal cortex as we age?
It shrinks.
It begins swelling.
It hurts.

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In loving-kindness meditation, meditators start by developing compassion for what?
loved ones
enemies
themselves
In samadi, what happens to the mind?
It becomes one with the universe.
It becomes still.
It disappears.
Buddhism indicates that meditation can help the practitioner hone which two mental qualities?
happiness and love
contentment and focus
serenity and insight

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How long does the Dalai Lama meditate each morning?
Four hours
40 minutes
90 minutes
Sahaja yoga meditation is also known as what?
chaos reduction meditation
emotional control meditation
mental silence meditation
Meditation increases telomerase, which is what?
an enzyme in your body
a type of cell protein
a subset of chromosomes

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