According to a new study, people who are more religious were at a lower risk for depression than people who weren’t, and the researchers believe it may be because of how spirituality affects the brain. The research team conducted brain scans on hundreds of patients and found that those who described themselves as religious had thicker outer cortexes of grey matter—an indication of a healthy brain. The larger cortexes were most noticeable in patients who were religious and have a family history of depression. The findings seem to suggest that religion and spirituality can cause physical changes and increased thickness in the brain’s grey matter, and can ultimately help fight depression …
