Meditation

Improve Cognition at Work with Mindfulness

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Improve Cognition at Work with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“mindfulness has a variety of benefits — many of which can positively impact an individual’s job performance.” –  Headspace

 

Work is very important for our health and well-being. We spend approximately 25% of our adult lives at work. Indeed, the work environment has even become an important part of our social lives, with friendships and leisure time activities often attached to the people we work with. But work-related stress is epidemic in the western workplace. Almost two thirds of workers reporting high levels of stress at work. This stress can result in impaired health and can result in burnout; producing fatigue, cynicism, and professional inefficacy. To help overcome unhappiness, stress, and burnout, mindfulness practices have been implemented in the workplace.

 

In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness and music interventions in the workplace: assessment of sustained attention and working memory using a crowdsourcing approach.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9044827/ ) Axelsen and colleagues recruited adult workers online and randomly assigned them to a wait-list control condition, or to receive 10 minutes daily for 30 days of mindfulness training with the “Headspace” smartphone app, or to listen to music with a smartphone app.  Before and after the interventions the participants completed a measure of perceived stress and also engaged in playing cognitive games on their smartphones which were designed to measure sustained attention and working memory.

 

They found that in comparison to baseline and the wait-list control group, both the mindfulness and music groups had significant reductions in perceived stress. Only the mindfulness group had significant increases in sustained attention and working memory. Hence, feelings of being stressed can be reduced by either mindfulness or listening to music. But mindfulness training also improves cognitive performance in workers. It is assumed but not measured that increased sustained attention in particular would produce improvements in work performance.

 

So, mindfulness training on smartphones can improve workers memory and attention.

 

“Meditating at work can reduce stress and frustration, while also boosting focus, compassion, energy, and productivity.” – Headspace

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

 

Study Summary

 

Axelsen, J. L., Meline, J., Staiano, W., & Kirk, U. (2022). Mindfulness and music interventions in the workplace: assessment of sustained attention and working memory using a crowdsourcing approach. BMC psychology, 10(1), 108. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00810-y

 

Abstract

Background

Occupational stress has huge financial as well as human costs. Application of crowdsourcing might be a way to strengthen the investigation of occupational mental health. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess Danish employees’ stress and cognition by relying on a crowdsourcing approach, as well as investigating the effect of a 30-day mindfulness and music intervention.

Methods

We translated well-validated neuropsychological laboratory- and task-based paradigms into an app-based platform using cognitive games measuring sustained attention and working memory and measuring stress via. Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale. A total of 623 healthy volunteers from Danish companies participated in the study and were randomized into three groups, which consisted of a 30-day intervention of either mindfulness or music, or a non-intervention control group.

Results

Participants in the mindfulness group showed a significant improvement in the coefficient of sustained attention, working memory capacity and perceived stress (p < .001). The music group showed a 38% decrease of self-perceived stress. The control group showed no difference from pre to post in the survey or cognitive outcome measures. Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between usage of the mindfulness and music app and elevated score on both the cognitive games and the perceived stress scale.

Conclusion

The study supports the nascent field of crowdsourcing by being able to replicate data collected in previous well-controlled laboratory studies from a range of experimental cognitive tasks, making it an effective alternative. It also supports mindfulness as an effective intervention in improving mental health in the workplace.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9044827/

Improve Quality of Life with Yoga and Meditation

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Improve Quality of Life with Yoga and Meditation

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Though the benefits of a yoga practice initially arrive on our mats, a regular practice expands those benefits as they permeate into our daily lives beyond the four corners of our mats.” – Crystal Borup-Popenoe

 

Yoga practice has been shown to have a myriad of benefits for psychological and physical health, social, and spiritual well-being. It is both an exercise and a mind-body practice those stresses both mental attention to present moment movements, breath control, and flexibility, range of motion, and balance.

 

In today’s Research News article “Health-Related Quality of Life Outcomes With Regular Yoga and Heartfulness Meditation Practice: Results From a Multinational, Cross-sectional Study.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9116454/  ) Thimmapuram and colleagues recruit participants in the International Day of Yoga 100 day Yoga and heartfulness meditation practice online from countries around the world and had them complete measures of yoga practice, health-related quality of life, relaxation, nervousness, and stress.

