Month: March 2018

Improve Cardiovascular Function in Heart Failure Patients with Tai Chi

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Improve Cardiovascular Function in Heart Failure Patients with Tai Chi

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Tai chi has proven especially beneficial for people with heart failure, who tend to be tired and weak as a result of their heart’s diminished pumping ability. The upper- and lower-body movements safely strengthen the heart and major muscle groups.” – Harvard Health Letter

 

Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer, claiming more lives than all forms of cancer combined. “Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. About 610,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year–that’s 1 in every 4 deaths. Every year about 735,000 Americans have a heart attack.” (Centers for Disease Control). A myriad of treatments has been developed for heart disease including a variety of surgical procedures and medications. In addition, lifestyle changes have proved to be effective including quitting smoking, weight reduction, improved diet, physical activity, and reducing stresses. Cardiac rehabilitation programs for patients recovering from a heart failure, emphasize these lifestyle changes. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, 60% of heart failure patients decline participation, making these patients at high risk for another attack.

 

Contemplative practices, such as meditation, tai chi, and yoga, have also been shown to be helpful for heart health. In addition, mindfulness practices have also been shown to be helpful for producing the kinds of other lifestyle changes needed such as smoking cessation, weight reduction and stress reduction.  Tai Chi and Qigong are ancient mindfulness practices involving slow prescribed movements. They are gentle and completely safe, can be used with the elderly and sickly, are inexpensive to administer, can be performed in groups or alone, at home or in a facility or even public park, and can be quickly learned. In addition, they can also be practiced in social groups without professional supervision. This can make it fun, improving the likelihood of long-term engagement in the practice.

 

Since Tai Chi is both a mindfulness practice and an exercise, it may be an acceptable and effective treatment for heart failure patients. In today’s Research News article “The Effects of Tai Chi Training in Patients with Heart Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5770613/ ), Ren and colleagues review, summarize, and perform a meta-analysis of the 11 published research studies with a combined 636 patients, on the effectiveness of Tai Chi practice for the treatment of heart failure patients.

 

They report that the research findings support the conclusions that Tai Chi practice significantly increases the distance that the patients can walk in 6 minutes. It also significantly reduces heart rate and the levels of serum B-type natriuretic peptide; a marker of heart failure and significantly increases left ventricular ejection fraction; a marker of heart health. But, they also report that Tai Chi practice did not improve a number of other measures of cardiac function; including systolic and diastolic blood pressure, maximum oxygen uptake, and timed get up and go.

 

These results are encouraging and suggest that Tai Chi practice can improve many aspects of cardiac function in patients with heart failure. But, its’ usefulness must be tempered with the understanding that not all measure of heart health are improved. This suggests that that Tai Chi practice should be used in combination with other therapies to improve the symptoms of heart failure. The fact that it’s gentle and safe, convenient, inexpensive and social make it an ideal exercise to be employed as a step toward more intense exercises for heart health. It should be helpful in helping the 60% of heart failure patients who refuse exercise programs to slowly improve and transition into more intense exercise.

 

So, improve cardiovascular function in heart failure patients with Tai Chi.

 

“for people who don’t do cardiac rehab, tai chi may be a way to entice them to start exercising in a gentle, less intimidating way. It may also act as a gateway to other types of more traditional and intensive exercise that have been shown to improve fitness and potentially lower risk of having further heart attacks.” – Alice Park

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Xiaomeng Ren, Yanda Li, Xinyu Yang, Jie Li, Huilong Li, Zhengzhong Yuan, Yikun Sun, Hongcai Shang, Yanwei Xing, Yonghong Gao. The Effects of Tai Chi Training in Patients with Heart Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Front Physiol. 2017; 8: 989. Published online 2017 Dec 7. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2017.00989

 

Abstract

Heart Failure (HF) is associated with significantly high morbidity and mortality. We performed a meta-analysis and updated new evidences from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to determine the effects of Tai Chi (TC) in patients with HF. Electronic literature search of Medline, PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, China national knowledge infrastructure (CNKI), and Wan Fang Database was conducted from inception of their establishment until 2017. And we also searched Clinical Trials Registries (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ and www.controlled-trials.com) for on-going studies. A total of 11 trials with 656 patients were available for analysis. The results suggested that TC was associated with an obviously improved 6-min walk distance [6MWD, weighted mean difference (WMD) 65.29 m; 95% CI 32.55–98.04] and quality of life (Qol, WMD −11.52 points; 95% CI −16.5 to −6.98) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF, WMD 9.94%; 95% CI 6.95 to 12.93). TC was shown to reduce serum B-type natriuretic peptide [BNP, standard mean difference (SMD) −1.08 pg/mL; 95% CI −1.91 to −0.26] and heart rate (HR, WMD −2.52 bpm; 95% CI −3.49 to −1.55). In summary, our meta-analysis demonstrated the clinical evidence about TC for HF is inconclusive. TC could improve 6MWD, Qol and LVEF in patients with HF and may reduce BNP and HR. However, there is a lack of evidence to support TC altering other important long-term clinical outcomes so far. Further larger and more sustainable RCTs are urgently needed to investigate the effects of TC.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5770613/

Reduce Distress at Hearing Voices with Self-Compassion and Mindfulness

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Reduce Distress at Hearing Voices with Self-Compassion and Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mindfulness is increasingly being used for psychological approaches to voice-hearing and other experiences that can be seen as ‘psychotic’ . . The aim of mindfulness is to develop an accepting approach to thoughts and feelings and through understanding these experiences develop more detachment and choice about how they influence us.” – Hearing Voices Network

 

Hearing voices is quite common, occurring in around 2% – 4% of the population. Neuroimaging has demonstrated that the voices that people hear are experienced as if there were a real person talking to them with the same brain areas becoming active during voice hearing as during listening to actual speech. So, it would appear that voice hearers are actually experiencing voices.

