Month: March 2016

Improve Physical and Cognitive Function with Tai Chi

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Because Tai Chi may impact cognitive function via a diverse and potentially synergistic set of mechanistic pathways, it is plausible that it may offer benefits superior to interventions that target only single pathways (e.g., aerobic training or stress reduction alone)” – Peter Wayne

 

The process of aging affects every aspect of the physical and cognitive domains. Every system in the body deteriorates including motor function with a decline in strength, flexibility, and balance. Impaired balance is a particular problem as it can lead to falls. In the U.S. one third of people over 65 fall each year and 2.5 million are treated in emergency rooms for injuries produced by falls. About 1% of falls result in deaths making it the leading cause of death due to injury among the elderly. It is obviously important to investigate methods to improve balance and decrease the number of fall in the elderly.

 

Perhaps more troubling than the physical decline is the mental deterioration that occurs with aging. This is called age related cognitive decline and includes decreases in memory, attention, and problem solving ability. This occurs to everyone as they age, but to varying degrees. Some deteriorate into a dementia, while others maintain high levels of cognitive capacity into very advanced ages. It is estimated that around 30% of the elderly show significant age related cognitive decline. But, remember that this also means that 70% of the elderly retain reasonable levels of cognitive ability.

 

It is, therefore, important to investigate methods to slow the mental decline during aging. Some promising methods are contemplative practices which have been shown to restrain age related declines. One particularly promising method is the ancient eastern practice of Tai Chi. It is particularly promising due to the fact that it is both a physical and a mental practice. Indeed, tai chi practice has been shown to slow cognitive decline in aging.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effects of Tai Chi and Western Exercise on Physical and Cognitive Functioning in Healthy Community-Dwelling Older Adults”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1177689028921688/?type=3&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4699673/

Taylor-Piliae and colleagues randomly assigned sedentary adults over 60 years of age to either a tai chi practice, a physical exercise program, or attention (healthy aging) training. Training occurred twice a week in 90-minute classes and three times per week in home practices. They measured the physical and mental capabilities of the participants at 6 and 12 months of training. They found that both the tai chi and exercise groups improved in both flexibility and balance in comparison to the control condition. At 6 months the tai chi group was superior with balance while the exercise group was superior in flexibility, but at 12 months the two groups were equivalently superior to the control group in both flexibility and balance. In contrast, only the tai chi group demonstrated improved levels of cognitive function including memory and semantic fluency at both 6 and 12 months.

 

These results suggest that both tai chi and exercise are effective in slowing the physical decline with aging but tai chi has the added benefit of also slowing the cognitive decline. Since tai chi is safe, with no known adverse effects, and a gentle practice it is very appropriate for an aging population. Also, since it can be taught and practiced in groups and easily maintained at home, it is a very inexpensive intervention. This makes it almost ideal for aging individuals on fixed incomes.

 

The results suggest that tai chi practice may be helpful in preventing falls as a result of improvement in balance and flexibility and slow the mental decline with aging. This indicates that tai chi practice should be recommended for elderly individuals to help maintain their physical and mental abilities. So, improve physical and cognitive function with tai chi.

 

“There is growing evidence that Tai Chi can significantly reduce the risk of cognitive impairment and improve cognitive function.” – Exercise Medicine Australia

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Stop Self-Medicating with Opioids with Mindfulness

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

 

 “The abuse of and addiction to opioids such as heroin, morphine, and prescription pain relievers is a serious global problem that affects the health, social, and economic welfare of all societies.  It is estimated that between 26.4 million and 36 million people abuse opioids worldwide, with an estimated 2.1 million people in the United States suffering from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers in 2012 and an estimated 467,000 addicted to heroin.  The consequences of this abuse have been devastating and are on the rise.” – Nora D. Volkow

 

The over prescription of opioid painkillers in the United States has become a major problem. The number of prescriptions for opioids (like hydrocodone and oxycodone products) have increased from around 76 million in 1991 to nearly 207 million in 2013. This creates a major problem because of the strong addictive qualities of opioids. As a result, opioid addiction has become epidemic in the United States. It is estimated that over 2 million Americans abuse or are addicted on opioid painkillers. These addictions have stark economic costs. It is estimated that the abuse of prescription opioids costs around $60 billion a year, with 46% attributable to workplace costs (e.g., lost productivity), 45% to healthcare costs (e.g., abuse treatment), and 9% to criminal justice costs.