 

Both regular yoga practitioners and also heartfulness meditation practitioners in comparison to those who were not had significantly higher health-related quality of life, healthy lifestyle, ability to cope with stress, workplace productivity, relaxation, and staying healthy during Covid-19 and lower levels of stress. Hence, regular practitioners of yoga or heartfulness meditation were associated with greater health and well-being.

 

The study does not establish causation but provide evidence that the relationship of the practices to health and well-being occur regardless of country.

 

“Moderate‐quality evidence supports the recommendation of yoga as a supportive intervention for improving health‐related quality of life and reducing fatigue and sleep disturbances when compared with no therapy, as well as for reducing depression, anxiety and fatigue, when compared with psychosocial/educational interventions. “ – Holger Cramer

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

 

Study Summary

 

Thimmapuram, J., Patel, K., Madhusudhan, D. K., Deshpande, S., Bouderlique, E., Nicolai, V., & Rao, R. (2022). Health-Related Quality of Life Outcomes With Regular Yoga and Heartfulness Meditation Practice: Results From a Multinational, Cross-sectional Study. JMIR formative research, 6(5), e37876. https://doi.org/10.2196/37876

 

Abstract

Background

Although the benefits of yoga are well established across the world, there are limited studies exploring the long-term interrelation between yoga, meditation, and health. Specifically, there is limited research exploring the differences in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among regular meditators and nonmeditators.

Objective

This study explored the differences in 7 domains of HRQOL (including quality of life, ability to adopt a healthy lifestyle, ability to relax, frequency of nervousness and stress, coping with day-to-day stress, workplace productivity, and staying healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic) among practitioners of yoga and meditation.

Methods

A cross-sectional, online survey was distributed to all members who participated in a 100-day yoga and meditation program, culminating in the International Day of Yoga event, organized by the Heartfulness Institute in partnership with the Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy, Ministry of Ayush, SVYASA Yoga University, and Patanjali Yoga Institute, India. The program consisted of daily virtual yoga, meditation, and speaker sessions. The data were analyzed by nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis tests for continuous variables and chi-square test for categorical variables.

Results

A total of 3164 participants from 39 countries completed the survey. Mean age was 33.8 (SD 13.6) years. The majority of the participants were female (n=1643, 52%) and students (n=1312, 41.5%). Regular yoga and meditation practice was associated with a positive impact on all 7 domains of HRQOL (Mann-Whitney P<.05 and χ2 P<.05). Notably, experienced Heartfulness (≥2 years) meditators reported better outcomes in all the domains of HRQOL as compared to those not currently practicing this form of meditation and participants with ≤1 year of Heartfulness meditation experience (P<.05).

Conclusions

This is one of the first cross-sectional studies to explore HRQOL outcomes among participants of a 100-day virtual yoga and meditation program. Overall, a yoga and meditation practice was found to be an effective tool for promoting HRQOL. Regular yoga and meditation practice was associated with factors promoting health and well-being, with long-term meditation practice associated with increased benefits.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9116454/

Improve Shoulder Pain with Brief Meditation

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Improve Shoulder Pain with Brief Meditation

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mindfulness also helps deconstruct the pain: Rather than seeing it as a solid block that has taken over a part of your body, you go into the pain and see moments of pressure, moments of burning, moments of iciness, etc,” – Sharon Salzberg

 

We all have to deal with pain. It’s inevitable, but hopefully it’s mild and short lived. For a wide swath of humanity, however, pain is a constant in their lives. At least 100 million adult Americans have chronic pain conditions. The most common treatment for chronic pain is drugs. These include over-the-counter analgesics and opioids. But opioids are dangerous and highly addictive. Prescription opioid overdoses kill more than 14,000 people annually. So, there is a great need to find safe and effective ways to lower the psychological distress and improve the individual’s ability to cope with the pain.