 

Hearing voices (auditory hallucinations) is seen as a prime symptom of psychosis and is considered a first rank symptom of schizophrenia. Hearing voices, however, is not always indicative of psychosis. But, only about a third of voice hearers are considered psychotic. On the other hand, about two thirds of voice hearers are quite healthy and function well. They cope effectively with the voices they’re hearing, do not receive the diagnosis of psychosis, and do not require psychiatric care.

 

The differences between people with psychoses and healthy people who hear voices, is not in the form but the content of the heard speech. Non-psychotic individuals hear voices both inside and outside their head just like the psychotic patients but either the content is positive or the individual feels positive about the voice or that they are in control of it. By contrast the psychotic patients are frightened of the voices, the voices are more malevolent, and they feel less control over them. Mindfulness has been shown to be negatively related to the distress felt by the individual about hearing voices, such that the higher the level of mindfulness, the lower the level of distress.

 

In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness of voices, self‐compassion, and secure attachment in relation to the experience of hearing voices.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5811822/ ), Dudley and colleagues explore the relationships between mindfulness, self-compassion, and distress and severity of hearing voices. They recruited adults through social media who currently hear voices and administered an on-line survey. They completed scales measuring self-compassion; including self‐kindness, self‐judgement, common humanity, mindfulness, isolation, and over‐identification, mindfulness of voices, severity of voices; including frequency, negative content, loudness, distress, impact on self‐appraisal, clarity, and compliance with commands., and attachment styles: including secure, dismissing, preoccupied, and fearful.

 

They found that the higher the levels of mindfulness of voices and self-compassion, the lower the levels of severity of voices and fearful attachment and the higher the levels of secure attachment style. Mediation analysis demonstrated that self-compassion, in part, mediated the negative relationship between mindfulness of voices and severity of voices, and that mindfulness of voices, in part, mediated the negative relationship between self-compassion and severity of voices. In other words, people who were high in mindfulness of voices tended to also be high in self-compassion and, in turn, low in the severity of the impact of hearing voices.

 

These results suggest that how difficult and distressful the voices are for the individual is lower when the individual is mindful about the voices and when the individual has a high degree of compassion for themselves. These results are correlational. So, causation cannot be concluded. There is a need for future research to train mindfulness and/or self-compassion and observe whether there are commensurate changes in how distressful the voices are to determine if changes in mindfulness and self-compassion may cause reductions in the distress caused by hearing voices. If this is found to be the case then these trainings may be an effective means to reduce the distress produced by hearing voices and prevent hearing voices from becoming a basis for a psychosis.

 

So, reduce distress at hearing voices with self-compassion and mindfulness.

 

“mindfulness practice and discussion, . . .delivered over 12 weeks effectively impacts key dimensions of the voice hearing experience, supports meaningful behaviour change, and has lasting effects on mood,” – Batya Swift Yasgur

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

James Dudley, Catrin Eames, John Mulligan, Naomi Fisher. Mindfulness of voices, self‐compassion, and secure attachment in relation to the experience of hearing voices. Br J Clin Psychol. 2018 Mar; 57(1): 1–17. Published online 2017 Aug 12. doi: 10.1111/bjc.12153

 

Abstract

Objectives

Developing compassion towards oneself has been linked to improvement in many areas of psychological well‐being, including psychosis. Furthermore, developing a non‐judgemental, accepting way of relating to voices is associated with lower levels of distress for people who hear voices. These factors have also been associated with secure attachment. This study explores associations between the constructs of mindfulness of voices, self‐compassion, and distress from hearing voices and how secure attachment style related to each of these variables.

Design

Cross‐sectional online.

Method

One hundred and twenty‐eight people (73% female; M age = 37.5; 87.5% Caucasian) who currently hear voices completed the Self‐Compassion Scale, Southampton Mindfulness of Voices Questionnaire, Relationships Questionnaire, and Hamilton Programme for Schizophrenia Voices Questionnaire.

Results

Results showed that mindfulness of voices mediated the relationship between self‐compassion and severity of voices, and self‐compassion mediated the relationship between mindfulness of voices and severity of voices. Self‐compassion and mindfulness of voices were significantly positively correlated with each other and negatively correlated with distress and severity of voices.

Conclusion

Mindful relation to voices and self‐compassion are associated with reduced distress and severity of voices, which supports the proposed potential benefits of mindful relating to voices and self‐compassion as therapeutic skills for people experiencing distress by voice hearing.

Practitioner points

  • Greater self‐compassion and mindfulness of voices were significantly associated with less distress from voices. These findings support theory underlining compassionate mind training.
  • Mindfulness of voices mediated the relationship between self‐compassion and distress from voices, indicating a synergistic relationship between the constructs.
  • Although the current findings do not give a direction of causation, consideration is given to the potential impact of mindful and compassionate approaches to voices.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5811822/

Improve Psychological Health with Dynamic Mindfulness

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Improve Psychological Health with Dynamic Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Ultimately, engaging in mindfulness meditation cultivates our ability to both focus and broaden our attention, which is a practical way to elicit psychological well-being.” – Jennifer Wolkin

 

Mindfulness training has been shown to be effective in improving physical and psychological health and particularly with the physical and psychological reactions to stress. Techniques such as Mindfulness Training, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) as well as Yoga practice and Tai Chi or Qigong practice have been demonstrated to be effective. This has led to an increasing adoption of these mindfulness techniques for the health and well-being of both healthy and ill individuals.

 

“Langerian mindfulness is defined as the process of paying attention on purpose to the present moment, of being aware of novelty in experiences or situations, and of perceiving differences in contexts and events.” This is a more dynamic view of mindfulness than the view contained in most measures of mindfulness. It includes the classic idea of mindfulness but also extends it to include impermanence and the ever-changing nature of reality. It emphasizes the continuous dynamic change that produces novelty in every present moment. This view of mindfulness, however, has not been examined for its benefits.

 

In today’s Research News article “Langerian mindfulness, quality of life and psychological symptoms in a sample of Italian students.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5801901/ ), Pagnini and colleagues examine the relationship of Langerian mindfulness with psychological well-being. They recruited college students and measured their levels of mindfulness with the Langer Mindfulness Scale. In addition, the students completed measures of quality of life, including physical, psychological, social relationships, and environment dimensions, and measures of psychological symptoms, including somatization, obsessive compulsive disorder, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation and psychoticism.

 

They found that the higher the levels of Langerian mindfulness, including novelty seeking, novelty producing, and particularly engagement, the higher the levels of physical and psychological health, and the lower the levels of psychological symptoms, including obsessive compulsive disorder, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, hostility, and phobic anxiety. The study was correlational, so no conclusions regarding causation can be reached.

 

The results indicate that Langerian mindfulness is associated with higher levels of physical and mental health. This further suggests that maintaining openness and attention to novelty throughout one’s daily life is associated with mental and physical wellness. It is not clear whether this dynamic, Langerian, view of mindfulness produces clear associations than the classic more static mindfulness view. It remains for future research to compare the two approaches and actively manipulate their levels through training to conclusively demonstrate that Langerian mindfulness causes improvements in mental and physical health.

 

So, improve psychological health with dynamic mindfulness.

 

“Mindfulness also allows us to become more aware of the stream of thoughts and feelings that we experience and to see how we can become entangled in that stream in ways that are not helpful.” – Mark Williams

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Francesco Pagnini, Katherine E. Bercovitz, Deborah Phillips. Langerian mindfulness, quality of life and psychological symptoms in a sample of Italian students. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2018; 16: 29. Published online 2018 Feb 6. doi: 10.1186/s12955-018-0856-4

 

Abstract

Background

Noticing new things, accepting the continuously changing nature of circumstances, and flexibly shifting perspectives in concert with changing contexts constitute the essential features of Langerian mindfulness. This contrasts with a “mindless” approach in which one remains fixed in a singular mindset and is closed off to new possibilities. Despite potentially important clinical applications for this construct, few studies have explored them. The instrument developed to measure Langerian mindfulness is the Langer Mindfulness Scale (LMS), although this tool has been limited primarily to English-speaking populations. The study aimed to test LMS validity in the Italian language and to analyze the relationships between Langerian mindfulness and well-being.

Methods

We translated the LMS into Italian, analyzed its factor structure, and investigated the correlation between mindfulness and quality of life and psychological well-being in a sample of 248 Italian students (88.7% females, mean age 20.05). A confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the tri-dimensional structure of the English LMS in the Italian version.

Results

The primary analysis found a significant negative correlation between mindfulness and psychological symptoms including obsessive-compulsive tendencies, depression, anxiety, and paranoid ideation. There was also a positive correlation between mindfulness and reports of quality of life.

Conclusions

The Italian LMS appears reliable and it shows relevant correlations with well-being.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5801901/

Improve Psychological Health with Mindfulness Smartphone Aps

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Improve Psychological Health with Mindfulness Smartphone Aps

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“With apps reaching more people than face-to-face teaching can, he says, “nothing will influence how mindfulness is perceived and practised in our culture more in the next 20 years”. – Amy Fleming

 

Mindfulness training has been shown through extensive research to be effective in improving physical and psychological health and particularly with the physical and psychological reactions to stress. The vast majority of the mindfulness training techniques, however, require a certified trained therapist. This results in costs that many clients can’t afford. In addition, the participants must be available to attend multiple sessions at particular scheduled times that may or may not be compatible with their busy schedules and at locations that may not be convenient. As an alternative, Apps for smartphones have been developed. These have tremendous advantages in decreasing costs, making training schedules much more flexible, and eliminating the need to go repeatedly to specific locations. But, the question arises as to the effectiveness of these Apps in inducing mindfulness and improving psychological health.

 

In today’s Research News article “Efficacy of a Mindfulness-Based Mobile Application: a Randomized Waiting-List Controlled Trial.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5770479/ ), van Emmerik and colleagues recruited adults who had an interest in mindfulness and spirituality through social media and randomly assigned them to either a mindfulness App group or a wait-list control group.

 

The mindfulness App participants were directed to download from the App Store of Google Play Store the VGZ Mindfulness Coach App and complete the 5-week program consisting of 25 exercises including “breathing exercises, attention exercises, body scan exercises, guided meditation exercises, visualization exercises, mantra exercises, and yoga exercises.” The participants were measured before the program and 8 and 20 weeks later for mindfulness, including the observing, describing, non-reacting, non-judging, and acting with awareness facets, quality of life, including physical health, psychological health, social relationships and environment, psychiatric symptomology, self-actualization, and satisfaction with the App.

 

They found that the App produced large significant increases in mindfulness including all five facets, psychological health, social relationships and environment, and decreases in psychiatric symptomology. In addition, the participants reported a high degree of satisfaction and engagement with the App. Hence, the mindfulness App group evidenced marked improvement in mindfulness and psychological health.

 

The results need to be interpreted with caution as the study did not contain an active control condition. This leaves open the possibility that the results were affected by biases such as placebo effects, demand characteristics, experimenter bias, etc. Nevertheless, with these caveats in mind, the results suggest that mindfulness can be increased with a smartphone app which may, in turn, improve psychological health in otherwise healthy individuals. This is exciting as the low cost, convenience, and ease of use, of such Apps allows for widespread applicability. This may provide a low-cost means of improving the mindfulness and psychological health of large swaths of the general population.

 

So, improve psychological health with mindfulness smartphone Aps.

