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Meditation Improves Word Recognition

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Meditation Improves Word Recognition

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Meditative practice changes a perception of emotional coloring of written speech.” – Alexander Savostyanov

 

Mindfulness training has been shown to be effective in improving physical and psychological health and also improves cognition. In today’s Research News article “Meditation affects word recognition of meditation novices.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8942899/ ) Lusnig and colleagues recruited online healthy college students and randomly assigned them to receive 8 weeks of 1.5 hour weekly practice of mindfulness meditation, loving kindness meditation, or silent study for a class. The participant groups did not differ in mood states, personality, sustained attention, or intelligence. Before and after training they also performed a lexical decision task on a computer where they had to decide as quickly as possible whether a set of letters presented was a word or not and rated their feelings toward the word.

 

They found that after either meditation but not the control condition the participants found the words to be more neutral while after loving kindness meditation the participants found the positive words as more positive than prior the intervention. They also found that after either meditation but not the control condition the participants responded faster in detection words or non-words (lexical )decision) while loving kindness meditation participants had the fastest overall responses. These results suggest that meditation reduces emotional responses to words and improves word recognition.

 

These results suggest that meditation can help people think better. This may well be because meditation improves attention and reduces mind wandering and improves the regulation of emotions. Thus, meditation improves thinking (cognition) by making people calmer and more attentive.

 

“By training my mind to concentrate solely on what I am reading . . . I am better able to not only more fully enjoy the experience of reading again, but to really delve into what a book is saying, and making connections to other things I have read or knowledge I already possess.” – Kerri Jarema

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Lusnig, L., Radach, R., & Hofmann, M. J. (2022). Meditation affects word recognition of meditation novices. Psychological research, 86(3), 723–736. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-021-01522-5

 

Abstract

This work represents one of the first attempts to examine the effects of meditation on the processing of written single words. In the present longitudinal study, participants conducted a lexical decision task and rated the affective valence of nouns before and after a 7-week class in mindfulness meditation, loving-kindness meditation, or a control intervention. Both meditation groups rated the emotional valence of nouns more neutral after the interventions, suggesting a general down-regulation of emotions. In the loving-kindness group, positive words were rated more positively after the intervention, suggesting a specific intensification of positive feelings. After both meditation interventions, response times in the lexical decision task accelerated significantly, with the largest facilitation occurring in the loving-kindness group. We assume that meditation might have led to increased attention, better visual discrimination, a broadened attentional focus, and reduced mind-wandering, which in turn enabled accelerated word recognition. These results extend findings from a previous study with expert Zen meditators, in which we found that one session of advanced meditation can affect word recognition in a very similar way.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8942899/

 

Internal are Superior of External Focused Meditation Techniques in Producing Relaxation

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Internal are Superior of External Focused Meditation Techniques in Producing Relaxation

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“We all have our unique differences, and it’s important to celebrate those even when choosing a meditation technique. What works for one person may not work for another. We each have predispositions and lifestyle habits that make choosing a meditation technique an important process.” – Susi Amendola

 

Meditation training has been shown to improve health and well-being. It has also been found to be effective for a large array of medical and psychiatric conditions, either stand-alone or in combination with more traditional therapies. As a result, meditation training has been called the third wave of therapies. One problem with understanding meditation effects is that there are, a wide variety of meditation techniques and it is not known which work best for affecting different psychological areas. There are meditation techniques that focus on internal experience and others that focus on external stimuli. It is not known which are best for inducing relaxation.

 

In today’s Research News article “A Retrospective Analysis of Three Focused Attention Meditation Techniques: Mantra, Breath, and External-Point Meditation.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8967094/ ) Sharma and colleagues recruited healthy adults and had them perform mantra, breath focused, or external-point (eyes open) meditations for 3 minutes each. During the meditation the alpha rhythm in the electroencephalogram was measured as an index of achieving a calm state.

 

They found that the time spent in the calm state during meditation was significantly higher during mantra and breath focused meditations than during external-point meditation.  It has been previously established that the amount of alpha rhythm is reduced in the eyes open condition. So, the present study demonstrates that this is true for meditation also.

 

Hence it appears that keeping the eyes closed during meditation produces greater calm.

 

“Not all meditation styles are right for everyone. These practices require different skills and mindsets. How do you know which practice is right for you? “It’s what feels comfortable and what you feel encouraged to practice,” – Mira Dessy

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Sharma, K., Wernicke, A. G., Rahman, H., Potters, L., Sharma, G., & Parashar, B. (2022). A Retrospective Analysis of Three Focused Attention Meditation Techniques: Mantra, Breath, and External-Point Meditation. Cureus, 14(3), e23589. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.23589

 

Abstract

Objective

The goal of this study is to compare the effectiveness of three different meditation techniques (two internal focus techniques and one external focus technique) using a low-cost portable electroencephalography (EEG) device, namely, MUSE, for an objective comparison.

Methods

This is an IRB-approved retrospective study. All participants in the study were healthy adults. Each study participant (n = 34) was instructed to participate in three meditation sessions: mantra (internal), breath (internal), and external point. The MUSE brain-sensing headband (EEG) was used to document the “total time spent in the calm state” and the “total time spent in the calm or neutral state” (outcomes) in each three-minute session to conduct separate analyses for the meditation type. Separate generalized linear models (GLM) with unstructured covariance structures were used to examine the association between each outcome and the explanatory variable (meditation type). For all models, if there was a significant association between the outcome and the explanatory variable, pairwise comparisons were carried out using the Tukey-Kramer correction.

Results

The median time (in seconds) spent in the calm state while practicing mantra meditation was 131.5 (IQR: 94-168), while practicing breath meditation was 150 (IQR: 113-164), and while practicing external-point meditation was 100 (IQR: 62-126). Upon analysis, there was a significant association between the meditation type and the time spent in the calm state (p-value = 0.0006).