 

There is an accumulating volume of research findings that demonstrate that mindfulness practices, in general, are effective in treating pain. Shoulder pain is a very common musculoskeletal complaint. The effects of meditation and acupressure on chronic shoulder pain have received little research attention.

 

In today’s Research News article “Reduced Pain by Mind-Body Intervention Correlates with Improvement of Shoulder Function in People with Shoulder Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8970874/ ) Kang and colleagues recruited adults with chronic shoulder pain and randomly assigned them to a wait-list control condition or to receive a 5 minute meditation plus acupressure treatment. They were measured before and after treatment for pain, activities of daily living, range of motion, and strength.

 

They found that in comparison to the wait-list controls and the baseline after meditation and acupressure treatment there was a significant reduction in pain intensity and a significant improvement in range of motion. Thus, a brief meditation plus acupressure treatment appears to have a beneficial effect for chronic shoulder pain patients. Whether these effects are lasting has yet to be determined.

 

So, relieve shoulder pain with brief meditation.

 

“Research shows that meditation uses neural pathways that make the brain less sensitive to pain and increases use of the brain’s own pain-reducing opioids.” – Deborah Weatherspoon

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

 

Study Summary

 

Kang, H., An, S. C., Kim, B., Song, Y., Yoo, J., Koh, E., Lee, S., & Yang, H. J. (2022). Reduced Pain by Mind-Body Intervention Correlates with Improvement of Shoulder Function in People with Shoulder Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2022, 6149052. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/6149052

 

Abstract

Meditation and acupressure-like stimulations have been shown to relieve pain. The aim of this study was to determine whether a short bout of mind-body intervention combined with meditation and acupressure-like stimulation was able to alleviate shoulder pain and improve its function in a short time window. Sixty-five adults with shoulder pain were recruited and randomly classified into two groups. One group participated in an intervention which consisted of acupressure-like stimulation and meditation over a 5 min period. The other group was instructed to rest during this time. A visual analog scale (VAS) pain score and objective constant scores were measured before and after intervention to determine shoulder pain and range of motion (ROM), respectively. A two-way repeated measures analysis of variance with Bonferroni correction and a regression analysis were performed. VAS pain, objective constant score, flexion, abduction, and external rotation score showed significant interactions between time and group. The pain intensity was significantly reduced, while flexion and abduction were significantly improved, in the experimental group compared to the control group, after the intervention. In addition, the change of flexion negatively correlated with the change of pain intensity in the experimental group, but not in the control group. These results show that a short-term application of mind-body intervention significantly alleviates shoulder pain and improves shoulder movement, suggesting its potential use as a therapy for people with shoulder pain.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8970874/

Improve Secure Attachment and Resilience in Adolescents with Meditation

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Improve Secure Attachment and Resilience in Adolescents with Meditation

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“meditation for teens. The practise of meditation will help you to let go of what is out of your control. To lessen the negative and draining energy of worry and anxiety.” – Tejay Dowe

 

Adolescence is a time of mental, physical, social, and emotional growth. But adolescence can be a difficult time, fraught with challenges. During this time the child transitions to young adulthood; including the development of intellectual, psychological, physical, and social abilities and characteristics. There are so many changes occurring during this time that the child can feel overwhelmed and unable to cope with all that is required. This can lead to emotional and behavioral problems.

 

Indeed, up to a quarter of adolescents suffer from depression or anxiety disorders, and an even larger proportion struggle with subclinical symptoms. Mindfulness training in adults has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression levels and improve resilience and emotional regulation. In addition, in adolescents it has been shown to improve emotion regulation and to benefit psychological and emotional health.

 

In today’s Research News article “Meditation and Five Precepts Mediate the Relationship between Attachment and Resilience.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8947555/ ) DeMaranville and colleagues recruited 10th – 12th grade students and had them complete measures of attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, positive behavioral characteristics, precept practice, and resilience.

 

They found that the higher the levels of both attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance the lower the levels of resilience and the higher the levels meditation and precept practices the higher the levels of resilience. They also found that attachment anxiety was negatively associated with resilience by being negatively associated with meditation and precept practices.