 

“Every app uses varying voices, work flow styles, and types of guided meditation. . . At the end of the day, the most important thing is that you feel drawn to practice everyday.” – Marylyn Wei

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Arnold A. P. van Emmerik, Fieke Berings, Jaap Lancee. Efficacy of a Mindfulness-Based Mobile Application: a Randomized Waiting-List Controlled Trial. Mindfulness (N Y) 2018; 9(1): 187–198. Published online 2017 Jun 21. doi: 10.1007/s12671-017-0761-7

 

Abstract

Although several hundreds of apps are available that (cl)aim to promote mindfulness, only a few methodologically sound studies have evaluated the efficacy of these apps. This randomized waiting-list controlled trial therefore tested the hypothesis that one such app (the VGZ Mindfulness Coach) can achieve immediate and long-term improvements of mindfulness, quality of life, general psychiatric symptoms, and self-actualization. One hundred ninety-one experimental participants received the VGZ Mindfulness Coach, which offers 40 mindfulness exercises and background information about mindfulness without any form of therapeutic guidance. Compared to 186 control participants, they reported large (Cohen’s d = 0.77) and statistically significant increases of mindfulness after 8 weeks and small-to-medium increases of the Observing, Describing, Acting with awareness, Nonjudging, and Nonreactivity mindfulness facets as measured with the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (Cohen’s d = 0.66, 0.26, 0.49, 0.34, and 0.43, respectively). Also, there were large decreases of general psychiatric symptoms (GHQ-12; Cohen’s d = −0.68) and moderate increases of psychological, social, and environmental quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF; Cohen’s d = 0.38, 0.38, and 0.36, respectively). Except for social quality of life, these gains were maintained for at least 3 months. We conclude that it is possible to achieve durable positive effects on mindfulness, general psychiatric symptoms, and several aspects of quality of life at low costs with smartphone apps for mindfulness such as the VGZ Mindfulness Coach.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5770479/

Improve Migraine Headaches with Spiritual Meditation

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Improve Migraine Headaches with Spiritual Meditation

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Meditation is an ancient spiritual practice that people are still using today to get headache relief. This mind-body practice seems to work by relieving stress associated with headache pain.” – Chris Iliades

 

Migraine headaches are a torment far beyond the suffering of a common headache. It is an intense throbbing pain usually unilateral, focused on only one side of the head and lasts from 4 hours to 3 days. They are actually a collection of neurological symptoms. Migraines often include: visual disturbances, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, extreme sensitivity to sound, light, touch and smell, and tingling or numbness in the extremities or face. Migraines are the 8th most disabling illness in the world. In the U.S. they affect roughly 40 million men, women and children. While most sufferers experience attacks once or twice a month, 14 million people or about 4% have chronic daily headaches. Migraines are very disruptive to the sufferer’s personal and work lives as most people are unable to work or function normally when experiencing a migraine.

 

There is no known cure for migraine headaches. Treatments are targeted at managing the symptoms. Prescription and over-the-counter pain relievers are frequently used. There are a number of drug and drug combinations that appear to reduce the frequency of migraine attacks. These vary in effectiveness but unfortunately can have troubling side effects and some are addictive. Behaviorally, relaxation and sleep appear to help lower the frequency of migraines. Mindfulness practices have been shown to reduce stress and improve relaxation. So, they may be useful in preventing migraines. Indeed, it has been shown that mindfulness practice can reduce headache pain.

 

There are a wide variety of meditation techniques. It is not known which kinds work best for migraine headaches. In today’s Research News article “Effect of Different Meditation Types on Migraine Headache Medication Use.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4600642/ ), Wachholtz and colleagues examine the effectiveness of spiritual focused vs. secular meditation techniques on treating migraine headaches. They recruited adult migraine sufferers who had at least 2 migraine headaches per month and who were naive to meditation. They were randomly assigned to one of four groups who meditated for 20 minutes per day for 30 days; Spiritual Meditation, Internally Focused Secular Meditation, Externally Focused Secular Meditation, or Progressive Muscle Relaxation.

 

The meditation techniques differed in a phrase that the participants repeated to themselves and used as a focus for their meditation during the 20-minute daily period. For the Spiritual Meditation group the participants chose one of four phrases; “God is peace,” “God is joy,” God is good,” and “God is love.” For the Secular Internal Meditation group the participants chose either; “I am content,” “I am joyful,” “I am good,” “I am happy.” For the Secular External Meditation group the participants chose either; “Grass is green,” “Sand is soft,” “Cotton is fluffy,” “Cloth is smooth.” The Relaxation group practiced progressive muscle relaxation, systematically tensing and relaxing muscles. Participants were measured before and after the 30 days of meditation for headache frequency, intensity, and usage of migraine medications, and for spiritual and religious experiences and activities. They also maintained daily headache diaries.

 

They found that while all groups showed some improvement in migraine frequency, the Spiritual Meditation groups had significantly greater improvement than the other groups. In addition, while all groups showed significant reduction in the use of migraine medications, the Spiritual Meditation groups had significantly greater reductions. There was, however, no change in the severity of the migraines. Hence, although there were fewer headaches, when they did occur they were just as intense as usual. It should be noted, however, that there wasn’t a no-treatment control. So, it is unclear that improvements would not have occurred without treatment.

 

The results suggest that meditation and relaxation, but especially spiritually focused meditation, can improve migraine frequency and medication use. Mindfulness practices, in the previous research have been shown to be effective in treating pain from a variety of sources including headaches. It is not clear, however, why meditating with a spiritual focus is superior to secular focused meditation or relaxation. Perhaps focusing on a greater power relieves the stress of searching for the sources of the headaches within the self or the environment, and the stress reduction, in turn, reduces the likelihood of a migraine.

 

So, improve migraine headaches with spiritual meditation.

 

“This kind of moment-to-moment, positive mindfulness is crucial for chronic pain sufferers. Pain is only ever exacerbated by depression and despair. And depression and despair most definitely intensify pain. Thus, the dark circle of chronic illness. Mindfulness can stop this cycle in its tracks by allowing the patient to take back control and climb out of the gloom, a single moment at a time. “ – Ashley Jonkman

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Wachholtz, A. B., Malone, C. D., & Pargament, K. I. (2017). Effect of Different Meditation Types on Migraine Headache Medication Use. Behavioral Medicine (Washington, D.C.), 43(1), 1–8. http://doi.org/10.1080/08964289.2015.1024601

 