 

Opioid abuse, however produces even worse consequences than those created by addiction. It is deadly. It has become so bad that drug overdose is now the leading cause of injury death, causing more deaths than motor vehicle accidents. This is a problem both of illegal drug use but even more so of abuse of legally obtained prescription drugs. Of the over 44,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States 52% were from prescription drugs. It would help if doctors were more judicious in prescribing opioids. But, there will still be a need to assist those who abuse or become addicted.

 

It appears that to some extent opioid abuse occurs from a desire to escape from negative emotions. The abuser then self-medicates with opioids to help them feel better. Hence, it may be helpful to better understand this self-medication to better design treatments for abuse and addiction. Mindfulness training has been shown to be helpful in recovering from addictions. So, it would seem reasonable to investigate the relationship of mindfulness to self-medication. In today’s Research News article “Low Dispositional Mindfulness Predicts Self-Medication of Negative Emotion with Prescription Opioids”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1176972385660019/?type=3&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4310788/

Garland and colleagues examined the characteristics, including mindfulness and self-medication, of opioid abusers who were seeking treatment. Remarkably they found that 95% of the abusers reported using opioids to self-medicate from the negative emotions of anxiety, fear, depression, sadness, anger, or frustration. Importantly, the higher the abuser was in mindfulness the lower the use of opioids for self-medication from negative emotions.

 

These findings suggest that mindfulness may be an antidote for self-medication use of opioids for the relief of negative emotional states. But, we cannot jump to this conclusion as the study was observational and did not manipulate mindfulness. So, mindfulness may lower self-medication, or self-medication may lower mindfulness, or some third factor such as intensity of addiction may be related to both. It will require further research to determine causation.

 

One of the key effects of mindfulness is that it appears to heighten emotion regulation. The individual then experiences the emotions fully, doesn’t suppress them, but is able to respond to them appropriately and adaptively. So, when experiencing negative emotions, a highly mindful person would be able to respond appropriately and not try to escape them with opioids.

 

Regardless of the explanation it is clear that when mindfulness is high, self-medication with opioids is low. So, stop self-medicating with opioids with mindfulness.

 

“We can teach people to use mindfulness to appreciate and enjoy life more, and by doing that, they may feel less of a need for addictive drugs.” – Eric Garland

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Calm Anxiety with Yoga

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“Yoga helps our entire system slow down. Our bodies are programmed to heal naturally, and what stops that healing are all the stressors of daily life. Yoga dissolves those stressors for the time during practice and usually the effects last for hours after.” – Elena Brower

 

Yoga practice is multifaceted. It is a physical exercise that strengthens the body. It is also a spiritual practice which can bring insights and understanding. But, it also a mind practice which can bring profound psychological changes. (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/contemplative-practice/yoga-contemplative-practice/). These psychological changes can be positive enhancing the current state. But they can also be beneficial for the treatment of negative states, mental illness.

 

Everyone experiences occasional anxiety and that is normal. But, frequent or very high levels of anxiety can be quite debilitating. These are termed anxiety disorders and they are the most common psychological problem. In the U.S., they affect over 40 million adults, 18% of the population, with women accounting for 60% of sufferers One out of every three absences from work are caused by high levels of anxiety and it is the most common reason for chronic school absenteeism. In addition, people with an anxiety disorder are three-to-five times more likely to go to the doctor and six times more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorders than non-sufferers, making it a major burden on the healthcare system.

 

Anxiety disorders typically include feelings of panic, fear, and uneasiness, problems sleeping, cold or sweaty hands and/or feet, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, an inability to be still and calm, dry mouth, and numbness or tingling in the hands or feet. They have generally been treated with drugs. It has been estimated that 11% of women in the U.S. are taking anti-anxiety medications. But, there are considerable side effects and these drugs are often abused. Although, psychological therapy can be effective it is costly and not available to large numbers of sufferers. So, there is a need to investigate alternative treatments.