 

Resilience is very important during adolescence where adversity can derail the individuals social/emotional/psychological development. The results of the current study suggest that an adolescent’s inability to bond with other human beings (insecure attachment) lowers the adolescent’s ability to adapt to adversity (resilience). But meditation and precept practices improve that adaptability. Finally, the results suggest that insecure attachment is associated with lower levels of meditation and precept practices resulting in less facilitation of resilience.

 

So, poor ability to bond with others reduces adolescents’ adaptability while meditation increases adaptability.

 

“Mindfulness offers teens a sense of control over their emotions and circumstances and will help them experience more joy because they are more focused on the present moment instead of worrying about past or future stress.” – Erin VanLuven

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

 

Study Summary

 

DeMaranville, J., Wongpakaran, T., Wongpakaran, N., & Wedding, D. (2022). Meditation and Five Precepts Mediate the Relationship between Attachment and Resilience. Children (Basel, Switzerland), 9(3), 371. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9030371

 

Abstract

Secure attachment is fundamental to the development of resilience among adolescents. The present study investigated whether meditation and precept practices influence the relationship between attachment and resilience. This study recruited 453 10th–12th-grade boarding school students who completed the Experience of Close Relationship Questionnaire (revised), Resilience Inventory, Inner Strength-Based Inventory, and Precept Practice to assess attachment, resilience, meditation practice, and precepts adherence. The participants’ mean age was 16.35 ± 0.96 years; 87.9% were females, and 89.2% were Buddhists. A parallel mediation model within the structural equation framework was used for an analysis of the indirect effect of attachment on resilience through meditation and precept practices. The indirect effects of attachment anxiety and avoidance on resilience were β = −0.086, 95% CI = −0.125, −0.054, p < 0.001, and β = −0.050, 95% CI = −0.088, −0.021, p = 0.006, respectively. The indirect effect size resulting from meditation was significantly higher than that resulting from observance of the precepts. The parallel mediation model explained the 33% variance of the resilience scores, compared with 23% from the direct effect of attachment anxiety and avoidance only. This work provides evidence that meditation and precepts significantly affect the relationship between attachment and resilience.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8947555/

 

Reduce Burnout in Caregivers for the Elderly with Meditation and Yoga

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Reduce Burnout in Caregivers for the Elderly with Meditation and Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Self-care is very important for preventing caregiver burnout and senior stress, and two of the most effective self-care habits you can start are meditation and yoga.” – Harry Cline

 

There is a tremendous demand for caregiving. It is estimated that over 65 million (29% of the adult population) in the US provides care to someone who is ill, disabled or aged, averaging 20 hours per week spent caring for their loved ones. This caregiving comes at a cost exacting a tremendous toll on caregivers’ health and well-being. Caregiving has been associated with increased levels of depression and anxiety as well as higher use of psychoactive medications, poorer self-reported physical health, compromised immune function, and increased mortality. Mindfulness practice for caregivers has been shown to help them cope with the physical and psychological demands of caregiving.

 

In today’s Research News article “The effects of yoga and mindful meditation on elderly care worker’s burnout: a CONSORT-compliant randomized controlled trial.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8753257/ ) Kukihara and colleagues recruited adult caregivers for the elderly and randomly assigned them to receive either no-treatment, or 6 weekly 60-minute programs of either yoga or mindful meditation. They were measured before and after treatment for burnout and provided saliva samples for assay for the stress marker α-amylase.

 

They found that in comparison to baseline and the no-treatment control group both the yoga and meditation groups had significant reductions in burnout, particularly emotional exhaustion, and the salivary stress marker α-amylase. There were no significant differences in the benefits of the yoga or the mindful meditation programs.

 

So, practice yoga or meditation to reduce burnout and stress in caregivers for the elderly.

 

“Caregiving for a senior is a wonderful thing to do, but it comes with its difficulties and stresses. Yoga and meditation are two practices that can help seniors and their caregivers lead happier and healthier lives.” – Beverly Nelson

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

 

Study Summary

 

Kukihara, H., Ando, M., & Yamawaki, N. (2022). The effects of yoga and mindful meditation on elderly care worker’s burnout: a CONSORT-compliant randomized controlled trial. Journal of rural medicine : JRM, 17(1), 14–20. https://doi.org/10.2185/jrm.2021-021

 

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the effects of mindful meditation and yoga on reducing burnout and stress in care workers who assist elderly individuals. Knowing how to reduce burnout is important because that of care workers is associated with the quality of client care, worker productivity, and job turnover.

Patients and Methods: The participants included 44 care workers who worked for elderly care facilities in rural Fukuoka. They were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups: control, yoga, or mindfulness. In the yoga intervention group, a certified yoga instructor taught a 60-minute yoga session each week for six weeks. In the mindfulness group, an experienced medical doctor instructed a mindful meditation program for the same length. Participants were asked to complete the Japanese Burnout Scale (JBS), and the research team collected the level of α-amylase in saliva using NIPRO: T-110-N pre- and post-interventions.

Results: MANOVA was performed with each intervention (control, yoga, mindfulness) as the independent variable on the three subscales of the JBS (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal achievement) and a biomarker of stress level (α-amylase). The results indicated a significant main effect of interventions, and a follow-up ANOVA showed a significant effect of interventions on emotional exhaustion and personal achievement.

Conclusion: The results indicate that practicing mindful meditation or yoga for 60 minutes once a week for six weeks can reduce care workers’ burnout. This study was notable because the biomarker of stress also improved. It is strongly recommended and encouraged that institutions caring for the elderly population provide mindful meditation or yoga intervention to reduce burnout, which benefits not only care workers but also their clients.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8753257/

 

Improve Positive Psychological States with Mindfulness

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Improve Positive Psychological States with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“So how does meditation lead to greater happiness? “Loving-kindness is designed to elicit positive emotions. We are stretching the way we pay attention by looking for the good in ourselves or wishing ourselves well through loving-kindness.”  – Caren Osten

 

“Meditation leads to concentration, concentration leads to understanding, and understanding leads to happiness” – This wonderful quote from the modern-day sage Thich Nhat Hahn is a beautiful pithy description of the benefits of mindfulness practice. Mindfulness allows us to view our experience and not judge it, not put labels on it, not make assumptions about it, not relate it to past experiences, and not project it into the future. Rather mindfulness lets us experience everything around and within us exactly as it is arising and falling away from moment to moment. Mindfulness meditation has been shown to increase positive emotions and happiness. But there is a need to further investigate the effects of mindfulness on positive emotional states.

 

In today’s Research News article “A New Second-Generation Mindfulness-Based Intervention Focusing on Well-Being: A Randomized Control Trial of Mindfulness-Based Positive Psychology.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8976107/ ) Zheng and colleagues recruited healthy adults and randomly assigned them to either a wait-list control condition or to receive mindfulness meditation instruction for 2.5 hours per week for 6 weeks followed by 20 minutes of meditation practice along with home practice. They were measured before, during (every 2 weeks), after, and 3 months after the treatment for satisfaction with life, positive and negative emotions, psychological well-being, mindfulness, attitudes toward self and others, and self-compassion.

 

They found that the mindfulness meditation program produced a significant reduction in negative emotions and significant increases in self-compassion and environmental mastery. They also found that the greater the amount of meditation practice the higher the levels of positive emotions, positive relations, and awareness.

 

So, mindfulness meditation increased positive psychological states in healthy adults.

 

“In order to have the resiliency to face difficulties . . . we need to find and nurture the positive parts of ourselves, and make a point of paying attention to experiences that give us pleasure.” – Sharon Salzberg

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

 

Study Summary

 

Zheng, Y., Zhou, J., Zeng, X., Jiang, M., & Oei, T. (2022). A New Second-Generation Mindfulness-Based Intervention Focusing on Well-Being: A Randomized Control Trial of Mindfulness-Based Positive Psychology. Journal of happiness studies, 1–22. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-022-00525-2

 

Abstract

Second-generation mindfulness-based interventions (SG-MBIs) align well with positive psychology philosophy and practices, but trials of SG-MBIs have largely focused on ill-being. This study developed a mindfulness-based positive psychology (MBPP) intervention integrating positive psychology with an SG-MBI to enhance well-being. A randomized control trial was performed to compare MBPP with a waitlist condition among 138 Chinese participants. The results showed that MBPP significantly reduced negative emotions for subjective well-being and significantly improved environmental mastery for psychological well-being. Improvements in self-compassion and negative attitudes but not avoidance, mediated changes in well-being. Changes in positive emotions, positive relations, and awareness were associated with the amount of meditation practice. These findings showed that MBPP is promising for improving well-being and that the positive psychology components play important roles. Broadly, the study illustrated that positive psychology and SG-MBIs can be effectively integrated, and it supported the further application of SG-MBIs from the positive psychology perspective.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8976107/

 

Improve Persistence of Meditation with a Fixes Anchor to Daily Life

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Improve Persistence of Meditation with a Fixes Anchor to Daily Life

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do, not that the nature of the thing has changed but that our power to do has increased.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Mindfulness 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, mindfulness training has been called the third wave of therapies. But in order for meditation to be beneficial it must be practiced. There needs to be developed methods to improve the persistence of meditation practice over time. One method might be to anchor it to a set daily habit.

 

In today’s Research News article “Using Personalized Anchors to Establish Routine Meditation Practice With a Mobile App: Randomized Controlled Trial.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8734923/ ) Stecher and colleagues recruited subscribers to the “Calm” meditation app who had not yet established a practice. They were asked to engage in meditation for 10 minutes per day using the app for 8 weeks and were sent a daily reminder to meditate. They were randomly assigned to receive wither no further instructions, instructions to use a personalized anchor, or instructions to use a fixed anchor. The participants in the personalized anchor condition were asked to select a consistent existing routine such a drinking morning coffee and meditate after that. The fixed ancho participant were instructed to meditate daily after brushing teeth. Their daily use of the app was recorded over the 8-week intervention period and for 8 more weeks.

 

They found that all groups declined in their likelihood of meditating over the intervention and follow-up period. But the group that used the fixed anchor declined significantly less than the other groups. Hence, using a fixed anchor for meditation improves persistence of daily meditation.

 

So, to produce consistent daily meditation create a fixed anchor point in the daily routine for meditation.

 

“To meditate successfully one needs to be like the long-distance runner who accepts whatever terrain he encounters.” – Ananda

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

 

Study Summary

 

Stecher, C., Sullivan, M., & Huberty, J. (2021). Using Personalized Anchors to Establish Routine Meditation Practice With a Mobile App: Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 9(12), e32794. https://doi.org/10.2196/32794

 

Abstract

Background

Physical and mental health benefits can be attained from persistent, long-term performance of mindfulness meditation with a mobile meditation app, but in general, few mobile health app users persistently engage at a level necessary to attain the corresponding health benefits. Anchoring or pairing meditation with a mobile app to an existing daily routine can establish an unconsciously initiated meditation routine that may improve meditation persistence.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to test the use of either personalized anchors or fixed anchors for establishing a persistent meditation app routine with the mobile app, Calm.

Methods

We conducted a randomized controlled trial and randomly assigned participants to one of 3 study groups: (1) a personalized anchor (PA) group, (2) fixed anchor (FA) group, or (3) control group that did not use the anchoring strategy. All participants received app-delivered reminder messages to meditate for at least 10 minutes a day using the Calm app for an 8-week intervention period, and app usage data continued to be collected for an additional 8-week follow-up period to measure meditation persistence. Baseline, week 8, and week 16 surveys were administered to assess demographics, socioeconomic status, and changes in self-reported habit strength.

Results

A total of 101 participants across the 3 study groups were included in the final analysis: (1) PA (n=56), (2) FA (n=49), and (3) control group (n=62). Participants were predominantly White (83/101, 82.2%), female (77/101, 76.2%), and college educated (ie, bachelor’s or graduate degree; 82/101, 81.2%). The FA group had a significantly higher average odds of daily meditation during the intervention (1.14 odds ratio [OR]; 95% CI 1.02-1.33; P=.04), and all participants experienced a linear decline in their odds of daily meditation during the 8-week intervention (0.96 OR; 95% CI 0.95-0.96; P<.001). Importantly, the FA group showed a significantly smaller decline in the linear trend of their odds of daily meditation during the 8-week follow-up (their daily trend increased by 1.04 OR from their trend during the intervention; 95% CI 1.01-1.06; P=.03). Additionally, those who more frequently adhered to their anchoring strategy during the intervention typically used anchors that occurred in the morning and showed a significantly smaller decline in their odds of daily meditation during the 8-week follow-up period (1.13 OR; 95% CI 1.02-1.35; P=.007).

Conclusions

The FA group had more persistent meditation with the app, but participants in the FA or PA groups who more frequently adhered to their anchoring strategy during the intervention had the most persistent meditation routines, and almost all of these high anchorers used morning anchors. These findings suggest that the anchoring strategy can create persistent meditation routines with a mobile app. However, future studies should combine anchoring with additional intervention tools (eg, incentives) to help more participants successfully establish an anchored meditation routine.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8734923/

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/

Improve Mental Health with Mantra-Based Meditation

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Improve Mental Health with Mantra-Based Meditation

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Many people find that using a mantra can boost awareness and improve concentration. Since it helps you stay focused, it could lead to improved results from meditation.” – Timothy Legg

 

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. But many people have difficulty quieting the mind and maintaining concentration during meditation. Repeating a mantra during meditation has been thought to help prevent intrusive thoughts and improve concentration and focus during meditation. There have been a number of studies of the psychological benefits of mantra-based meditations. It makes sense then to summarize what has been learned.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effectiveness of Mantra-Based Meditation on Mental Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8949812/ ) Álvarez-Pérez and colleagues review, summarize, and perform a meta-analysis of the effects of mantra-based meditations on mental health. They found 51 published research studies.

 

They report that the published research studies found that mantra-based meditations produced significant reduction in anxiety, depression, perceived stress, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and psychopathology, and significant increases in health-related quality of life. All of these effects had small to moderate effect sizes.

 

So, the published research demonstrate that mantra-based meditations produce significant improvements in mental health.

 

“Mantra meditation is not magic, but the results can be magical.”— Thomas Ashley-Farrand”

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

 

Study Summary

 

Álvarez-Pérez, Y., Rivero-Santana, A., Perestelo-Pérez, L., Duarte-Díaz, A., Ramos-García, V., Toledo-Chávarri, A., Torres-Castaño, A., León-Salas, B., Infante-Ventura, D., González-Hernández, N., Rodríguez-Rodríguez, L., & Serrano-Aguilar, P. (2022). Effectiveness of Mantra-Based Meditation on Mental Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(6), 3380. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063380

 

Abstract

Background: Meditation is defined as a form of cognitive training that aims to improve attentional and emotional self-regulation. This systematic review aims to evaluate the available scientific evidence on the effectiveness and safety of mantra-based meditation techniques (MBM), in comparison to passive or active controls, or other active treatment, for the management of mental health symptoms. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO databases were consulted up to April 2021. Randomised controlled trials regarding meditation techniques mainly based on the repetition of mantras, such as transcendental meditation or others, were included. Results: MBM, compared to control conditions, was found to produce significant small-to-moderate effect sizes in the reduction of anxiety (g = −0.46, IC95%: −0.60, −0.32; I2 = 33%), depression (g = −0.33, 95% CI: −0.48, −0.19; I2 = 12%), stress (g = −0.45, 95% CI: −0.65, −0.24; I2 = 46%), post-traumatic stress (g = −0.59, 95% CI: −0.79, −0.38; I2 = 0%), and mental health-related quality of life (g = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.15, 0.49; I2 = 0%). Conclusions: MBM appears to produce small-to-moderate significant reductions in mental health; however, this evidence is weakened by the risk of study bias and the paucity of studies with psychiatric samples and long-term follow-up.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8949812/