Conclusion

This is the first study comparing “internal” versus “external” meditation techniques using an objective measure. Our study shows the breath and mantra technique as superior to the external-point technique as regards time spent in the calm state. Additional research is needed using a combination of “EEG” and patient-reported surveys to compare various meditative practices. The findings from this study can help incorporate specific meditation practices in future mindfulness-based studies that are focused on healthcare settings and on impacting clinical outcomes, such as survival or disease outcomes.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8967094/

Manage Hypertension with Yoga

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Manage Hypertension with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“brisk walking, reducing salt intake, and practicing yoga can each benefit people with high blood pressure.” – Markus MacGill

 

High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) is an insidious disease because there are no overt symptoms. The individual feels fine. But it can be deadly as more than 360,000 American deaths, roughly 1,000 deaths each day, had high blood pressure as a primary or contributing cause. In addition, hypertension markedly increases the risk heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and kidney disease.  It is also a very common disorder with about 70 million American adults (29%) having high blood pressure and only about half (52%) of people with high blood pressure have their condition under control. Treatment frequently includes antihypertensive drugs. But these medications often have adverse side effects. So, patients feel lousy when taking the drugs, but fine when they’re not. So, compliance is a major issue with many patients not taking the drugs regularly or stopping entirely.

 

Obviously, there is a need for alternative to drug treatments for hypertension. Exercise has been shown to effectively reduce blood pressure. Also, mindfulness practices have been shown to aid in controlling hypertension. Yoga practice is both an exercise and a mindfulness practice that has been shown to reduce blood pressure. The research has been accumulating. So, it makes sense to summarize what has been learned regarding the conditions under which yoga practice is effective in reducing hypertension.

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In today’s Research News article “Content, Structure, and Delivery Characteristics of Yoga Interventions for Managing Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8995771/ ) Nalbant and colleagues review, summarize, and perform a meta-analysis of the published randomized controlled studies of the conditions under which yoga practice is effective in reducing hypertension. They identified 34 published randomized controlled trials.

 

They report that the published studies found that yoga practice was overall effective in lowering diastolic and systolic blood pressure in patients with hypertension. In comparing trials that produced significant improvement in hypertension to those that didn’t they report that the successful trials incorporated balance of postures, breathing practices, meditation and relaxation practices, occurring over 2 sessions per week, and were delivered in a formal setting under supervision.

 

This summary of published research supports the use of yoga practice in the treatment of hypertension and defines the components that need to be present to produce significant benefits.

 

“Yoga leaves a positive impact on your mind and body. It is an effective way to lower blood pressure. Here are some effective yoga asanas for hypertension.” – Varsha Vats

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Nalbant, G., Hassanein, Z. M., Lewis, S., & Chattopadhyay, K. (2022). Content, Structure, and Delivery Characteristics of Yoga Interventions for Managing Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Frontiers in public health, 10, 846231. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.846231

 

Abstract

Objectives

This systematic review aimed to synthesize the content, structure, and delivery characteristics of effective yoga interventions used for managing hypertension and to compare these characteristics with ineffective interventions.

Design and Method

The JBI and the PRISMA guidelines were followed in this systematic review. RCTs conducted among hypertensive adults were included. RCTs reporting at least one of the major components of yoga (i.e., asana, pranayama, and dhyana and relaxation practices) and comparing them with no intervention or any intervention were eligible. Sixteen databases were searched for published and unpublished studies without any date and language restrictions till March 15, 2021.

Results

The literature search yielded 13,130 records. 34 RCTs (evaluating 38 yoga interventions) met the inclusion criteria. Overall, included studies had low methodological quality mostly due to inadequate reporting. Yoga reduced SBP and DBP compared to a control intervention (MD −6.49 and −2.78; 95CI% −8.94– −4.04 and −4.11– −1.45, respectively). Eighteen, 14 and 20 interventions were effective in improving SBP, DBP, or either, respectively. 13 out of 20 effective interventions incorporated all the 3 major components of yoga and allocated similar durations to each component whereas ineffective interventions were more focused on the asana and duration of asana practice was longer. The most common duration and frequency of effective interventions were 45 min/session (in 5 interventions), 7 days/week (in 5 interventions), and 12 weeks (in 11 interventions) whereas the most common session frequency was 2 days a week (in 7 interventions) in ineffective interventions. Effective interventions were mostly center-based (in 15 interventions) and supervised (in 16 interventions) and this was similar with ineffective interventions.

Conclusion

Despite the low quality and heterogeneity of included studies, our findings suggest yoga interventions may effectively manage hypertension. The differences between the effective and ineffective interventions suggest that effective yoga interventions mostly incorporated asana, pranayama, and dhyana and relaxation practices and they had a balance between these three components and included regular practice. They were mostly delivered in a center and under supervision. Future studies should consider developing and evaluating an intervention for managing hypertension using the synthesized findings of the effective interventions in this review.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8995771/

 

Improve College Students’ Well-Being with Balanced Time Perspective and Mindfulness

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Improve College Students’ Well-Being with Balanced Time Perspective and Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“a higher level of mindfulness promotes a more balanced time perspective, with a reduced focus on negative aspects of the past and negative anticipations of the future.” – Michael Rönnlund

 

Mindfulness stresses present moment awareness, minimizing focus on past memories and

future planning. But, to effectively navigate the environment it is necessary to remember past experiences and project future consequences of behavior. So, there is a need to be balanced such that the amount of attention focused on the past, present, and future is balanced. This has been termed as balance time perspective. Mindfulness helps improve balanced time perspective and improve well-being. The relationship of mindfulness and balanced time perspective with psychological well-being needs further investigation.

 

In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness and Balanced Time Perspective: Predictive Model of Psychological Well-Being and Gender Differences in College Students.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8946884/ ) Fuentes and colleagues recruited university students and had them complete measures of mindfulness, psychological well-being, and time perspective, including measures of past positive, past negative, present hedonistic, present fatalistic, and future.

 

They found that the higher the levels of mindfulness, the higher the levels of psychological well-being future, balanced time perspective and past positive time perspectives, and the lower the levels of balanced time perspective, past negative, and present fatalistic. In addition, the higher the levels of psychological well-being the higher the levels of balanced time perspective, future, and past positive time perspectives, and the lower the levels of past negative and present fatalistic. They also found that women had higher levels of past positive time perspective while men had higher levels of present hedonistic time perspective.

 

“It appears that, together, mindfulness and [balanced time perspective] promote optimal psychological functioning beyond alleviating or reducing discomfort.” – Authors conclusion. In other word when mindfulness is high and the amount of attention focused on the past, present, and future is balanced there are greater levels of psychological well-being. It remains to be seen if training in balanced time perspective will result in greater psychological health.

 

“Both mindfulness and Balanced Time Perspective (BTP) are well confirmed and robust predictors of various aspects of well-being.” – Maciej Stolarsk

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Fuentes, A., Oyanadel, C., Zimbardo, P., González-Loyola, M., Olivera-Figueroa, L. A., & Peñate, W. (2022). Mindfulness and Balanced Time Perspective: Predictive Model of Psychological Well-Being and Gender Differences in College Students. European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education, 12(3), 306–318. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe12030022

 

Abstract

Background: The aims of the study were to establish an adjustment model to analyze the relationship among mindfulness, balanced time perspective (BTP) and psychological well-being (PWB) in college students and to explore gender differences among the variables. Method: The sample consisted of 380 college students, 220 women and 160 men, uniformly distributed according to the university’s faculties. Results: The results indicate that the synergy between mindfulness and BTP predicts the variance of PWB by 55%. Regarding gender differences, it was found that women have a greater tendency towards Past Positive than men and men a higher tendency towards Present Hedonistic than women. In addition, in the group of women, a stronger relationship was found among the variables and, consequently, a greater predictive value for PWB (58%), displaying an enhanced disposition to high PWB compared to men. Conclusions: Together, mindfulness and BTP promote optimal psychological functioning and alleviate or reduce discomfort. Thus, their promotion and training in universities is especially important given the high prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in college students.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8946884/

 

Reduce the Ability of Impulsivity to Increase Competitive Anxiety in Female Athletes with Mindfulness

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Reduce the Ability of Impulsivity to Increase Competitive Anxiety in Female Athletes with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Awareness and acceptance of the present moment may allow athletes to focus less on negative thoughts, which may provide athletes with more energy and focus for the athletic tasks at hand.” – Crystal Chariton

 

Athletic performance requires the harmony of mind and body. Excellence is in part physical and in part psychological. That is why an entire profession of sports psychology has developed. “In sport psychology, competitive athletes are taught psychological strategies to better cope with a number of demanding challenges related to psychological functioning.” They use a number of techniques to enhance performance including mindfulness training. It has been shown to improve attention and concentration and emotion regulation and reduces anxiety and worry and rumination, and the physiological and psychological responses to stress. As a result, mindfulness training has been employed by athletes and even by entire teams to enhance their performance.

 

Impulsivity can be a negative characteristic for athletes and is associated with increased injury frequency. Anxiety is also a problem for athletes and can interfere with optimum performance. Mindfulness has been shown to reduce both impulsivity and anxiety. So, it makes sense to study the interactions of impulsivity, anxiety, and mindfulness in female athletes.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effects of Impulsivity on Competitive Anxiety in Female Athletes: The Mediating Role of Mindfulness Trait.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8951821/ ) Terres-Barcala and colleagues recruited adult female athletes and had the complete measures of physical activity pre-competition anxiety, impulsivity, self-efficacy, and mindfulness.

 

They found that the athletes with the most vigorous physical activity had significantly lower levels of impulsiveness and significantly higher levels of mindfulness. They also found that impulsiveness was positively related to anxiety and negatively associated with mindfulness such that mindfulness mitigated the relationship between impulsivity and both cognitive and somatic anxiety. In addition, impulsiveness was negatively related to self-efficacy and negatively associated with mindfulness such that mindfulness mitigated the relationship between impulsivity and self-efficacy.

 

Although the study was correlational and causation cannot be determined, the results suggest that impulsivity has a negative impact on female athletes’ mental state, but that mindfulness can reduce this impact. This further suggests that mindfulness may in part improve athletic performance by reducing impulsiveness and anxiety and increasing self-confidence and by mitigating the effect of impulsiveness on anxiety and self-confidence.

 

“When people are able simply to watch experiences come and go, rather than latch onto and overthink them, they are better able to intentionally shift their focus to their performance rather than distracting negative experiences such as anxiety.” – Keith Kaufman

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Terres-Barcala, L., Albaladejo-Blázquez, N., Aparicio-Ugarriza, R., Ruiz-Robledillo, N., Zaragoza-Martí, A., & Ferrer-Cascales, R. (2022). Effects of Impulsivity on Competitive Anxiety in Female Athletes: The Mediating Role of Mindfulness Trait. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(6), 3223. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063223

 