 

Contemplative practices appear to be a viable alternative (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/research-news/anxiety/). Indeed, yoga practice has been shown to be a safe and effective method to reduce anxiety (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/?s=yoga+anxiety). There are many variations of yoga practice. In order to understand which types of practice and which components are most affective against anxiety, there is a need to compare the effectiveness of different types of yoga practice for the treatment of anxiety disorders.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effect of Integrated Yoga Module on Selected Psychological Variables among Women with Anxiety Problem”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1176415959048995/?type=3&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4655636/

Parthasarathy and colleagues compared 8-weeks, 45 minutes per day, of Yoga practice, Integrated Yoga practice, and no treatment for the treatment of patients with anxiety disorders. The Yoga practice consisted of training in breath control, yoga postures, and relaxation. The Integrated Yoga practice consisted of training in loosening exercises, breath control, yoga postures, and guided meditation (Yoga Nidra). They found that both types of yoga practice reduced anxiety, but the Integrated Yoga practice produced the greatest reduction in anxiety levels. Interesting the reverse was found when measuring reactions to frustration with both yoga practices reducing reactions to frustration but with the Yoga practice superior to the Integrated Yoga practice.

 

These findings support the prior findings that yoga practice is a safe and effective method to treat anxiety disorders. In addition, they extend previous findings by showing that yoga practice can also improve the individual’s reaction to frustration. Since frustration often leads to emotionality, this yoga produced reduction in reactivity to frustration may be one of the mechanisms by which yoga is effective for emotional issues including anxiety.

 

It appears from the results that the addition of guided meditation (Yoga Nidra) practice to the yoga practice may add additional anxiety reduction to that produced by the yoga practice alone. It has been shown previously that yoga practice reduces anxiety. It has also been shown that meditation reduces anxiety levels (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/?s=meditation+anxiety). The current results suggest that the effects of yoga and meditation may be additive. By combining the two a significantly better treatment for anxiety is produced.

 

So, calm anxiety with yoga.

 

“Continual focus and obsession with thoughts of fear and worry will only create additional levels of anxiety. Yoga and meditation allow us to have control over our thoughts through mental detachment and the ability to focus the mind on the present experience.” – Timothy Burgin

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

 

Think More Critically with Mindfulness

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“Mindfulness slows things down so we can be more deliberate in our critical thinking process.” – Lalith Gunaratne

 

“Critical thinking is the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment.”

 

Currently, there is a major deficit in critical thinking skills being taught in schools.  Only around 5% of U.S. high school seniors demonstrated the ability to not only comprehend text, but also to analyze and evaluate it. This underscores the need to find ways to improve critical thinking.

Mindfulness, the ability to pay attention in the present moment without judgment, affects our thought processes in mostly positive ways. It has been shown to improve the ability to control our thinking, termed executive function and the extremely important ability to think critically (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/research-news/cognition/). Because of this, mindfulness training is being applied in schools to help facilitate learning (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/research-news/school/).

 

Because it is such a critical consequence of mindfulness, it is important to further investigate the effects of mindfulness on critical thinking. In today’s Research News article “Does Mindfulness Enhance Critical Thinking? Evidence for the Mediating Effects of Executive Functioning in the Relationship between Mindfulness and Critical Thinking”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1175808369109754/?type=3&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4717844/

Noone and colleagues study the relationship between mindfulness and executive function to explore whether mindfulness may produce its effects on critical thinking as a result of its effects on executive function. They measured mindfulness, critical thinking, and executive function in college students.

 

They found that the levels of mindfulness of the students were not directly related to critical thinking performance. On the other hand, they found strong relationships between executive function components and critical thinking. In particular, the updating component of executive function was strongly related to critical thinking and the Inhibition component was moderately related. Updating involves the active revision and monitoring of thinking and the continuous updating of working memory. In other words, critical thinking requires the ability to constantly revise thought processes as ideas are analyzed. Inhibition involves the suppression of intrusive thoughts or responses in order to keep attention on the problem at hand. In other words, critical thinking requires the ability to control the interference from irrelevant thinking and thereby concentrating on the problem. Interestingly, mindfulness appeared to have a small relationship with critical thinking. The observing component of mindfulness was positively related to the inhibition component of executive function which is directly facilitative of critical thinking.

