Stop those negative thoughts! When it comes to brain power, it appears your thoughts matter. That was the eye-opening conclusion of a provocative study published in the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

For this study, scientists carefully measured the cognitive function of 292 middle-aged to older people over a four-year period. The cognitive assessments included measures of memory, spatial cognition, attention and language.

The study subjects had their thinking patterns regularly monitored by responding to a series of questions over two of the four years. The thought-pattern questionnaire was designed to identify repetitive negative thinking (RNT for short). RNT includes ruminating about negative past events as well as future sources of anxiety.

About a third of the study subjects had PET (positron emission tomography) scans of their brains to measure levels of the abnormal brain proteins, tau and amyloid. Tau and amyloid build up in people affected with Alzheimer’s disease.

The findings? Study subjects with greater RNT – these repetitive negative thought patterns – exhibited a clear decrease in cognitive function and memory over the four-year period. What’s more, they had more tau and amyloid build up in their brains. It is well-documented that our thoughts have powerful, direct physiologic effects on our bodies, so these results aren’t surprising.

Thankfully, studies show that we can change our thought patterns through mental-training practices, with meditation documented to be one of the very best.

As someone who was prone to negative rumination in the remote past, I can speak personally to the remarkable power of meditation to mitigate this destructive thinking pattern, and I encourage everyone to explore this simple, yet radically transformative practice. I strive to meditate every day and gratefully achieve that goal about 90% of the time.

Feel free to share this post with friends and loved ones because one of the greatest gifts we can give is the gift of better health. Enjoy!

Dr. Ann Kulze is founder and CEO of Just Wellness and has a knack for breaking down the science of healthy eating and living into simple and easily digestible messages. She has been featured on “Dr. Oz,” “Oprah and Friends,” WebMD and U.S. News & World Report. Alabama NewsCenter is publishing advice from Dr. Ann.