Home Practice

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/

 

Reduce Aggression in Law Enforcement Officers with Mindfulness

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Reduce Aggression in Law Enforcement Officers with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Law enforcement officers (LEOs) are exposed to significant stressors, elevating their risk for aggression and excessive use of force, as well as mental health consequences, including post-traumatic stress disorder, burnout, alcohol misuse, depression, and suicide. Mindfulness training is a promising approach with high-stress populations that has been shown effective for increasing resilience and improving negative mental health outcomes common among LEOs.” – Michael Christopher

 

Policing is a very stressful occupation. Stress in police can result from role conflicts between serving the public, enforcing the law, and upholding ethical standards and personal responsibilities as spouse, parent, and friend. Stress also results from, threats to health and safety, boredom, responsibility for protecting the lives of others, continual exposure to people in pain or distress, the need to control emotions even when provoked, the presence of a gun, even during off-duty hours, and the fragmented nature of police work, with only rare opportunities to follow cases to conclusion or even to obtain feedback or follow-up information.

 

This stress can have serious consequences for the individual and in turn for society. Police officers have one of the highest suicide rates in the nation, possibly the highest. They have a high divorce rate, about second in the nation. They are problem drinkers about twice as often as the general population. This is a major problem as stress and the resultant complications can impact job performance, which sometimes involve life or death situations. It can also lead to increased aggressiveness. Mindfulness training has been shown to improve the physiological and psychological responses to stress. So, it is likely that mindfulness training with police can help them cope with the stress, improve their psychological well-being, and reduce aggressiveness.

 

In today’s Research News article “Differential impact of mindfulness practices on aggression among law enforcement officers.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8274577/ ) Ribeiro and colleagues recruited meditation naïve law enforcement officers and randomly assigned them to a wait-list control condition or to receive 8 weekly 2-hour sessions of Mindfulness-Based Resilience Training (MBRT) including body scan, sitting and walking meditations, mindful movement, and group discussion along with home practice. They were measured before and after practice for meditation practice and aggression, including physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility.

 

They found that adherence to home practice was sporadic, with participants practicing at home on average for 14 days of the 56 days available. Nevertheless, they found that in comparison to baseline and the wait-list control condition, Mindfulness-Based Resilience Training (MBRT) produced a significant decrease in the levels of aggression. They also found that the higher the frequency of home meditation practices, the greater the total duration of home practice, and the greater the number of days practiced at home the lower the levels of aggression. This was true for all of the meditation practices.

 

These are interesting results that suggest that mindfulness practices reduce aggression in law enforcement officers even when practice is sporadic. Even though home practice was low, the amounts of that practice predicted the levels of reduction in aggression, the more home practice, the lower the aggression. But there were no follow-up measurements to ascertain if the effects are lasting and there was no collection of on-the-job aggression to ascertain if this reduction of aggression obtained with paper and pencil measures translates to the real world of policing. Hence, the results must be interpreted cautiously. More intensive research in the future is called for as reducing aggression in law enforcement officers would probably make them more effective and reduce burnout.

 

So, reduce aggression in law enforcement officers with mindfulness.

 

“an 8-week mindfulness intervention for police officers led to self-reported improvements in distress, mental health, and sleep, and a lower [cortisol awakening response].” – Daniel W. Grupe

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

 

Study Summary

 

Ribeiro, L., Colgan, D. D., Hoke, C. K., Hunsinger, M., Bowen, S., Oken, B. S., & Christopher, M. S. (2020). Differential impact of mindfulness practices on aggression among law enforcement officers. Mindfulness, 11(3), 734–745. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-019-01289-2

 

Abstract

Objectives:

Home-based mindfulness practice is a common component of formal mindfulness training (MT) protocols. Obtaining objective data from home-based mindfulness practice is challenging. Interpreting associations between home-based mindfulness practice and clinically impactful outcomes is complicated given the variability in recommendations in length, frequency, and type of practice. In this exploratory study, adherence to home-based practices of Mindfulness-Based Resilience Training (MBRT) was studied in order to evaluate associations with clinical outcomes.

Methods:

Home practices from 24 (92% male, non-Hispanic white, aged M = 43.20 years) law enforcement officers (LEOs) from the urban Pacific Northwest enrolled in a feasibility and efficacy trial of MBRT were studied using an objective tracking device and self-report data. Outcomes included adherence to home-based mindfulness practices and self-reported aggression.

Results:

Participants completed 59.12% of the frequency amount of practice assigned in the MBRT curriculum. Frequency of practice was associated with decreased aggression, adjusted R2 = .41, F(3,23) = 6.14, p = .004. Duration of practice also predicted decreased aggression, adjusted R2 = .33, F(3,23) = 4.76, p = .011.

Conclusions:

Home-based MBRT practices for LEOs, even at low rates of adherence, may reduce aggression. MTs may show beneficial effects for other populations presented with challenges to engage in regular MT practices.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8274577/

Mindfulness Practice at Home is Related to Improved Distress in Cancer Survivors

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Mindfulness Practice at Home is Related to Improved Distress in Cancer Survivors

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Cancer and its treatment can be stressful for people with cancer and their caregivers. Relaxation techniques and other mind/body practices can help calm your mind and sharpen your ability to focus. These techniques offer creative ways to reduce stress caused by cancer and maintain inner peace.” Rachel Barnhart

 

A cancer diagnosis has a huge impact on most people. Feelings of depression, anxiety, and fear are very common and are normal responses to this life-changing 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. People might also fear death, suffering, pain, or all the unknown things that lie ahead. So, coping with the emotions and stress of a surviving cancer is a challenge and there are no simple treatments for these psychological sequelae of cancer.

 

Mindfulness training has been shown to help with cancer recovery and help to alleviate many of the residual physical and psychological symptoms, including fatigue, stress,  sleep disturbance, fear, and anxiety and depression. Most mindfulness training programs include daily practice at home. Although it is assumed that home practice is important for the effectiveness of the intervention, it is not known how important home practice is to the effects of mindfulness practice on the physical and psychological well-being of cancer survivors.

 

In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review of Participants’ Adherence to Home Practice.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8200136/ ) Baydoun and colleagues review and summarize the published research studies of the relationship of home practice to the physical and psychological effects of mindfulness practice on cancer survivors.

 

They identified 21 published research studies that included a total of 1811 participants. They report that these published studies found that on average participants reported 23.5 minutes of daily home mindfulness practice, which was about 60% of what was recommended in the studies. They also report that the greater the amount of home practice by cancer survivors the greater the reduction in psychological distress.

 

These results suggest that adherence to recommended home practice is substantially less than recommended in the studies. But adherence is related to the psychological benefits obtained by cancer survivors. It has been assumed that home practice was important and this study suggests that it is indeed important. This suggests that future research protocols should include methods to optimize the amount of home mindfulness practice.

 

In addition, the results are correlative and as such causation cannot be determined. It is possible that people who tend to adhere to home practice recommendations are also the types of people who benefit the most from mindfulness-based interventions. So, future studies should manipulate the amount of home practice to determine causal relationships between this practice and the benefits obtained.

 

So, mindfulness practice at home is related to improved distress in cancer survivors.

 

“Cancer and its treatment can be stressful—for you and your caregivers. Practicing mindfulness and relaxation can help calm your mind, reduce stress, and sharpen your ability to focus.” – American Cancer Society

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

 

Study Summary

 

Baydoun, M., Moran, C., McLennan, A., Piedalue, K. L., Oberoi, D., & Carlson, L. E. (2021). Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review of Participants’ Adherence to Home Practice. Patient preference and adherence, 15, 1225–1242. https://doi.org/10.2147/PPA.S267064

 

Abstract

Background

Although mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have demonstrated efficacy for alleviating psychological distress in cancer survivors, little is known about the extent to which participants adhere to assigned home practice. The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize and appraise the literature on rates and correlates of adherence to mindfulness home practice among cancer survivors.

Methods

Four databases (PubMed, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, PsycInfo, and CINAHL) were searched for studies published before October 15, 2020. Articles were included if they evaluated the benefits of an MBI program for adults with cancer.

Results

Twenty-one studies (N=1811 participants) meeting the inclusion criteria were identified (randomized controlled trials (n=13), non-randomized controlled designs (n=2), single-group studies (n=6)). The pooled adherence rate for participants’ home practice was 60% of the assigned amount, which equated to 27 min per day during the intervention period. There was some evidence for a relationship between home practice of mindfulness techniques and improvements in mood, stress, anxiety, depression, and fear of cancer recurrence (correlation coefficients ranged from 0.33 to 0.67). Factors including marital status, mood disturbance at baseline, intervention modality, and personality traits were evaluated in relation to adherence to home practice, but the current literature was inadequate to evaluate whether a relationship exists.

Conclusion

Adherence to mindfulness home practice among cancer survivors is suboptimal, and most of the correlates of adherence studied to date are non-modifiable. More research is warranted to scrutinize the role of home practice in mindfulness-based interventions, including assessment of modifiable factors influencing adherence to improve benefits for this population.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8200136/

 

Improve the Psychological Well-Being of University Students with Mindfulness

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Improve the Psychological Well-Being of University Students with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mindfulness apps offer modest but clear benefits to users in terms of improved mental health. They present a promising supplement to traditional mental health services.” – Oskari Lahtinen

 

There is a lot of pressure on university students to excel so that they can get the best jobs after graduation. This stress might in fact be counterproductive as the increased pressure can actually lead to stress and anxiety which can impede the student’s physical and mental health, well-being, and school performance. Mindfulness training has been shown through extensive research to be effective in improving physical and psychological health. Indeed, these practices have been found to improve psychological health in college students.

 

In today’s Research News article “The Mental Health and Wellbeing of University Students: Acceptability, Effectiveness, and Mechanisms of a Mindfulness-Based Course.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8199969/ ) Medlicott and colleagues recruited university students who attended an 8-week mindfulness training. The program was based upon Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and was delivered in 8 weekly 90 minute sessions along with daily home practice. The participants were measured before and after the program and 6 weeks later for expected benefits from the program, wellbeing, mental health, mindfulness, self-compassion, resilience, and academic goals.

 

They found that following the course there were significant improvement in wellbeing. mental health, mindfulness, self-compassion, resilience, and orientation toward their academic goals that were maintained 6 weeks later. The effects were greater for participants who had mental health problems at the beginning of the program. In addition, the greater the amount of home practice, the greater the improvements observed. The amount of change in mindfulness and self-compassion produced by the course was related to the amount of improvement in wellbeing and mental health while the amount of change in resilience was related to the improvements in wellbeing.

 

It has to be recognized that the study did not contain a control, comparison, condition, so it is open to numerous alternative, confounding, explanations. But previous controlled research has demonstrated that mindfulness training produces improvements in wellbeing, mental health, mindfulness, self-compassion, and resilience. So, it is likely that the present findings are the result of the effects of the mindfulness training program rather than some alternative explanation.

 

These results suggest that participating in a mindfulness training program produces significant benefits for the psychological health and wellbeing of university students. The fact their orientation to academic goals was also improved suggests that the program may also improve their academic performance. Indeed, it would be expected that improvement in the students wellbeing and mental health would improve the likelihood of academic success.

 

So, improve the psychological well-being of university students with mindfulness.

 

“In college, it’s easy to compile all of the problems we’re facing and place it in to one big feeling of paranoia or stress. Headspace helps sort that out and filter what I should be worried about.” – Ryan Coughlin

 

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

 

Medlicott, E., Phillips, A., Crane, C., Hinze, V., Taylor, L., Tickell, A., Montero-Marin, J., & Kuyken, W. (2021). The Mental Health and Wellbeing of University Students: Acceptability, Effectiveness, and Mechanisms of a Mindfulness-Based Course. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(11), 6023. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18116023

 

Abstract

Mental health problems are relatively common during university and adversely affect academic outcomes. Evidence suggests that mindfulness can support the mental health and wellbeing of university students. We explored the acceptability and effectiveness of an 8-week instructor-led mindfulness-based course (“Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic World”; Williams and Penman, 2011) on improving wellbeing and mental health (self-reported distress), orientation and motivation towards academic goals, and the mechanisms driving these changes. Eighty-six undergraduate and post-graduate students (>18 years) participated. Students engaged well with the course, with 36 (48.0%) completing the whole programme, 52 (69.3%) attending 7 out of 8 sessions, and 71 (94.7%) completing at least half. Significant improvements in wellbeing and mental health were found post-intervention and at 6-week follow-up. Improvements in wellbeing were mediated by mindfulness, self-compassion, and resilience. Improvements in mental health were mediated by improvements in mindfulness and resilience but not self-compassion. Significant improvements in students’ orientation to their academic goal, measured by “commitment” to, “likelihood” of achieving, and feeling more equipped with the “skills and resources” needed, were found at post-intervention and at 6-week follow-up. Whilst exploratory, the results suggest that this mindfulness intervention is acceptable and effective for university students and can support academic study.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8199969/

 

Improve Smartphone Addiction with Mindfulness

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Improve Smartphone Addiction with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“As we get more connected to our wireless technology, we appear to run the risk of damaging our brains’ wiring, and disconnecting from the face-to-face interaction that our social and psychological systems need. With its emphasis on harnessing attention with intention (i.e. redirecting it on purpose), mindfulness—with all its scientifically-established health and well-being benefits—has the potential to keep us from drifting hopelessly away from one another.” – Mitch Abblett

 

Over the last few decades, the internet has gone from a rare curiosity to the dominant mode of electronic communications. In fact, it has become a dominant force in daily life, occupying large amounts of time and attention. As useful as the internet may be, it can also produce negative consequences. “Problematic Internet Use” is now considered a behavioral addiction, with almost half of participants in one study considered “Internet addicts”, developing greater levels of “tolerance” and experiencing “withdrawal” and distress when deprived. This phenomenon is so new that there is little understanding of its nature, causes, and consequences and how to treat it. The dominant mode of accessing the internet is through smartphones creating smartphone addictions.

 

Future time perspective is the ability to anticipate and plan to bring about desired outcomes in the future. Most addictions involve being completely driven by present needs. So, future time perspective is contrary to addiction and may help to overcome addiction. Mindfulness training has been shown to be helpful with each of the components of addictions, decreasing cravings, impulsiveness, and psychological and physiological responses to stress, and increasing emotion regulation.  Mindfulness has also been shown to be associated with a balanced time perspective. It is no wonder then that mindfulness training has been found to be effective for the treatment of a variety of addictions. Hence, there is a need to further explore the relationships of smartphone addiction with future time perspective and mindfulness.

 

In today’s Research News article “Smartphone use disorder and future time perspective of college students: the mediating role of depression and moderating role of mindfulness.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6969420/), Zhang and colleagues recruited freshman and sophomore college students aged 18-22 years. The completed measures of future time perspective, smartphone use disorder, depression, and mindfulness.

 

They found that the higher the levels of mindfulness the higher the levels of future time perspective and the lower the levels of depression and smartphone use disorder. They also found that the higher the levels of future time perspective the higher the levels of mindfulness and the lower the levels of depression and smartphone use disorder. They then performed a mediation analysis and found that future time perspective had not only a direct and relationship with smartphone use disorder but also was indirectly related via depression such that future time perspective was negatively related to depression which, in turn, was positively related to. smartphone use disorder. Finally, they found that mindfulness moderated the indirect path with high mindfulness decreasing the relationship of future time perspective on depression and decreasing the relationship of depression with smartphone use disorder.

 

This study is correlational and as such causation cannot be determined. Nevertheless, the results suggest that the ability of college students to focus on the future is associated with lower depression and smartphone addictions. Also, college students’ addictions to smartphones are lower when mindfulness is present. This relationship occurs directly and as a result of moderating the relationships between thinking and planning for the future, depression, and smartphone use disorder. It remains for future research to train students in mindfulness to determine if mindfulness can be used to treat addictions to smartphones.

 

So, improve smartphone addiction with mindfulness.

 

“just as technology is increasingly being developed to attract and hold our attention, with mindfulness we can develop the capability to be much more aware of where the spotlight of our attention is being drawn to, and consciously choose to direct and place our attention and energy on an activity of our choosing.” – Neil Tranter

 

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

 

Zhang, Y., Lv, S., Li, C., Xiong, Y., Zhou, C., Li, X., & Ye, M. (2020). Smartphone use disorder and future time perspective of college students: the mediating role of depression and moderating role of mindfulness. Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health, 14, 3. doi:10.1186/s13034-020-0309-9

 

Abstract

Background

Smartphone use disorder (SUD) of college students has drawn increasing attention. Although future time perspective (FTP) may be an important protective factor for individual SUD, the moderating and mediating mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unknown. We tested the individual roles of depression and mindfulness as moderators of this relationship.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in two colleges in Shandong and Chongqing in China using a sample of 1304 college students recruited by stratified cluster sampling. Data were collected through a validated self-report instrument. A moderation–mediation model was constructed, and an SPSS PROCESS macro was used to analyse the data.

Results

The correlation analyses showed that FTP was negatively associated with SUD of college students. The mediation model revealed that depression partially mediated the link between FTP and SUD of college students. The moderation–mediation model suggested that mindfulness moderates two direct paths: FTP to depression and depression to SUD. In the first path (FTP to depression), a high level of mindfulness among college students had weakened the relationship between FTP and depression. Here, the relationship is strengthened by a low level of mindfulness. In the second path (depression to SUD), low levels of mindfulness strengthen the link between depression and FTP. In contrast, significant association was not found with high levels of mindfulness.

Conclusions

Results suggest that interventions, such as improving the individual level of FTP and mindfulness, should be conducted. These interventions, in turn, help control the level of depression in college students and ultimately decrease their level of SUD.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6969420/

 

Improve Mindfulness Treatment Outcomes with Home Practice

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Improve Mindfulness Treatment Outcomes with Home Practice

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

 “An average course student practices 30 minutes daily at home, but the good news is that nevertheless, this practice is related to positive benefit. This can be measured as reduced stress, pain, better well-being and so on.” – Science Daily

 

Over the last several decades, research and anecdotal experiences have accumulated an impressive evidential case that the development of mindfulness has positive benefits for the individual’s mental, physical, and spiritual life. Mindfulness appears to be beneficial both for healthy people and for people suffering from a myriad of illnesses. It appears to be beneficial across ages, from children to the elderly. And it appears to be beneficial across genders, personalities, race, and ethnicity. The breadth and depth of benefits is unprecedented. There is no other treatment or practice that has been shown to come anyway near the range of mindfulness’ positive benefits.

 

With impacts so great it is important to know how to optimize the development of mindfulness. Most forms of training require or strongly suggest that the participants practice at home. It is not established, however, how important this home practice is to the beneficial outcomes of mindfulness practice. In today’s Research News article “The Utility of Home-Practice in Mindfulness-Based Group Interventions: A Systematic Review.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5968057/ ),  Lloyd and colleagues reviewed and summarized the published research literature on the benefits of home practice in association with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).

 

They found 14 controlled studies, 8 of which employed MBSR and 6 employed MBCT treating a total of 725 participants. All of these studies used self-report measures of home practice that varied considerably in technique and variables measured. MBSR and MBCT trainings require home practice of 45 minutes per day for 6 days a week (270 minutes). They report that the studies found that actual home practice varied considerably from study to study ranging from 15% to 88% of the recommended amount. The results reported on the impact of home practice on clinical and non-clinical outcome measures were mixed partially due the wide differences in reporting techniques, analyses reported and procedures. Of the 14 reviewed studies only 7 examined the relationship between home-practice and clinical outcomes, of these 4 found that home-practice predicted small but significant improvements on clinical outcome measures.

 

Hence, there are indications suggesting that home practice may be useful for improving the clinical outcomes of mindfulness training. But, the research is so widely different that it is impossible to reach firm conclusions. There is a great need for more attention to the topic employing more standardized assessment techniques. It is important to establish what are the necessary components of practice to produce benefits. The reviewed studies suggest that home practice may be beneficial. This should help in the future in better delineating and refining the most beneficial training techniques.

 

So, improve mindfulness treatment outcomes with home practice.

 

“mindfulness home practice may have a small but positive effect on treatment outcomes, however the strength of this association was not found to depend on the length of time people spent practicing.” – Elena Marcus

 

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

Lloyd, A., White, R., Eames, C., & Crane, R. (2018). The Utility of Home-Practice in Mindfulness-Based Group Interventions: A Systematic Review. Mindfulness, 9(3), 673–692. http://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0813-z

 

Abstract

A growing body of research supports the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs). MBIs consider home-practice as essential to increasing the therapeutic effects of the treatment. To date however, the synthesis of the research conducted on the role of home-practice in controlled MBI studies has been a neglected area. This review aimed to conduct a narrative synthesis of published controlled studies, evaluating mindfulness-based group interventions, which have specifically measured home-practice. Empirical research literature published until June 2016 was searched using five databases. The search strategy focused on mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), and home-practice. Included studies met the following criteria: controlled trials, participants 18 years and above, evaluations of MBSR or MBCT, utilised standardised quantitative outcome measures and monitored home-practice using a self-reported measure. Fourteen studies met the criteria and were included in the review. Across all studies, there was heterogeneity in the guidance and resources provided to participants and the approaches used for monitoring home-practice. In addition, the guidance on the length of home-practice was variable across studies, which indicates that research studies and teachers are not adhering to the published protocols. Finally, only seven studies examined the relationship between home-practice and clinical outcomes, of which four found that home-practice predicted improvements on clinical outcome measures. Future research should adopt a standardised approach for monitoring home-practice across MBIs. Additionally, studies should assess whether the amount of home-practice recommended to participants is in line with MBSR/MBCT manualised protocols. Finally, research should utilise experimental methodologies to explicitly explore the relationship between home-practice and clinical outcomes.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5968057/