Abstract

It has been demonstrated that athletes in competitive sports suffer from high levels of competitive anxiety, especially in the case of females. In this sense, it is necessary to identify possible risk and protective factors of those athletes in this collective who suffer from this type of anxiety. However, few studies analyze the relationship between Physical Activity (PA) and anxiety, identifying the possible mediation effect of trait variables such as impulsivity and mindfulness in female athletes. Hence, the aims of this study were: to determine differences between PA levels with anxiety, mindfulness, and impulsiveness; to identify the predictive value of sociodemographic factors and physical activity, impulsivity, and mindfulness on anxiety factors; and to analyze the possible mediating effects of mindfulness on the relationship between impulsivity and anxiety. A total of 242 female athletes underwent an assessment of physical activity, anxiety, mindfulness traits, and impulsivity using validated questionnaires. Data were analyzed according to (1) individual or collective sport, and (2) PA levels according to energy expended (METs min/day). Participants were grouped by light, moderate, and vigorous PA levels. There were 30.5% elite athletes and 73.2% collective sports athletes. Mean age was 22.1 years and mean light, moderate, and vigorous PA were 86.1 ± 136.2, 114.4 ± 159.8, and 370.1 ± 336.3 METs min/day, respectively. Those athletes performing vigorous PA exhibited lower levels of impulsiveness and higher mindfulness traits. As expected, the mindfulness trait was a mediating factor in the relationship between impulsiveness and each factor of competitive anxiety (cognitive, somatic, and self-efficacy). Female athletes could suffer competitive anxiety, especially those who present higher levels of impulsivity. However, higher levels of mindfulness traits seem to be a protective factor in the effects of impulsivity on anxiety in this population and have demonstrated to be significant mediators in this association. Further studies are needed with other female athletes to replicate these results and to determine the specific protective mechanisms of mindfulness traits in preventing competitive anxiety.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8951821/

 

Improve Cardiorespiratory Function in the Elderly with Tai Chi

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Improve Cardiorespiratory Function in the Elderly with Tai Chi

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Long term regular [Tai Chi] exercise has favourable effects on the promotion of balance control, flexibility, and cardiovascular fitness in older adults.” – Youlian Hong

 

The aging process involves a systematic progressive decline in every system in the body, the cardiovascular system and respiratory system included. The elderly frequently also have problems with attention, thinking, and memory abilities, known as mild cognitive impairment. An encouraging new development is that mindfulness practices such as meditation training and mindful movement practices can significantly reduce these declines.

 

Tai Chi has been practiced for thousands of years with benefits for health and longevity. Tai Chi training is designed to enhance function and regulate the activities of the body through regulated breathing, mindful concentration, and gentle movements. Tai Chi practice has been found to be effective for an array of physical and psychological issues. Tai Chi has been shown to help the elderly improve attention, balance, reducing falls, arthritis, cognitive function, memory, and reduce age related deterioration of the brain. The research on the effects of Tai Chi training on the cardiorespiratory system of older adults has been accumulating. So, it makes sense to summarize what has been learned.

 

In today’s Research News article “A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Tai Chi Training in Cardiorespiratory Fitness of Elderly People.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8942636/ ) Tan and colleagues review and summarize the published research randomized controlled trials on the effects of Tai Chi training on the cardiorespiratory system of older adults (> 50 years of age). They identified 24 published research studies.

 

They report that the published randomized controlled trials found that Tai Chi training produced significant increases in heart rate, VO2 max (the maximum amount of oxygen your body can utilize during exercise) and O2 pulse (oxygen consumed per heart beat, a measure of stroke volume), and vital capacity (the greatest volume of air that can be expelled from the lungs after taking the deepest possible breath). The increase in vital capacity was significantly larger in participants who practiced for 48 weeks and over.

 

The results are clear. Tai Chi training produces improves cardiorespiratory function in older adults. Thus suggests that Tai Chi training can help overcome or delay age-related physical decline.

 

“tai chi is an effective way in improving cardiovascular responses and stress in prehypertensive individuals.” – Touraj Hashemi Nosrat-abad

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Tan, T., Meng, Y., Lyu, J. L., Zhang, C., Wang, C., Liu, M., Zhao, X., Lyu, T., & Wei, Y. (2022). A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Tai Chi Training in Cardiorespiratory Fitness of Elderly People. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2022, 4041612. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/4041612

 

Abstract

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of Tai Chi on cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in elderly people using meta-analysis.

Methods

This study used seven electronic databases and data retrieved from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the role of Tai Chi on CRF in the elderly. All these 24 RCTs were screened and selected from 7 literature databases. The Stata 11.2 software (StataCorp, USA) was used for the meta-analysis, subgroup analysis, and bias test, while the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool was used for the assessment of the risk of bias (RoB). 4 researchers independently participated in sample selection, data extraction, and RoB assessment.

Results

Following the inclusion criteria, 24 eligible studies were included in our analysis. The meta-analysis indicated that Tai Chi practice significantly increased the maximum rate of oxygen consumption (VO2 max) (weighted mean difference (WMD)  = 3.76, 95% CI: 1.25 to 6.26, P < 0.1), leading to an overall reduction in the heart rate (HR) (WMD  = −1.84, 95% CI: −2.04 to −1.63, P  ≤ 0.001) and an increase in the O2 pulse (WMD = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.60 to 1.28, P ≤ 0.001) in individuals who practiced Tai Chi regularly compared with those who did not. The subgroup analysis suggested that overall in those who practiced Tai Chi, males (WMD = 1.48, 95% CI: 0.85 to 2.12, P ≤ 0.001) had higher O2 pulse than females (WMD = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.33 to 1.12, P ≤ 0.001). The subgroup analysis also showed an increase in the vital capacity (VC) (WMD = 316.05, 95% CI: 239.74 to 392.35, P ≤ 0.001) in individuals practicing Tai Chi. When the samples were further stratified by Tai Chi practicing time, the subgroup analysis suggested that individuals practicing Tai Chi over a period of 24 weeks showed no significant difference in VC (WMD = 82.95, 95% CI: -98.34 to 264.23, P=0.370), while those practicing Tai Chi over a period of 48 weeks showed a significant increase (WMD = 416.62, 95% CI: 280.68 to 552.56, P ≤ 0.001). Furthermore, the subgroup analysis demonstrated that the increase in VC is significantly correlated with the Tai Chi practicing time (WMD = 344.97, 95% CI: 227.88 to 442.06, P ≤ 0.001).

Conclusion

Regular Tai Chi practice could improve the CRF in the elderly, as indicated by significant improvement in indicators including VO2max, O2pulse, VC, and HR. However, gender and practice time might influence the overall beneficial outcomes.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8942636/

 

Mindful Doctors are Better Doctors

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Mindful Doctors are Better Doctors

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mindfulness enables doctors to listen to a patient without judging, to be present, responding to what the patient is saying and feeling and also aware of what they’re feeling.”- Ron Epstein

 

Stress is epidemic in the western workplace with almost two thirds of workers reporting high levels of stress at work. In high stress occupations, like healthcare, burnout is all too prevalent. Burnout is the fatigue, cynicism, emotional exhaustion, sleep disruption, and professional inefficacy that comes with work-related stress. It is estimated that over 45% of healthcare workers experience burnout. It not only affects the healthcare providers personally, but also the patients, as it produces a loss of empathy and compassion. Burnout, in fact, it is a threat to the entire healthcare system. Currently, over a third of healthcare workers report that they are looking for a new job. Hence, burnout contributes to the shortage of doctors and nurses.

 

Preventing burnout has to be a priority. Unfortunately, it is beyond the ability of the individual to change the environment to reduce stress and prevent burnout. So, it is important that methods be found to reduce the individual’s responses to stress; to make the individual more resilient when high levels of stress occur. Contemplative practices have been shown to reduce the psychological and physiological responses to stress and improve well-being. Indeed, mindfulness has been shown to be helpful in treating and preventing burnout, increasing resilience, and improving sleep. Thus there is a need to investigate how mindfulness effects doctors’ well-being and the well-being of their patients.

 

In today’s Research News article “). Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Doctors’ Mindfulness, Patient Safety Culture, Patient Safety Competency and Adverse Event.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8954148/ ) Liu and colleagues recruited doctors from hospitals and randomly assigned them to receive either 8-weekly 90-minute sessions of mindfulness meditation along with home practice or to a no-treatment control condition. They were measured before and after training for mindfulness, patient safety competency, hospital safety culture, and adverse medical events.

 

They found that in comparison to baseline and the no-treatment control doctors, the group that received mindfulness training had significantly greater levels of mindfulness, patient safety competency, and hospital safety culture and significantly lower rates or adverse medical events.

 

Hence mindful meditation made the doctors better at patient safety including lower rates of bad outcomes. In other words, mindful doctors are better doctors.

 

“Anyone whose work involves immense human suffering needs to be aware of their inner life. The nature of the work that physicians do makes [them] more vulnerable to negative emotions or making errors,” – Ron Epstein

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Liu, C., Chen, H., Cao, X., Sun, Y., Liu, C. Y., Wu, K., Liang, Y. C., Hsu, S. E., Huang, D. H., & Chiou, W. K. (2022). Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Doctors’ Mindfulness, Patient Safety Culture, Patient Safety Competency and Adverse Event. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(6), 3282. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063282

 

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated the effects of mindfulness meditation on doctors’ mindfulness, patient safety culture, patient safety competency, and adverse events. Methods: We recruited 91 doctors from a hospital in China and randomized them to mindfulness meditation group (n = 46) and a waiting control group (n = 45). The mindfulness meditation group underwent an 8-week mindfulness meditation intervention, while the control group underwent no intervention. We measured four main variables (mindfulness, patient safety culture, patient safety competency, and adverse event) before and after the mindfulness meditation intervention. Results: In the experimental group, mindfulness, patient safety culture and patient safety competency were significantly higher compared with those of the control group. In the control group, there were no significant differences in any of the three variables between the pre-test and post-test. Adverse events in the experimental group were significantly lower than in the control group. Conclusions: The intervention of mindfulness meditation significantly improved the level of mindfulness, patient safety culture and patient safety competency. During the mindfulness meditation intervention, the rate of adverse events in the meditation group was also significantly lower than in the control group. As a simple and effective intervention, mindfulness meditation plays a positive role in improving patient safety and has certain promotional value.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8954148/

 

Improve Borderline Personality Disorder with Mindfulness

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Improve Borderline Personality Disorder with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“DBT . . . is considered one of the best treatments for [Borderline Personality Disorder] in terms of documented success rates. . . [Borderline Personality Disorder] is effective in reducing psychiatric hospitalization, substance use, and suicidal behavior. . .  self-injurious behaviors, and the severity of borderline symptoms.” – Kristalyn Salters-Pedneault

 

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a very serious mental illness that is estimated to affect 1.6% of the U.S. population. It involves unstable moods, behavior, and relationships, problems with regulating emotions and thoughts, impulsive and reckless behavior, and unstable relationships. About ¾ of BPD patients engage in self-injurious behaviors.

 

One of the few treatments that appears to be effective for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). It is targeted at changing the problem behaviors characteristic of BPD including self-injury. Behavior change is accomplished through focusing on changing the thoughts and emotions that precede problem behaviors, as well as by solving the problems faced by individuals that contribute to problematic thoughts, feelings and behaviors. In DBT five core skills are practiced; mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, the middle path, and interpersonal effectiveness. The research regarding the effectiveness of DBT reduces for BPD patients has been accumulating. So, it makes sense to step back and summarize what has been learned.

 

In today’s Research News article “Psychological therapies for people with borderline personality disorder.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7199382/ ) Storebø and colleagues review and summarize the published randomized controlled trials on the effectiveness of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). for the treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). They found 25 randomized controlled trials.

 

They report that the published research found that Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) compared to treatment as usual, wait-list controls, and no-treatment produced significantly greater reductions in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) severity, self-harm, anger, impulsivity, dissociation, psychotic-like symptoms, and emotional instability and significantly greater increases in psychological functioning. There were no significant differences in adverse events between DBT and controls.

 

The published research clearly demonstrates that Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a safe and effective treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).

 

“‘Dialectical’ means trying to understand how two things that seem opposite could both be true. For example, accepting yourself and changing your behaviour might feel contradictory. But DBT teaches that it’s possible for you to achieve both these goals together.” – Mind

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Storebø, O. J., Stoffers-Winterling, J. M., Völlm, B. A., Kongerslev, M. T., Mattivi, J. T., Jørgensen, M. S., Faltinsen, E., Todorovac, A., Sales, C. P., Callesen, H. E., Lieb, K., & Simonsen, E. (2020). Psychological therapies for people with borderline personality disorder. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 5(5), CD012955. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD012955.pub2

 

Abstract

Background

Over the decades, a variety of psychological interventions for borderline personality disorder (BPD) have been developed. This review updates and replaces an earlier review (Stoffers‐Winterling 2012).

Objectives

To assess the beneficial and harmful effects of psychological therapies for people with BPD.

Search methods

In March 2019, we searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, 14 other databases and four trials registers. We contacted researchers working in the field to ask for additional data from published and unpublished trials, and handsearched relevant journals. We did not restrict the search by year of publication, language or type of publication.

Selection criteria

Randomised controlled trials comparing different psychotherapeutic interventions with treatment‐as‐usual (TAU; which included various kinds of psychotherapy), waiting list, no treatment or active treatments in samples of all ages, in any setting, with a formal diagnosis of BPD. The primary outcomes were BPD symptom severity, self‐harm, suicide‐related outcomes, and psychosocial functioning. There were 11 secondary outcomes, including individual BPD symptoms, as well as attrition and adverse effects.

Data collection and analysis

At least two review authors independently selected trials, extracted data, assessed risk of bias using Cochrane’s ‘Risk of bias’ tool and assessed the certainty of the evidence using the GRADE approach. We performed data analysis using Review Manager 5 and quantified the statistical reliability of the data using Trial Sequential Analysis.

Main results

We included 75 randomised controlled trials (4507 participants), predominantly involving females with mean ages ranging from 14.8 to 45.7 years. More than 16 different kinds of psychotherapy were included, mostly dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) and mentalisation‐based treatment (MBT). The comparator interventions included treatment‐as‐usual (TAU), waiting list, and other active treatments. Treatment duration ranged from one to 36 months.

Psychotherapy versus TAU

Psychotherapy reduced BPD symptom severity, compared to TAU; standardised mean difference (SMD) −0.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) −0.70 to −0.33; 22 trials, 1244 participants; moderate‐quality evidence. This corresponds to a mean difference (MD) of −3.6 (95% CI −4.4 to −2.08) on the Zanarini Rating Scale for BPD (range 0 to 36), a clinically relevant reduction in BPD symptom severity (minimal clinical relevant difference (MIREDIF) on this scale is −3.0 points).

Psychotherapy may be more effective at reducing self‐harm compared to TAU (SMD −0.32, 95% CI −0.49 to −0.14; 13 trials, 616 participants; low‐quality evidence), corresponding to a MD of −0.82 (95% CI −1.25 to 0.35) on the Deliberate Self‐Harm Inventory Scale (range 0 to 34). The MIREDIF of −1.25 points was not reached.

Suicide‐related outcomes improved compared to TAU (SMD −0.34, 95% CI −0.57 to −0.11; 13 trials, 666 participants; low‐quality evidence), corresponding to a MD of −0.11 (95% CI −0.19 to −0.034) on the Suicidal Attempt Self Injury Interview. The MIREDIF of −0.17 points was not reached.

Compared to TAU, psychotherapy may result in an improvement in psychosocial functioning (SMD −0.45, 95% CI −0.68 to −0.22; 22 trials, 1314 participants; low‐quality evidence), corresponding to a MD of −2.8 (95% CI −4.25 to −1.38), on the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (range 0 to 100). The MIREDIF of −4.0 points was not reached.

Our additional Trial Sequential Analysis on all primary outcomes reaching significance found that the required information size was reached in all cases.

A subgroup analysis comparing the different types of psychotherapy compared to TAU showed no clear evidence of a difference for BPD severity and psychosocial functioning.

Psychotherapy may reduce depressive symptoms compared to TAU but the evidence is very uncertain (SMD −0.39, 95% CI −0.61 to −0.17; 22 trials, 1568 participants; very low‐quality evidence), corresponding to a MD of −2.45 points on the Hamilton Depression Scale (range 0 to 50). The MIREDIF of −3.0 points was not reached.

BPD‐specific psychotherapy did not reduce attrition compared with TAU. Adverse effects were unclear due to too few data.

Psychotherapy versus waiting list or no treatment

Greater improvements in BPD symptom severity (SMD −0.49, 95% CI −0.93 to −0.05; 3 trials, 161 participants), psychosocial functioning (SMD −0.56, 95% CI −1.01 to −0.11; 5 trials, 219 participants), and depression (SMD −1.28, 95% CI −2.21 to −0.34, 6 trials, 239 participants) were observed in participants receiving psychotherapy versus waiting list or no treatment (all low‐quality evidence). No evidence of a difference was found for self‐harm and suicide‐related outcomes.

Individual treatment approaches

DBT and MBT have the highest numbers of primary trials, with DBT as subject of one‐third of all included trials, followed by MBT with seven RCTs.

Compared to TAU, DBT was more effective at reducing BPD severity (SMD −0.60, 95% CI −1.05 to −0.14; 3 trials, 149 participants), self‐harm (SMD −0.28, 95% CI −0.48 to −0.07; 7 trials, 376 participants) and improving psychosocial functioning (SMD −0.36, 95% CI −0.69 to −0.03; 6 trials, 225 participants). MBT appears to be more effective than TAU at reducing self‐harm (RR 0.62, 95% CI 0.49 to 0.80; 3 trials, 252 participants), suicidality (RR 0.10, 95% CI 0.04, 0.30, 3 trials, 218 participants) and depression (SMD −0.58, 95% CI −1.22 to 0.05, 4 trials, 333 participants). All findings are based on low‐quality evidence. For secondary outcomes see review text.

Authors’ conclusions

Our assessments showed beneficial effects on all primary outcomes in favour of BPD‐tailored psychotherapy compared with TAU. However, only the outcome of BPD severity reached the MIREDIF‐defined cut‐off for a clinically meaningful improvement. Subgroup analyses found no evidence of a difference in effect estimates between the different types of therapies (compared to TAU) .

The pooled analysis of psychotherapy versus waiting list or no treatment found significant improvement on BPD severity, psychosocial functioning and depression at end of treatment, but these findings were based on low‐quality evidence, and the true magnitude of these effects is uncertain. No clear evidence of difference was found for self‐harm and suicide‐related outcomes.

However, compared to TAU, we observed effects in favour of DBT for BPD severity, self‐harm and psychosocial functioning and, for MBT, on self‐harm and suicidality at end of treatment, but these were all based on low‐quality evidence. Therefore, we are unsure whether these effects would alter with the addition of more data.

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Plain language summary

Psychological therapies for people with borderline personality disorder

Background

People affected by borderline personality disorder (BPD) often have difficulties with controlling their impulses and emotions. They may have a poor self‐image, experience rapid changes in mood, harm themselves and find it hard to engage in harmonious interpersonal relationships. Different types of psychological treatments (‘talking treatments’) have been developed to help people with BPD. The effects of these treatments must be investigated to decide how well they work and if they can be harmful.

Objective

This review summarises what we currently know about the effect of psychotherapy in people with BPD.

Methods

We compared the effects of psychological treatments on people affected by BPD who did not receive treatment or who continued their usual treatment, were on a waiting list or received active treatment.

Findings

We searched for relevant research articles, and found 75 trials (4507 participants, mostly female, mean age ranging from 14.8 to 45.7 years). The trials examined a wide variety of psychological treatments (over 16 different types). They were mostly conducted in outpatient settings, and lasted between one and 36 months. Dialectical behaviour Therapy (DBT) and Mentalisation‐Based Treatment (MBT) were the therapies most studied.

Psychotherapy compared with usual treatment

Psychotherapy reduced the severity of BPD symptoms and suicidality and may reduce self‐harm and depression whilst also improving psychological functioning compared to usual treatment. DBT may be better than usual treatment at reducing BPD severity, self‐harm and improving psychosocial functioning. Similarly, MBT appears to be more effective than usual treatment at reducing self‐harm, suicidality and depression. However, these findings were all based on low‐quality evidence and therefore we are uncertain whether or not these results would change if we added more trials. Most trials did not report adverse effects, and those that did, found no obvious unwanted reactions following psychological treatment. The majority of trials (64 out of 75) were funded by grants from universities, authorities or research foundations. Four trials reported that no funding was received. For the remaining trials (7), funding was not specified.

Psychotherapy versus waiting list or no treatment

Psychotherapy was more effective than waiting list at improving BPD symptoms, psychosocial functioning, and depression, but there was no clear difference between psychotherapy, and waiting list for outcomes of self‐harm, and suicide‐related outcomes.

Conclusions

In general, psychotherapy may be more effective than usual treatment in reducing BPD symptom severity, self‐harm, suicide‐related outcomes and depression, whilst also improving psychosocial functioning. However, only the decrease in BPD symptom severity was found to be at a clinically important level. DBT appears to be better at reducing BPD severity, self‐harm, and improving psychosocial functioning compared to usual treatment and MBT appears more effective than usual treatment at reducing self‐harm and suicidality. However, we are still uncertain about these findings as the quality of the evidence is low.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7199382/

 

Improve Depression by Changing the Brain with Mindfulness

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Improve Depression by Changing the Brain with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is just as effective as medication in preventing depression relapse among adults with a history of recurrent depression, and in reducing depressive symptoms among those with active depression.” – Deborah Yip

 

Clinically diagnosed depression is the most common mental illness, affecting over 6% of the population. Major depression can be quite debilitating. Depression can be difficult to treat and is usually treated with anti-depressive medication. But, of patients treated initially with drugs only about a third attained remission of the depression. After repeated and varied treatments including drugs, therapy, exercise etc. only about two thirds of patients attained remission. But drugs often have troubling side effects and can lose effectiveness over time. In addition, many patients who achieve remission have relapses and recurrences of the depression. Even after remission some symptoms of depression may still be present (residual symptoms).

 

Being depressed and not responding to treatment or relapsing is a terribly difficult situation. The patients are suffering, and nothing appears to work to relieve their intense depression. Suicide becomes a real possibility. So, it is imperative that other treatments be identified that can relieve the suffering. Mindfulness training has been shown to be an effective treatment for depression and its recurrence and even in the cases where drugs fail.

 

The most used mindfulness technique for the treatment of depression is Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).  MBCT involves mindfulness training, containing sitting and walking meditation and body scan, and cognitive therapy to alter how the patient relates to the thought processes that often underlie and exacerbate psychological symptoms. MBCT has been shown to be as effective as antidepressant drugs in relieving the symptoms of depression and preventing depression reoccurrence and relapse. In addition, it appears to be effective as either a supplement to or a replacement for these drugs. It is unclear, however if MBCT is also effective in treating late life depression in the elderly.

 

In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Regulates Brain Connectivity in Patients With Late-Life Depression.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8882841/ ) Li and colleagues recruited older adults (over 60 years of age) with late life depression and randomly assigned them to receive 8 weekly sessions of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) with daily home practice or treatment as usual. They were measured before and after training and 3 months later for depression, anxiety, and cognitive function, they also underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

 

They found that in comparison to baseline and the treatment as usual group, those that received Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) had significantly lower depression after training and at the 3 month follow-up. In addition, the greater the amount of home meditation practice the greater the reductions in depression. They also found that after treatment there was a significant increase in functional connectivity between the amygdala and cerebral cortex. In addition, the greater the increase in functional connectivity, the greater the reductions in depression.

 

These findings suggest that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a safe and effective treatment for late life depression. But they also suggest that changes in the connectivity between brain areas may underlie the improvements in depression.

 

So, change the brain to improve late life depression with mindfulness.

 

“MBCT (combined with antidepressants or delivered alongside antidepressant tapering/discontinuation) is comparable to maintenance antidepressants alone in preventing subsequent relapse.” – Oxford Mindfulness Centre

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Li, H., Yan, W., Wang, Q., Liu, L., Lin, X., Zhu, X., Su, S., Sun, W., Sui, M., Bao, Y., Lu, L., Deng, J., & Sun, X. (2022). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Regulates Brain Connectivity in Patients With Late-Life Depression. Frontiers in psychiatry, 13, 841461. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.841461

 

Abstract

Late-life depression (LLD) is an important public health problem among the aging population. Recent studies found that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) can effectively alleviate depressive symptoms in major depressive disorder. The present study explored the clinical effect and potential neuroimaging mechanism of MBCT in the treatment of LLD. We enrolled 60 participants with LLD in an 8-week, randomized, controlled trial (ChiCTR1800017725). Patients were randomized to the treatment-as-usual (TAU) group or a MBCT+TAU group. The Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) were used to evaluate symptoms. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to measure changes in resting-state functional connectivity and structural connectivity. We also measured the relationship between changes in brain connectivity and improvements in clinical symptoms. HAMD total scores in the MBCT+TAU group were significantly lower than in the TAU group after 8 weeks of treatment (p < 0.001) and at the end of the 3-month follow-up (p < 0.001). The increase in functional connections between the amygdala and middle frontal gyrus (MFG) correlated with decreases in HAMA and HAMD scores in the MBCT+TAU group. Diffusion tensor imaging analyses showed that fractional anisotropy of the MFG-amygdala significantly increased in the MBCT+TAU group after 8-week treatment compared with the TAU group. Our study suggested that MBCT improves depression and anxiety symptoms that are associated with LLD. MBCT strengthened functional and structural connections between the amygdala and MFG, and this increase in communication correlated with improvements in clinical symptoms.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8882841/

 

Mindfulness Training Produces no Harm

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Mindfulness Training Produces no Harm

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“the occurrence of AEs during or after meditation practices is not uncommon, and may occur in individuals with no previous history of mental health problems.” – M. Farias

 

People begin meditation with the misconception that meditation will help them escape from their problems. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, meditation does the exact opposite, forcing the meditator to confront their issues. In meditation, the practitioner tries to quiet the mind. But, in that relaxed quiet state, powerful, highly emotionally charged thoughts and memories are likely to emerge. The strength here is that meditation is a wonderful occasion to begin to deal with these issues. But often the thoughts or memories are overwhelming. At times, professional therapeutic intervention may be needed.

 

Many practitioners never experience these negative experiences or only experience very mild states. There are, however, few systematic studies of the extent of negative experiences. In general, the research has reported that unwanted (negative) experiences are quite common with meditators, but for the most part, are short-lived and mild. There is, however, a great need for more research into the nature of the experiences that occur during meditation.

 

In today’s Research News article “). Prevalence of harm in mindfulness-based stress reduction.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7889774/ ) Hirshberg and colleagues compared patients who had received treatment with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program to those on a wait-list. MBSR was either delivered in community settings or was part of a formal randomized clinical trial and consisted of 8 weekly 2.5-hour sessions involving meditation, yoga, body scan, and group discussion with daily homework. They were measured before and after treatment for global psychological symptom severity and bothersome physical symptoms. They were also measured for anxiety, depression, interpersonal sensitivity, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism.

 

They found that Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) significantly improved psychological and physical symptoms and only a small number of patients experienced increases in symptoms at a much lower proportion than control participants. There was not a single comparison in which MBSR led to greater harm than occurred in controls.

 

Hence, no evidence was found that mindfulness training led to harm greater than with no treatment while there was clear evidence for mindfulness training producing significantly lower levels of psychological and physical symptoms.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) was clearly a safe and effective treatment to improve mental and physical well-being,

 

 

“Meditation isn’t magic. Like any other treatment for stress or mood disorders, it comes with side effects.” – Simon Spichak

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Hirshberg, M. J., Goldberg, S. B., Rosenkranz, M., & Davidson, R. J. (2020). Prevalence of harm in mindfulness-based stress reduction. Psychological medicine, 1–9. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291720002834

 

Abstract

Background

Mindfulness meditation has become a common method for reducing stress, stress-related psychopathology and some physical symptoms. As mindfulness programs become ubiquitous, concerns have been raised about their unknown potential for harm. We estimate multiple indices of harm following Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on two primary outcomes: global psychological and physical symptoms. In secondary analyses we estimate multiple indices of harm on anxiety and depressive symptoms, discomfort in interpersonal relations, paranoid ideation and psychoticism.

Methods

Intent-to-treat analyses with multiple imputation for missing data were used on pre- and post-test data from a large, observational dataset (n = 2155) of community health clinic MBSR classes and from MBSR (n = 156) and waitlist control (n = 118) participants from three randomized controlled trials conducted contemporaneous to community classes in the same city by the same health clinic MBSR teachers. We estimate change in symptoms, proportion of participants with increased symptoms, proportion of participants reporting greater than a 35% increase in symptoms, and for global psychological symptoms, clinically significant harm.

Results

We find no evidence that MBSR leads to higher rates of harm relative to waitlist control on any primary or secondary outcome. On many indices of harm across multiple outcomes, community MBSR was significantly preventative of harm.

Conclusions

Engagement in MBSR is not predictive of increased rates of harm relative to no treatment. Rather, MBSR may be protective against multiple indices of harm. Research characterizing the relatively small proportion of MBSR participants that experience harm remains important.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7889774/