Momfulness

According to this study, when a baby is held a calming response is experienced in the parasympatheic nervous system and a part of the brain called the cerebellum. The cerebellum sits at the very back and bottom of our brains and manages things like breathing, heart rate, balance and movement. 

• Although the cerebellum is only 10% of brain volume it holds over 50% of your brain's neurons. Neuroscientists are perplexed by everything that the cerebellum does. This study offers one more valuable clue. 
• Scientists have known for years that the cerebellum is directly linked to a feedback loop with the vagus nerve which keeps heart rate slow and gives you grace under pressure. As adults, we can calm ourselves by practicing mindfulness and Loving-Kindness Meditation which puts the cerebellum at peace and creates a parasympathetic response of well being. This appears to be the same response that occurs in infants when they are being carried.