Abstract

Spiritual meditation has been found to reduce the frequency of migraines and physiological reactivity to stress. However, little is known about how introducing a spirituality component into a meditation intervention impacts analgesic medication usage. In this study, 92 meditation naïve participants were randomly assigned to four groups (Spiritual Meditation (N=25), Internally Focused Secular Meditation (N=23), Externally Focused Secular Meditation (N=22), Progressive Muscle Relaxation (N=22)) and practiced their technique for 20min/day over 30 days while completing daily diaries. Headache frequency, headache severity, and pain medication use were assessed. Migraine frequency decreased in the Spiritual Meditation group compared to other groups (p<.05). Headache severity ratings did not differ across groups (p=NS). After adjusting for headache frequency, migraine medication usage decreased in the Spiritual Meditation group compared to other groups (p<.05). Spiritual Meditation was found to not affect pain sensitivity, but it does improve pain tolerance with reduced headache related analgesic medication usage.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4600642/

The Noble Eightfold Path: Right Concentration

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The Noble Eightfold Path: Right Concentration

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Concentration relates closely to the final limb, mindfulness. Both are different forms of awareness, but of the two concentration is more deliberate and narrow, mindfulness broader, more spontaneous and more open and receptive.” – Clearvision

 

Mindfulness is an openness to all experiences no matter what comes up. On the other hand, concentration is to focus on only one or a small subset of what is present. So, Right Concentration is a different aspect of mind training from Right Mindfulness. It is the eighth and last component of the Noble Eightfold Path, Right View, Right Intentions, Right Speech, Right Actions, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration. But, all of these components are interconnected and depend upon one another. So, it’s position is arbitrary and should not be construed that it’s the least component. They are all important in the integrated interdependent whole of the path.

 

A good example of Right Concentration is focused meditation where a single aspect or select set of aspects is concentrated upon to the exclusion of other aspects. This is often the breath but can also be a mantra, a special word, a particular person, or basically anything that can be separated from everything else. Concentration filters out everything but the object of concentration. So, the mind is not distracted. A concentrated mind is described as single pointed, focused totally on one thing and one thing only. The Buddha taught that when one pointedness is attained it produces a state of great tranquility and peace. Hence, the two primary features of Right Concentration are unbroken attentiveness to an object and a consequent tranquility.

 

There are many levels of concentration and as the practice of focused meditation develops the individual moves through deeper and deeper levels. As the practice begins, the mind will inevitably wander. When the meditator becomes aware that the mind has strayed, s/he simply gently returns to the object of concentration. It is sometimes helpful to congratulate yourself on returning rather than feeling bad about wandering. The idea is to reinforce and strengthen being concentrated rather than punishing the mind for doing what it naturally does. This will make it more and more likely that the meditator will return quickly once the mind wanders and stays focused longer and longer.

 

The development of Right Concentration is not a linear process with the meditator getting better and better with every meditation. It is rather highly variable with concentration easy and prolonged one day followed by another day when it is difficult and short-lived with mind wandering the rule. Rather than being frustrated with this the practitioner simply needs to continue practicing with assurance that over time concentration will get deeper and deeper more and more often and un-concentrated meditation will get rarer and rarer.

 

As practice continues concentration will deepen going through a number of stages, initial application of mind, sustained application of mind, rapture, happiness, and one-pointedness. The initial application of mind is settling and acquiring the object of meditation and focusing on it alone. This slowly becomes a sustained application of mind, where the focus on the object is held for a prolonged period of time. Rapture and happiness begin to become a by-product of the sustained attention as the practitioner feels joy and happiness with successful concentration. Finally, the concentration develops to the level of one pointedness, with the mind unified and completely focused on the object of meditation to the exclusion of everything else.
The attainment of one pointedness relaxes the mind with its activities greatly diminished. As the mind quiets, consciousness is allowed to be on its own without interruption and it begins to move into deeper and deeper states on consciousness. The meditative absorption deepens and consciousness moves into various stages known as the “jhanas.” The first and second being one pointedness accompanied by joy and happiness, the only difference between the two is the level of refinement of the concentration. The third “jhana” involves a continuation of one pointedness and happiness but with the addition of clear comprehension and equanimity, where things are seen just as they are without judgment or valuation. The fourth “jhana” involves solely one pointedness, a state of pureness of consciousness, unmarred by feelings.

 

These stages of Right Concentration should not be seen as an unwavering roadmap to deeper states of consciousness. These stages occur to some but not others. Some, jump around, skip stages, of bypass them completely. But, Right Concentration inevitably leads to deep and deeper states of awareness. The Buddha describes even deeper states of absorption as the practitioner moves towards enlightenment. So, Right Concentration is seen as the doorway to the culmination of the path, attaining enlightenment.

 

Regardless, of these deeper states of consciousness, the process of developing concentration is very beneficial in everyday life. The ability to stay with a task without distraction or the mind wandering away improves work, study, or even relationships, virtually everything.  So, practice Right Concentration and move forward on the path toward spiritual enlightenment.

 

“Now what, monks, is noble right concentration with its supports & requisite conditions? Any singleness of mind equipped with these seven factors, right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, & right mindfulness‚ is called noble right concentration with its supports & requisite conditions.” – Buddha

 

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Improve Employee’s Mental Health with Mindfulness

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Improve Employee’s Mental Health with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Toxic emotions disrupt the workplace, and mindfulness increases your awareness of these destructive patterns, helping you recognize them before they run rampant. It’s a way of reprogramming your mind to think in healthier, less stressful, ways.” – Drew Hansen

 

Work is very important for our health and well-being. We spend approximately 25% of our adult lives at work. How we spend that time is immensely important for our psychological and physical health. Indeed, the work environment has even become an important part of our social lives, with friendships and leisure time activities often attached to the people we work with. But, more than half of employees in the U.S. and nearly 2/3 worldwide are unhappy at work. This is partially due to work-related stress which is epidemic in the western workplace. Almost two thirds of workers reporting high levels of stress at work. This stress can result in impaired health and can result in burnout; producing fatigue, cynicism, and professional inefficacy.

 

To help overcome unhappiness, stress, and burnout, mindfulness practices have been implemented in the workplace. Indeed, mindfulness practices have been shown to markedly reduce the physiological and psychological responses to stress. As a result, it has become very trendy for business to incorporate meditation into the workday to help improve employee well-being, health, and productivity. For example, Google offers “Search Inside Yourself” classes to teach mindfulness at work. But, although there is a lot of anecdotal evidence of meditation improving well-being and work performance, there is actually very little systematic research on its effectiveness.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on employees’ mental health: A systematic review.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5783379/ ), Janssen and colleagues review and summarize the published research literature on the effectiveness of mindfulness programs to improve the mental health of workers. They identify 23 studies, most of which employed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programs.

 

They report that the published research demonstrates that mindfulness programs produced significant increases in workers’ mindfulness, personal accomplishment, self-compassion, sleep quality, relaxation, life satisfaction, emotion regulation, self-efficacy, and work engagement, and significant decreases in stress levels, psychological distress, depression, anxiety, burnout, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, mood disturbance, They also found that the mindfulness programs did not produce any harmful side-effects. But, the studies were in general of only moderate research quality and there is a need for more high-quality studies.

 

The summary of the research provides extensive evidence that mindfulness programs produce significant improvements in workers’ mental health and well-being. It is striking how widespread the benefits are for otherwise healthy employees. These effects are important in not only preventing burnout and mental illness, but the stress reduction will tend to prevent illness and promote physical health. This may, in turn, improve employee retention and productiveness and decrease employee absences and health-care costs.

 

So, improve employee’s mental health with mindfulness.

 

“Many corporations and employees are realizing that the benefits of mindfulness practices can be dramatic. In addition to supporting overall health and well-being, mindfulness has been linked to improved cognitive functioning and lower stress levels.” – Carolyn Gregoire

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Math Janssen, Yvonne Heerkens, Wietske Kuijer, Beatrice van der Heijden, Josephine Engels. Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on employees’ mental health: A systematic review. PLoS One. 2018; 13(1): e0191332. Published online 2018 Jan 24. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0191332

 

Abstract

Objectives

The purpose of this exploratory study was to obtain greater insight into the effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) on the mental health of employees.

Methods

Using PsycINFO, PubMed, and CINAHL, we performed a systematic review in October 2015 of studies investigating the effects of MBSR and MBCT on various aspects of employees’ mental health. Studies with a pre-post design (i.e. without a control group) were excluded.

Results

24 articles were identified, describing 23 studies: 22 on the effects of MBSR and 1 on the effects of MBSR in combination with some aspects of MBCT. Since no study focused exclusively on MBCT, its effects are not described in this systematic review. Of the 23 studies, 2 were of high methodological quality, 15 were of medium quality and 6 were of low quality. A meta-analysis was not performed due to the emergent and relatively uncharted nature of the topic of investigation, the exploratory character of this study, and the diversity of outcomes in the studies reviewed. Based on our analysis, the strongest outcomes were reduced levels of emotional exhaustion (a dimension of burnout), stress, psychological distress, depression, anxiety, and occupational stress. Improvements were found in terms of mindfulness, personal accomplishment (a dimension of burnout), (occupational) self-compassion, quality of sleep, and relaxation.

Conclusion

The results of this systematic review suggest that MBSR may help to improve psychological functioning in employees.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5783379/

 

Improve Sleep in Breast Cancer Patients with Mindfulness

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Improve Sleep in Breast Cancer Patients with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“That MBSR [mindfulness-based stress reduction] can produce similar improvements to CBT-I [cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia] and that both groups can effectively reduce stress and mood disturbance expands the available treatment options for insomnia in cancer patients,” – Sheila Garland

 

Receiving a diagnosis of cancer has a huge impact on most people. Feelings of depression, anxiety, and fear are very common and are normal responses to this life-changing and potentially life-ending experience. These feeling can result from changes in body image, changes to family and work roles, feelings of grief at these losses, and physical symptoms such as pain, nausea, or fatigue and insomnia. People might also fear death, suffering, pain, or all the unknown things that lie ahead. So, coping with the emotions and stress of a cancer diagnosis is a challenge and there are no simple treatments for these psychological sequelae of cancer diagnosis.

 

But cancer diagnosis is not necessarily a death sentence. Over half of the people diagnosed with cancer are still alive 10 years later and this number is rapidly increasing. It is estimated that 15 million adults and children with a history of cancer are alive in the United States today. But, surviving cancer carries with it a number of problems. “Physical, emotional, and financial hardships often persist for years after diagnosis and treatment. Cancer survivors are also at greater risk for developing second cancers and other health conditions.” National Cancer Survivors Day. It is estimated that nearly a third of breast cancer survivors have major disturbances of sleep that adds to the stress and damages recovery.

 

Mindfulness training has been shown to help with cancer recovery and help to alleviate many of the residual physical and psychological symptoms, including stress,  sleep disturbance, and anxiety and depression. In today’s Research News article “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, Mindfulness, and Yoga in Patients with Breast Cancer with Sleep Disturbance: A Literature Review.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5802619/ ), Zeichner and colleagues review and summarize the published research literature on the application of mindfulness training, yoga, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) for the treatment of sleep disturbance in breast cancer patients.

 

They report that the research demonstrates that all three approaches are effective in reducing sleep disturbance in breast cancer patients with efficacies equivalent to those of drug treatments but with fewer adverse side effects. They report that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) has been more consistently shown to be effective than mindfulness training or yoga practice. But CBT-I has greater problems with long-term patient compliance, greater costs, and a relative lack of service providers. Mindfulness training particularly Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programs and yoga practice are effective in relieving insomnia and are lower cost, higher compliance, and more available options.

 

So, improve sleep in breast cancer patients with mindfulness.

 

“Studies have shown mindfulness-based stress reduction can be effective in alleviating anxiety and depression, decreasing long-term emotional and physical side effects of treatments and improving the quality of sleep in breast cancer patients. Scientists caution, however that sustained benefit requires ongoing mindfulness practice.” – Breast Cancer Research Foundation

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Simon B Zeichner, Rachel L Zeichner, Keerthi Gogineni, Sharon Shatil, Octavian Ioachimescu. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, Mindfulness, and Yoga in Patients With Breast Cancer with Sleep Disturbance: A Literature Review. Breast Cancer (Auckl) 2017; 11: 1178223417745564. Published online 2017 Dec 7. doi: 10.1177/1178223417745564

 

Abstract

The number of patients with breast cancer diagnosed with sleep disturbance has grown substantially within the United States over the past 20 years. Meanwhile, there have been significant improvements in the psychological treatment of sleep disturbance in patients with breast cancer. More specifically, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), mindfulness, and yoga have shown to be 3 promising treatments with varying degrees of benefit, supporting data, and inherent limitations. In this article, we will outline the treatment approach for sleep disturbance in patients with breast cancer and conduct a comprehensive review of CBT-I, mindfulness, and yoga as they pertain to this patient population.

Conclusions

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women and sleep disturbance is one of the most common complaints among women with this diagnosis. Interventions to improve sleep could improve QOL and productivity and could reduce comorbidities and decrease use of health care resources. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, mindfulness, and yoga are 3 behavioral health interventions that have been recommended in the treatment of sleep disturbance in patients with cancer. Depending on cancer disease severity, nonpharmacologic approaches may be more beneficial because efficacy appears to be similar to pharmacological approaches, patients can continue to implement behavioral strategies long after active treatment has ended, and there are fewer adverse effects.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5802619/

Psilocybin in Combination with Meditation Practice Improves Psychological Functioning

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Psilocybin in Combination with Meditation Practice Improves Psychological Functioning

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“The ingestion of psilocybin, brought on “mystical” experiences that reduced illness-related anxiety and depression in nearly 80 percent of subjects studied in research trials.” – Andrew McCarron

 

Psychedelic substances have been used almost since the beginning of recorded history to alter consciousness and produce spiritually meaningful experiences. Psychedelics produce effects that are similar to those that are reported in spiritual awakenings. They report a loss of the personal self. They experience what they used to refer to as the self as just a part of an integrated whole. They report feeling interconnected with everything else in a sense of oneness with all things. They experience a feeling of timelessness where time seems to stop and everything is taking place in a single present moment. They experience ineffability, being unable to express in words what they are experiencing and as a result sometimes producing paradoxical statements. And they experience a positive mood, with renewed energy and enthusiasm.

 

It is easy to see why people find these experiences so pleasant and eye opening. They often report that the experiences changed them forever. Even though the effects of psychedelic substances have been experienced and reported on for centuries, only very recently have these effects come under rigorous scientific scrutiny.

 

Psilocybin is a psychedelic substance that is found naturally in a number of varieties of mushrooms. It has been used for centuries particularly by Native Americans for their spiritual practices. When studied in the laboratory under double blind conditions, Psilocybin has been shown to “reliably occasion deeply personally meaningful and often spiritually significant experiences (e.g. mystical-type experiences).” How lasting the changes are has not been systematically studied in controlled research studies.

 

In today’s Research News article “Psilocybin-occasioned mystical-type experience in combination with meditation and other spiritual practices produces enduring positive changes in psychological functioning and in trait measures of prosocial attitudes and behaviors.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5772431/ ), Griffiths and colleagues examine the duration of Psilocybin effects when administered under laboratory conditions. They recruited participants from the community who were not experienced with either psychedelics or meditation and randomly assigned to one of three groups; very low Psilocybin dose – standard spiritual support, high Psilocybin dose – standard spiritual support, or high Psilocybin dose – high spiritual support. Participants and researchers who interacted with them were not informed as to the dosing conditions.

 

Psilocybin was administered in capsule form in the morning and the participants remained in the laboratory and were measured until Psilocybin immediate effects were gone 7 hours later. One month later the participants returned for a second similar Psilocybin session. For the standard support conditions, the participants met with “guides” for five 1 to 2-hour sessions and a couple of days after Psilocybin administration for another 1-hour session, followed up later with a 10-minute teleconference. Sessions consisted of instruction and support for their usual spiritual practices. For the high support conditions, participants met on a similar schedule and dad additional sessions approximately monthly thereafter. The “spiritual practice suggestions had three primary elements: meditation (10 to 30 minutes of sitting meditation daily); daily awareness practice (use of mantra and one-pointed attention in daily activities); and daily self-reflective journaling of insights, benefits, and challenges of spiritual practice in daily life.”

 

They found that the high Psilocybin dose administration during the 7-hour post-administration period produced hallucinations and illusions, feelings of transcendence, grief, joy, and/or anxiety, and a sense of meaning and insight. These effects were significantly greater in the high spiritual support group. At the 6-month follow up they found that the high Psilocybin dose group in comparison the very low dose group had significantly improves attitudes about life and self, improved mood, increased altruism and spirituality, and significantly greater personal meaning, spiritual significance, and change in well-being. Again, in the high spiritual support group had significantly greater effects. Virtually all of the participants in the high Psilocybin dose conditions reported that this was among the greatest spiritual experiences of their lives.

 

These results are striking and important. Administration of the psychedelic substance, Psilocybin, produced consistently positive personal and spiritual effects immediately and the effects appeared to be relatively permanent, still present after 6 months. In addition, engaging in spiritual meditative practices appeared to heighten these effects. The use of psychedelic substances is extremely controversial and for the most part illegal. But, the present findings suggest that at least under controlled circumstances, they may have positive and lasting, effects on the individual and their spirituality. Further research should explore the use of Psilocybin for the treatment of mental illness and the promotion of human well-being.

 

So, psilocybin in combination with meditation practice improves psychological functioning.

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Roland R Griffiths, Matthew W Johnson, William A Richards, Brian D Richards, Robert Jesse, Katherine A MacLean, Frederick S Barrett, Mary P Cosimano, Maggie A Klinedinst. Psilocybin-occasioned mystical-type experience in combination with meditation and other spiritual practices produces enduring positive changes in psychological functioning and in trait measures of prosocial attitudes and behaviors. J Psychopharmacol. 2018 Jan; 32(1): 49–69. Published online 2017 Oct 11. doi: 10.1177/0269881117731279

 

Abstract

Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences with participant-attributed increases in well-being. However, little research has examined enduring changes in traits. This study administered psilocybin to participants who undertook a program of meditation/spiritual practices. Healthy participants were randomized to three groups (25 each): (1) very low-dose (1 mg/70 kg on sessions 1 and 2) with moderate-level (“standard”) support for spiritual-practice (LD-SS); (2) high-dose (20 and 30 mg/70 kg on sessions 1 and 2, respectively) with standard support (HD-SS); and (3) high-dose (20 and 30 mg/70kg on sessions 1 and 2, respectively) with high support for spiritual practice (HD-HS). Psilocybin was administered double-blind and instructions to participants/staff minimized expectancy confounds. Psilocybin was administered 1 and 2 months after spiritual-practice initiation. Outcomes at 6 months included rates of spiritual practice and persisting effects of psilocybin. Compared with low-dose, high-dose psilocybin produced greater acute and persisting effects. At 6 months, compared with LD-SS, both high-dose groups showed large significant positive changes on longitudinal measures of interpersonal closeness, gratitude, life meaning/purpose, forgiveness, death transcendence, daily spiritual experiences, religious faith and coping, and community observer ratings. Determinants of enduring effects were psilocybin-occasioned mystical-type experience and rates of meditation/spiritual practices. Psilocybin can occasion enduring trait-level increases in prosocial attitudes/behaviors and in healthy psychological functioning.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5772431/

Reduce Anxiety by Coloring Mindfully

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Reduce Anxiety by Coloring Mindfully

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Researchers have discovered that coloring activities help relax the amygdala – the section of the brain that is activated in situations where you feel stressed or scared. Simultaneously, coloring activates the parts of the brain that support creativity. . . those who colored in mandalas reported drastically decreased anxiety levels.” – Pocket Mindfulness

 

Mindfulness practices have been shown to have a large number of beneficial effects on the psychological, emotional, and physical health of the individual and is helpful in the treatment of mental and physical illness. They have also been shown to effect a large number of physiological and psychological processes, including emotion regulation, attention, sensory awareness, decentering, and reappraisal. Mindfulness practices have been shown to be particularly effective in reducing anxiety.

 

Recently, adult coloring books have become popular as a mindfulness practice. It is thought that immersion in the creative yet structured and safe process of coloring will increase mindfulness and in turn produce the benefits of mindfulness. Unfortunately, though, this assumption has not been adequately tested scientifically.

 

In today’s Research News article “When Did Coloring Books Become Mindful? Exploring the Effectiveness of a Novel Method of Mindfulness-Guided Instructions for Coloring Books to Increase Mindfulness and Decrease Anxiety.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00056/full?utm_source=F-AAE&utm_medium=EMLF&utm_campaign=MRK_536191_69_Psycho_20180208_arts_A ), Mantzios and Giannou recruited male and female undergraduate students and randomly assigned them to either color freestyle on a blank page or color a Mandala pattern for 10 minutes. They were measured before and after the coloring for anxiety and mindfulness. They found that this coloring exercise did not have a significant effect on either mindfulness or anxiety.

 

In a second experiment, with new participants, they repeated the same procedure for the Mandala coloring with either no instruction or the addition of mindfulness instructions during the coloring exercise, e.g. “Try to consciously observe the color transferring on the paper, the sensation of the pencil in your hand, your body sitting in the chair. Be aware of what happens moment to moment.” They found that the guided mandala coloring produced a significantly greater reduction in anxiety than the unguided coloring. There was, however, no effect on mindfulness. The participants indicated that the guidance was too distracting, suggesting a modification of the mindfulness guidance instruction in future research.

 

The results are an interesting start to empirically studying coloring as a means to produce mindfulness and the benefits of mindfulness. They are disappointed as they did not produce evidence that coloring increases mindfulness, even when instructions for coloring mindfully were included. There is a need to look at times of coloring longer than 10 minutes to explore whether greater practice could be effective. Nevertheless, the results suggest that coloring with a mindfulness instruction can reduce anxiety.

 

So, reduce anxiety by coloring mindfully.

 

“Just like meditation, coloring also allows us to switch off our brains from other thoughts and focus only on the moment, helping to alleviate free-floating anxiety.” – Kelly Fitzpatrick

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available at the Contemplative Studies Blog http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/

They are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Mantzios M and Giannou K (2018) When Did Coloring Books Become Mindful? Exploring the Effectiveness of a Novel Method of Mindfulness-Guided Instructions for Coloring Books to Increase Mindfulness and Decrease Anxiety. Front. Psychol. 9:56. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00056

 

Mindfulness has been associated with the use of coloring books for adults; however, the question of whether they do increase mindfulness has not been addressed. In two studies, we attempted to identify whether mindfulness is increased, and whether there is a need for ongoing guidance while coloring, similar to mindfulness meditation. In the first randomized controlled experiment, university students (n = 88) were assigned to an unguided mandala coloring group (i.e., described in mainstream literature as a mindfulness practice) or to a free-drawing group. Measurements of state mindfulness and state anxiety were taken pre- and post- experiment. Results indicated no change in mindfulness or anxiety. In the second randomized controlled experiment, university students (n = 72) were assigned to an unguided mandala coloring group (i.e., same as Experiment 1), or, to a mindfulness-guided coloring group (i.e., same as the unguided coloring group with a mindfulness practitioner guiding participants as in mindfulness breathing meditation, with instructions modified and applied to coloring). Results indicated that the mindfulness-guided mandala coloring group performed better in decreasing anxiety, but no change was observed in mindfulness. Exit interviews revealed that some participants did not like the voice guiding them while coloring, which suggested further differing and significant findings. While mindfulness-guided coloring appears promising, guidance or instructions on how to color mindfully may require further development and adjustment to enhance health and wellbeing.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00056/full?utm_source=F-AAE&utm_medium=EMLF&utm_campaign=MRK_536191_69_Psycho_20180208_arts_A