 

At least in the current analysis, mindfulness appears to be indirectly and only mildly related to critical thinking through its observing facet. It appears to do so by improving attention which screens out thoughts that are not pertinent to working on the problem. It allows for better focus and therefore better critical thinking.

 

So, think more critically with mindfulness.

 

“Mindfulness practice is the kale to my high-stimulus lifestyle, but man cannot live by kale alone. I’m balancing my diet with the whole three course meal. Mindfulness, Mind Yoga and Introspective Intelligence are all practices to have on our plates.” – Jeremy Sherman

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Protect the Brain from Aging with Meditation

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“Accumulating scientific evidence that meditation has brain-altering capabilities might ultimately allow for an effective translation from research to practice, not only in the framework of healthy aging but also pathological aging.” – Eileen Luders

 

The nervous system is a dynamic entity that changes in response to the experiences of the individuals and the demands they place upon it. This is a process called neuroplasticity. Contemplative practices place demands upon the brain and as a result produce neuroplastic changes increasing the size, activity, and connectivity of some structures while decreasing them in others (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/research-news/brain-systems/). In other words, contemplative practices appear to mold and change the brain.

 

We all want to live longer. We celebrate the increasing longevity of the population. But, aging is a mixed blessing. The aging process involves a systematic progressive decline in every system in the body, the brain included. It cannot be avoided. But, there is evidence that it can be slowed. Contemplative practices such as meditation, yoga, and tai chi or qigong have all been shown to be beneficial in slowing or delaying physical and mental decline with aging (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/research-news/aging/).

 

Using modern neuroimaging techniques, scientists have been able to view the changes that occur in the nervous system with aging. In addition, they have been able to investigate various techniques that might slow the process of neurodegeneration that accompanies normal aging. They’ve found that mindfulness practices reduce the deterioration of the brain that occurs with aging restraining the loss of neural tissue (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/research-news/brain-systems/). Indeed, the brains of practitioners of meditation and yoga have been found to degenerate less with aging than non-practitioners.

 

The structural changes that occur in the brain with aging involve a decrease in both grey matter, the neuron cell bodies, and white matter, the axons that interconnect structures. There have been numerous studies of the changes in grey matter that occur with aging and with contemplative practices, but there has been little research into changes in white matter. In today’s Research News article “Effects of Long-Term Mindfulness Meditation on Brain’s White Matter Microstructure and its Aging”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1174947885862469/?type=3&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4712309/

Laneri and colleagues performed diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) on a group of adult long-term meditators and a comparable group who had never meditated. DTI measures the volume, connectivity, and integrity of white matter. They specifically investigated five areas of the white matter that are connected to areas that had previously been shown to be affected by meditation practice.

 

They found that four of the five areas investigated, Thalamus, Insula, Amygdala, and Hippocampus had significantly higher volume and activation in the meditators relative to the control participants. In addition, the meditators did not show the age related decline in volume and activation in all five structures that was apparent in the non-meditators. In other words, long-term meditation practice appears to spare the connections between key structures in the brain from age related declines. This supplements previous findings of increases in grey matter volume in these areas in meditators.

 

These results, together with previous studies of meditation effects on the brain suggest that meditation not only increases the size of neural areas but also the size and activation of their interconnections. Hence meditation appears to result in improved function in these areas. Importantly, these results suggest that meditation practice also helps to maintain the integrity of these structures during aging. These may be the neural changes underlying the protection that meditation produces from cognitive decline that occurs in aging.

 

Hence, meditation is an anti-aging practice. It may help to keep our nervous systems healthier for longer and as a result keep our mental abilities sharp for longer. So, protect the brain from aging with meditation.

 

“There is a natural and easy method to turn aging on its heels that few people know about. It is the simple practice of meditation.” – EOC Institute

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies