Mindful Motherhood

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Mindful Motherhood

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“There could not be a better time to learn mindfulness than during pregnancy and early motherhood. For one thing, this is a time when most people have a strong motivation to become the best person they can be in a relatively short period of time. When you realize the full enormity of the responsibility you have taken on by becoming a mom, the primary source of care for another whole human being, not to mention one that you love more than you thought you could ever love, there is a really high level of motivation to try your best to get yourself into the best mental and emotional shape possible.” – Cassandra Vieten

 

Mothers’ Day was basically invented and promoted by the greeting card and florist industries. But, even though its origins were crass, the idea took off, because it hit upon a truth; that we all love our mothers. As a result, Mothers’ Day has become a culturally accepted and encouraged time for the celebration of motherhood and all that it means. The deep bonds and love that virtually everyone feels for their mothers and their mothers for them fuels the celebration of the holiday.

 

Motherhood is ubiquitous. Everyone has a mother, who in turn, has had a mother, who has had a mother, etc. Many are, or want to be mothers. It plays an immensely important role in our individual and societal existence. The bond that develops between mother and child is a beautiful, virtually unbreakable, thing, perhaps the strongest bond between individuals that exists. It is essential for ensuring the nurturance that is mandatory for the life of the virtually helpless infant and the development of the child. The effectiveness, or lack thereof, of mothering has a major impact on the offspring that continue throughout their lives. It is such an important role that it seems reasonable to explore what goes into successful mothering and child rearing and what might be of assistance in improving mothering. There has accumulated a tremendous amount of scientific evidence that mindfulness, (“awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally”) can be an important asset for mothers, from conception, to pregnancy, birth, nurturing the infant, and childrearing and the mindfulness of the child can be an important asset for its development. So, on this day celebrating motherhood, we’ll explore the role of mindfulness.

 

Mothering does not occur in a vacuum. It’s been said that “It takes a village” to rear a child. Indeed, motherhood is embedded in a community. There are many people who are either directly or indirectly involved, from the father, to the extended family, the community, the medical profession, teachers, clergy, social workers, childcare workers, and even the government. So relationships become an essential part of mothering from conception, to birth, and family and social life. Mindfulness has been found to be important to becoming a mother in the first place. Mindfulness makes the individual more attractive to the opposite sex, it improves sexual relationships, it helps to relieve infertility, and it improves relationships in general. All of which underscores the importance of mindfulness in improving the likelihood that conception will occur and that childbirth will be born into a supportive social context.

 

Mindfulness continues to be helpful during pregnancy. It can help to relieve the anxiety and depression that commonly accompany pregnancy and even appears to benefit the neurocognitive development of the infant. After birth mindfulness continues to be of assistance as it improves caregiving and parenting, even in the case where the child has developmental disabilities. Mindfulness not only helps the parents deal with the stresses of childrearing, but developing mindfulness in the child can be of great assistance to helping the kids develop emotionally and cognitively, develop high level thinking, develop healthy self-concepts, develop socially, deal with stress, and cope with trauma and childhood depression. It even improves the child’s psychosocial development and academic performance and grades in school. In addition, it seems to be able to assist children through the troubled times of adolescence.

 

It should be clear that mindfulness is an important component of motherhood. Why would this be so? There are a number of reasons that mindfulness helps. It reduces the psychological and physical effects of stress on the mother and let’s face it, pregnancy, birth, caring for infants and raising children can be quite stressful. Mindfulness also improves emotion regulation making the mother better able to be in touch with her emotions yet react to them adaptively and effectively. Mindfulness helps the mother maintain her health and well-being, and to recover quicker should she become ill. After all, mothers can’t take sick leave or take vacations.

 

The essential capacity developed in mindfulness training is paying much greater attention to what’s occurring in the present moment. This can be of immense help to the mother. It makes her better attuned to her child’s and to her own needs. It reduces rumination and recriminations about past mistakes. It tends to diminish the worry and anxiety about the future. It helps her to focus on what needs to be done now, making her much more effective. And it helps her to experience the joys of motherhood to their fullest. In general, by focusing on now, she is tuned into the only time that matters for herself or her child, improving her relationship with reality, dealing with its problems and relishing its wonders.

 

Hence, mindfulness can make mothering better, both for the mother, and the child. So, on this important day of celebration of mothers, let’s adopt mindfulness and make it a part of our relationship with our mothers and our children. We may all love our mothers but we love mindful mothers even more especially when we ourselves are mindful.

 

“For me, the program gave me the freedom to be the kind of mom I wanted to be, instead of just reacting automatically. I still have difficult moments, and can get stressed out, but the mindfulness helps me stay centered and stay connected to myself and my baby.” – Cassandra Vieten

 

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Kick the Smoking Habit with Mindfulness

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Kick the Smoking Habit with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“There’s lots of self-judgment that goes on when you’re trying to do something difficult, like trying to quit smoking. Also if we judge others, that can get us riled up, which can lead to smoking. We teach it as a way to learn to concentrate more but also to let go of judgment. When people have a craving, they can notice if they’re resisting or beating themselves up.” – Judson Brewer

 

“Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of death and disease in the United States. Cigarette smoking kills more than 480,000 Americans each year, with more than 41,000 of these deaths from exposure to secondhand smoke. In addition, smoking-related illness in the United States costs more than $300 billion a year. In 2013, an estimated 17.8% (42.1 million) U.S. adults were current cigarette smokers.”  (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

 

Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known. But, its addictiveness is not just due to its pharmacological properties. Addiction to smoking also involves learned or conditioned factors, genetics, and social and environmental factors. This makes it easy to become addicted and very difficult to stop. To some extent this is why there still are high rates of smoking even though mostly everyone understands that it has very negative effects on health and longevity.

 

There are a wide variety of methods and strategies to quit smoking which are to some extent effective. According to the National Institutes of Health, about 40% of smokers who want to quit make a serious attempt to do so each year, but fewer than 5% actually succeed. Most people require three or four failed attempts before being successful. One problem is that after quitting if a single cigarette is smoked, going back to regular smoking is almost assured. As John Polito wrote “nicotine dependency recovery is one of the few challenges in life where being 99% successful all but assures 100% defeat.”

 

So, better methods to quit which can not only promote quitting but also prevent relapse are badly needed. Mindfulness training has been shown to be helpful in treatment for addiction and prevention of relapse after recovery. In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness training for smoking cessation: A meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1224395630917694/?type=3&theater

or below

Oikonomou and colleagues review the published randomized controlled trials on the use of mindfulness training as a treatment for quitting cigarette smoking. They found, not surprising, that the training was successful in increasing mindfulness. More importantly, they found that although mindfulness training did not produce significantly different cigarette abstinence rates at 4 to 6 weeks following training, it did at 17 to 24 weeks, where 25.2% of mindfulness trained participants were abstinent while only 13.6% of usual treatment participants were.

 

These results are encouraging as the reviewed studies were high quality, well controlled, and designed trials. They suggest that mindfulness training is effective in promoting the long-term cessation of cigarette smoking. It is not known exactly what it is about mindfulness training that assists with cessation of smoking. But, it can be speculated that since quitting smoking is very stressful, mindfulness training might help because it reduces the psychological and physical responses to stress, thus making it easier for the individual to withstand the stress of nicotine withdrawal. The fact, however, that mindfulness training did not improve cessation rates at 4 weeks after treatment and it is during this time that nicotine withdrawal effects are present, that it is unlikely that this is the mechanism of action.

 

Staying abstinent from smoking over the long-term requires that the individual be able to refrain from responding to the myriad of social, environmental, and physical triggers that signal cigarette smoking. By increasing mindfulness, the training may make it easier for the individual to be aware of these triggers and thus be better able to prevent responding to them. Regardless of the mechanism, it is clear that mindfulness training is effective in promoting abstinence from cigarette smoking following successful quitting. This is an important advance in the fight against this major threat to health.

 

So, kick the smoking habit with mindfulness.

 

“evidence suggests that exercises aimed at increasing self-control, such as mindfulness meditation, can decrease the unconscious influences that motivate a person to smoke,” – Nora Volkow

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

 

Study Summary

Oikonomou MT, Arvanitis M, Sokolove RL. Mindfulness training for smoking cessation: A meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials. J Health Psychol. 2016 Apr 4. pii: 1359105316637667. [Epub ahead of print]

 

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that mindfulness training has a promising potential for smoking treatment. In order to examine the efficacy of mindfulness training in smoking cessation, we performed a systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Four randomized controlled trials with 474 patients were included in our analysis. The results showed that 25.2 percent of participants remained abstinent for more than 4 months in the mindfulness group compared to 13.6 percent of those who received usual care therapy (relative risk, 1.88; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.04–3.40). Our results suggest that mindfulness training may have an important role to play in efforts to lower cigarette smoking rates.

 

Improve Thought Executive Function with Mindfulness

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“mindfulness training on focusing on the present moment may develop control of attention, or executive function. This enhances capacity for sustained attention, attention switching, and inhibition of elaborative processing, thereby increasing our mastery over the content of our thoughts and actions. . .  this amplifies our ability to self-regulate, allowing us to redirect our attention from rumination and depressogenic thoughts back to the experience of the present moment, thus decreasing negative affect and improving psychological health.” – Richard Chambers

 

Mindfulness practices such as meditation, yoga, and tai chi/qigong have been shown to have a myriad of positive benefits for the practitioner and they have been shown to alter a large variety of cognitive (thought) processes, such as attentional ability, memory, verbal fluency, critical thinking, learning, analytic thinking, mathematical ability, higher level (meta-cognitive) thinking, and cognitive reappraisal. There have not, however, been direct comparisons made between the practices to establish which may be superior for the improvement of which cognitive processes. In order to optimize the effectiveness of mindfulness practices to improve thinking it is important to determine the effective components of each practice.

 

In today’s Research News article “What Confucius practiced is good for your mind: Examining the effect of a contemplative practice in Confucian tradition on executive functions.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1223639664326624/?type=3&theater

or see below

Teng and Lien compare the effectiveness of trainings for 4-weeks, twice a week for 90 minutes each, of mindful movements, or meditation, or a no treatment control. The mindful movement practice was termed Body-Mind Axial Awareness (BMAA) practice. It is very similar to tai chi except that the movements are not precisely choreographed and programmed. Chan meditation practice was used. It is very similar to Zen meditation and emphasizes breath following. They measured mindfulness, working memory ability, response inhibition (Stroop task), sustained attention and attentional switching ability.

They found that both the meditation and the mindful movement practices produced significant increases in mindfulness, in particular the observing and acting with awareness facets of mindfulness. They also found that the mindful movement practice produced a significant increase in working memory ability and sustained attention while the meditation training produced a significant increase in attentional switching ability. The groups did not differ in response inhibition ability. Hence, meditation practice appears to improve mindfulness and the ability to switch attention while the mindful movement practice improves mindfulness and working memory.

 

Increases in mindfulness, especially with the observing and acting with awareness facets, are routinely found with all mindfulness practices. So, these findings are not surprising and do not signal a difference between practices. The mindful movement practice requires continuous sustained attention in order to produce smooth movement sequences, so it makes sense that this practice would produce better sustained attention and therefore reduce mind wandering. This may, in turn, improve working memory ability as it improves sustained attention on the contents of memory, thereby reducing loss from working memory. It is possible that the training in focusing attention in the meditation practice that requires shifting attention back to the breath after mind wandering may be responsible for the improvements in attentional switching seen with meditation practice.

 

Although the equivalence of the mindful movement practice and the meditation practice was well maintained, one difference would be impossible to make equivalent and that is effects of the practice on the cardiovascular system. Mindful movement practice would be expected to raise heart rate, blood pressure, and metabolic rate while meditation would be expected to reduce them. In addition, the no treatment control is a weak control condition and a light exercise condition practiced over equivalent periods of time would be a much better comparison condition. So, for future research it might be useful to include a light exercise (e.g. walking) control condition.

 

Regardless improve thought executive function with mindfulness.

 

“training students in mindfulness techniques improves mental focus, increases academic performance, strengthens ability to emotionally regulate, and supports positive human qualities: kindness, empathy, compassion.” – Ready for School

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

 

Study Summary

Teng SC, Lien YW. What Confucius practiced is good for your mind: Examining the effect of a contemplative practice in Confucian tradition on executive functions. Conscious Cogn. 2016 Mar 30;42:204-215. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2016.03.016. [Epub ahead of print]

PMID: 27038245

 

Abstract

The short-term training effects on various executive functions (EFs) by a movement-based contemplative practice (MBCP) are examined. Three aspects of EFs (working memory capacity, inhibition, switching) are assessed before and after a month-long 12-h training period using Body-Mind Axial Awareness (BMAA) principles that Confucius followers have practiced for more than 2000years. A mindfulness-based practice (Chan-meditation) and a waiting-list control group served as contrast groups. Our results showed that the BMAA group performed better on the task that measured working memory capacity than did the Chan-meditation and the waiting-list groups after training. In addition, the Chan-meditation groups outperformed the control group on attentional switching, a novel finding for this kind of practice. Our findings not only show a new effect of short-term MBCPs on EFs, but also indicate movement-based and mindfulness-based contemplative practices might benefit development of various aspects of EFs in different ways.

 

Change the Traumatized Brain with Mindfulness

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mind-body exercise offers a low-cost approach that could be used as a complement to traditional psychotherapy or drug treatments. These self-directed practices give PTSD patients control over their own treatment and have few side effects.” – Sang H. Kim

 

Experiencing trauma is quite common. It has been estimated that 60% of men and 50% of women will experience a significant traumatic event during their lifetime. But, only a fraction will develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). But this still results in a frightening number of people with 7%-8% of the population developing PTSD at some point in their life. For military personnel it’s much more likely for PTSD to develop with about 11%-20% of those who have served in a war zone developing PTSD.

 

PTSD involves a number of troubling symptoms including reliving the event with the same fear and horror in nightmares or with a flashback. PTSD sufferers avoid situations that remind them of the event this may include crowds, driving, movies, etc. and may avoid seeking help because it keeps them from having to think or talk about the event. They often experience negative changes in beliefs and feelings including difficulty experiencing positive or loving feelings toward other people, avoiding relationships, memory difficulties, or see the world as dangerous and no one can be trusted. Sufferers may feel hyperarousal, feeling keyed up and jittery, or always alert and on the lookout for danger. They may experience sudden anger or irritability, may have a hard time sleeping or concentrating, may be startled by a loud noise or surprise.

 

Obviously, these are troubling symptoms that need to be addressed. There are a number of therapies that have been developed to treat PTSD. One of which, mindfulness training has been found to be particularly effective. The nervous system is constantly changing and adapting to the environment. It will change size, activity, and connectivity in response to experience. For example, the brain area that controls the right index finger has been found to be larger in blind subjects who use braille than in sighted individuals.  Similarly, cab drivers in London who navigate the twisting streets of the city, have a larger hippocampus, which is involved in spatial navigation, than predefined route bus drivers. These changes in the brain are called neuroplasticity. Over the last decade neuroscience has been studying the effects of contemplative practices on the brain and has identified neuroplastic changes in widespread areas. This all suggests that mindfulness training would improve PTSD symptoms by producing changes to the brains of sufferers.

 

In today’s Research News article “Altered default mode network (DMN) resting state functional connectivity following a mindfulness-based exposure therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in combat veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1223008144389776/?type=3&theater

or below

King and colleagues perform functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (f-MRI) before and after a 16-week mindfulness treatment program for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in veterans and compared the results to veterans treated with a present-centered group therapy for PTSD. They found that both groups showed improvement in PTSD symptoms, but only the mindfulness treatment produced significant improvement in total and intrusive, avoidant, and hyperarousal PTSD symptoms. This replicates previous results that mindfulness training is effective in treating PTSD symptoms.

 

King and colleagues also found that the mindfulness treatment produced changes in the nervous system. In particular, they found increased connectivity between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. These are structures included in what has been termed the Default Mode Network (DMN) which is involved in producing mind wandering and intrusive thoughts. In addition, they found that the greater the increase in connectivity of these structures the greater the improvement in PTSD symptoms. These results suggest that mindfulness training changes the nervous system in such a way as to improve the ability of the individual to shift attention away from mind wandering and intrusive thoughts. These off-task thoughts are characteristic of PTSD sufferers and are a key symptom of the disorder. By being able to shift away from these thoughts and pay attention to the present moment, the mindfulness trained individuals are better able to keep these thoughts from tormenting them and thereby improve PTSD.

 

These results demonstrate the effectiveness of mindfulness training for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and suggest a mechanism by which the training produces these effects. It appears to alter the Default Mode Network (DMN) of the brain allowing the individual to better pay attention to the present moment and shift thinking away from the intrusive thoughts like flashbacks that are characteristic of PTSD.

 

So, change the traumatized brain with mindfulness.

 

“Very often, depression can be about the past, ruminating over and over about losses or other terrible things that happened in the past. Anxiety, meanwhile, very often involves ruminating about terrible things that you’re afraid are going to happen in the future. But in the present, very often, there’s actually nothing terrible going on, and the act of recognizing that can be helpful.” – Anthony King

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Study Summary

King, A. P., Block, S. R., Sripada, R. K., Rauch, S., Giardino, N., Favorite, T., Angstadt, M., Kessler, D., Welsh, R. and Liberzon, I. (2016), Altered default mode network (DMN) resting state functional connectivity following a mindfulness-based exposure therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in combat veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq. Depress. Anxiety, 33: 289–299. doi: 10.1002/da.22481

 

Abstract

Background: Recent studies suggest that mindfulness may be an effective component for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment. Mindfulness involves practice in volitional shifting of attention from “mind wandering” to present-moment attention to sensations, and cultivating acceptance. We examined potential neural correlates of mindfulness training using a novel group therapy (mindfulness-based exposure therapy (MBET)) in combat veterans with PTSD deployed to Afghanistan (OEF) and/or Iraq (OIF).

Methods: Twenty-three male OEF/OIF combat veterans with PTSD were treated with a mindfulness-based intervention (N = 14) or an active control group therapy (present-centered group therapy (PCGT), N = 9). Pre-post therapy functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI, 3 T) examined resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in default mode network (DMN) using posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) seeds, and salience network (SN) with anatomical amygdala seeds. PTSD symptoms were assessed at pre- and posttherapy with Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS).

Results: Patients treated with MBET had reduced PTSD symptoms (effect size d = 0.92) but effect was not significantly different from PCGT (d = 0.46). Increased DMN rsFC (PCC seed) with dorsolateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) regions and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) regions associated with executive control was seen following MBET. A group × time interaction found MBET showed increased connectivity with DLPFC and dorsal ACC following therapy; PCC–DLPFC connectivity was correlated with improvement in PTSD avoidant and hyperarousal symptoms.

Conclusions: Increased connectivity between DMN and executive control regions following mindfulness training could underlie increased capacity for volitional shifting of attention. The increased PCC–DLPFC rsFC following MBET was related to PTSD symptom improvement, pointing to a potential therapeutic mechanism of mindfulness-based therapies.

 

Improve Athletic Flexibility and Balance with Yoga

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“She was injury-free because of yoga, stretching her body into difficult positions. “I’ve never seen such an improvement in my game, the difference it makes. I’m quicker, more nimble. Instead of being tighter, I’m more relaxed, more comfortable.” – Brenna Wise

 

Yoga practice has been shown to have a myriad of benefits for psychological and physical health. It is a mind-body practice that stresses both mental attention to present moment movements, breath control, and flexibility, range of motion, and balance. It can be practiced by anyone from children to seniors. Recently, there have been a number of high profile athletes who have adopted a yoga practice to improve their athletic performance. But, does yoga actually help elite athletes to perform at an even higher level? The ability of yoga to improve balance would seem to be a natural help for the athlete and the improvement in flexibility could well help the athlete resist injury.

 

In today’s Research News article “Impact of 10-weeks of yoga practice on flexibility and balance of college athletes.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1222473291109928/?type=3&theater

or below or view the full text of the study at:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4728955/

Polsgrove, Eggleston, and Lockyer randomly assigned male college soccer and baseball players to yoga training or control groups. Both groups received their typical athletic workouts throughout the study. But, in addition, the yoga group were trained in yoga postures twice a week in one-hour sessions.

 

The yoga group had significant improvements in both flexibility and balance. Flexibility increased 21% in tests of shoulder flexibility and sit-reach. Balance was improved 32% in the stork-stand, a common yoga pose. In contrast, the control group declined in all measures. Joint angle measurements revealed that the yoga group had significant improvement in ankle dorsiflexion, hip and knee extension, and shoulder and knee flexion. Hence, yoga training appeared to produce significant improvements in balance, flexibility, and the range of joint movement.

 

These are important changes in the physical abilities of the athletes. Although logically, these improvements would be expected to translate to improved athletic performance and lower occurrence of sports injuries, this was not investigated in the present study and remains for future research. It should be mentioned that the yoga training used emphasized the physical aspects of yoga. Mental discipline is also very important for athletic performance. It seems reasonable that future research should also include various aspects of the mental training that occurs in a typical yoga training.

 

Regardless, improve athletic flexibility and balance with yoga.

 

“I wanted my body to feel that way all the time. I became looser, and I only missed one game due to injury. It helped me remain injury-free, and helped my agility and athleticism.” – Eric Stutz

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Study Summary

Polsgrove, M. J., Eggleston, B. M., & Lockyer, R. J. (2016). Impact of 10-weeks of yoga practice on flexibility and balance of college athletes. International Journal of Yoga, 9(1), 27–34. http://doi.org/10.4103/0973-6131.171710

 

Abstract

Background:

With clearer evidence of its benefits, coaches, and athletes may better see that yoga has a role in optimizing performance.

Aims:

To determine the impact of yoga on male college athletes (N = 26).

Methods:

Over a 10-week period, a yoga group (YG) of athletes (n = 14) took part in biweekly yoga sessions; while a nonyoga group (NYG) of athletes (n = 12) took part in no additional yoga activity. Performance measures were obtained immediately before and after this period. Measurements of flexibility and balance, included: Sit-reach (SR), shoulder flexibility (SF), and stork stand (SS); dynamic measurements consisted of joint angles (JA) measured during the performance of three distinct yoga positions (downward dog [DD]; right foot lunge [RFL]; chair [C]).

Results:

Significant gains were observed in the YG for flexibility (SR, P = 0.01; SF, P = 0.03), and balance (SS, P = 0.05). No significant differences were observed in the NYG for flexibility and balance. Significantly, greater JA were observed in the YG for: RFL (dorsiflexion, l-ankle; P = 0.04), DD (extension, r-knee, P = 0.04; r-hip; P = 0.01; flexion, r-shoulder; P = 0.01) and C (flexion, r-knee; P = 0.01). Significant JA differences were observed in the NYG for: DD (flexion, r-knee, P = 0.01: r-hip, P = 0.05; r-shoulder, P = 0.03) and C (flexion r-knee, P = 0.01; extension, r-shoulder; P = 0.05). A between group comparison revealed the significant differences for: RFL (l-ankle; P = 0.01), DD (r-knee, P = 0.01; r-hip; P = 0.01), and C (r-shoulder, P = 0.02).

Conclusions:

Results suggest that a regular yoga practice may increase the flexibility and balance as well as whole body measures of male college athletes and therefore, may enhance athletic performances that require these characteristics.

 

Non-judging Mindfulness Facilitates Quitting Smoking

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“smoking is a form of insanity that the logical mind and our own better judgment cannot solve. Many smokers have been helped by mindfulness meditation, a means of slowing down the action and beginning to penetrate the experience of the addiction. Once it is better understood, a rational choice can be made (of whether to continue smoking or not).” – Lawrence Peltz

 

“Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of death and disease in the United States. Cigarette smoking kills more than 480,000 Americans each year, with more than 41,000 of these deaths from exposure to secondhand smoke. In addition, smoking-related illness in the United States costs more than $300 billion a year. In 2013, an estimated 17.8% (42.1 million) U.S. adults were current cigarette smokers.”  (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

 

Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known. But, its addictiveness is not just due to its pharmacological properties. Addiction to smoking also involves learned or conditioned factors, genetics, and social and environmental factors. This makes it easy to become addicted and very difficult to stop. To some extent this is why there still are high rates of smoking even though mostly everyone understands that it has very negative effects on health and longevity.

 

There are a wide variety of methods and strategies to quit smoking which are to some extent effective. According to the National Institutes of Health, about 40% of smokers who want to quit make a serious attempt to do so each year, but fewer than 5% actually succeed. Most people require three or four failed attempts before being successful. One problem is that after quitting if a single cigarette is smoked, going back to regular smoking is almost assured. As John Polito wrote “nicotine dependency recovery is one of the few challenges in life where being 99% successful all but assures 100% defeat.”

 

So, better methods to quit which can not only promote quitting but also prevent relapse are badly needed. Mindfulness practices have been found to be helpful in treating addictions, including nicotine addiction, and reducing the risk of relapse. But, it is not known what aspects of mindfulness are responsible for the beneficial effects. In today’s Research News article “Nonjudging Facet of Mindfulness Predicts Enhanced Smoking Cessation in Hispanics.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1221811314509459/?type=3&theater

or below or view the full text of the study at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4641832/

Spears and colleagues recruited current smokers and measured the Five Facets of Mindfulness Scale (FFMQ). They then applied a quitting smoking treatment program “including nicotine patch therapy, self-help materials, and six brief in-person and telephone counseling sessions.”

 

The FFMQ measures observing, describing, acting with awareness, non-judging, and non-reactivity facets of mindfulness. They found that the non-judging was the sole facet of mindfulness that predicted successful abstinence from smoking. It significantly predicted abstinence even when its relationship with reduced depression and with demographic variables were accounted for. Of the participants who were high in non-judging 54% were abstinent from smoking 3 weeks after the end of treatment versus 23% of those low in non-judging, while a half year after treatment ceased 23% versus 5% of high versus low non-judging participants were still abstinent. Although 23% success after 6 months may seem low, relative to other programs with about a 5% success rate and low non-judging participants, also with a 5% success rate, the results for high non-judging participants are quite high.

 

The results clearly demonstrate that non-judging is importantly related to successful smoking cessation and continued abstinence. Non-judging involves being aware of thoughts and feelings but accepting them and not placing value judgements on them. This skill may be helpful in remaining abstinent from smoking as it allows the individual to recognize their thoughts about cigarettes and their cravings simply as they are and not as an indicator that they are failing, that they are weak, or that they shouldn’t be feeling this way. That acceptance may go a long way to helping the individual cope with the cravings and successfully restrain themselves from acting on them and return to smoking. The individuals don’t deny how they’re feeling and accept their feelings, allowing them to better cope with the feelings and remain abstinent.

 

It should be noted that these results were correlational, not manipulating mindfulness, just simply measuring the levels present. As a result it can’t be concluded that non-judging is the cause of great success in smoking cessation. It could well be that there is something else about the individual that both makes them non-judging and better at quitting. It remains for future studies to manipulate non-judging facet of mindfulness and determine if it produces greater success. Regardless, is an interesting and potentially important observation that could lead to better treatments for quitting smoking.

 

“Early evidence suggests that exercises aimed at increasing self-control, such as mindfulness meditation, can decrease the unconscious influences that motivate a person to smoke.” – Dr. Nora Volkow

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Study Summary

Spears, C. A., Houchins, S. C., Stewart, D. W., Chen, M., Correa-Fernández, V., Cano, M. Á., … Wetter, D. W. (2015). Nonjudging Facet of Mindfulness Predicts Enhanced Smoking Cessation in Hispanics. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors : Journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors,29(4), 918–923. http://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000087

 

Abstract

Although most smokers express interest in quitting, actual quit rates are low. Identifying strategies to enhance smoking cessation is critical, particularly among underserved populations including Hispanics, for whom many of the leading causes of death are related to smoking. Mindfulness (purposeful, non-judgmental attention to the present moment) has been linked to increased likelihood of cessation. Given that mindfulness is multifaceted, determining which aspects of mindfulness predict cessation could help to inform interventions. This study examined whether facets of mindfulness predict cessation in 199 Spanish-speaking smokers of Mexican heritage (63.3% male, mean age=39, 77.9% ≤ high school education) receiving smoking cessation treatment. Primary outcomes were 7-day abstinence at weeks 3 and 26 post-quit (biochemically-confirmed and determined using an intent-to-treat approach). Logistic random coefficients regression models were utilized to examine the relationship between mindfulness facets and abstinence over time. Independent variables were subscales of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (Observing, Describing, Acting with Awareness, Nonjudging, Nonreactivity). The Nonjudging subscale (i.e., accepting thoughts and feelings without evaluating them) uniquely predicted better odds of abstinence up to 26 weeks post-quit. This is the first known study to examine whether specific facets of mindfulness predict smoking cessation. The ability to experience thoughts, emotions, and withdrawal symptoms without judging them may be critical in the process of quitting smoking. Results indicate potential benefits of mindfulness among smokers of Mexican heritage and suggest that smoking cessation interventions might be enhanced by central focus on the Nonjudging aspect of mindfulness.

 

Alter Drinking Motives with Mindfulness

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Choosing to alter your relationship with alcohol and drink moderately can be achieved through mindfulness and deliberate behavior modifications.  Mindfulness allows you to become aware of your ongoing moment-to-moment experience.  It is the opposite of “checking out.”  When you choose to tune in to the present moment and tap into your ability to increase self-awareness, changes in problematic drinking habits can occur.” – Laura Schenck

 

Inappropriate use of alcohol is a major societal problem. In fact, about 25% of US adults have engaged in binge drinking in the last month and 7% have what is termed an alcohol use disorder. Alcohol abuse is very dangerous and frequently fatal. Nearly 88,000 people in the US and 3.3 million globally die from alcohol-related causes annually, making it the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Drunk driving accounted for over 10,000 deaths; 31% of all driving fatalities. Excessive alcohol intake has been shown to contribute to over 200 diseases including alcohol dependence, liver cirrhosis, cancers, and injuries. It is estimated that over 5% of the burden of disease and injury worldwide is attributable to alcohol consumption.

 

Alcohol abuse often develops during adolescence and it on display with college students where about four out of five college students drink alcohol and about half of those consume alcohol through binge drinking. About 25 percent of college students report academic consequences of their drinking including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall. More than 150,000 students develop an alcohol-related health problem.

 

Alcohol abuse can have dire consequences as 1,825 college students die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries and between 1.2 and 1.5 percent of students indicate that they tried to commit suicide within the past year due to drinking or drug use. But, drinking has widespread consequence to not only the students but also the college communities, and families. More than 690,000 students are assaulted by another student who has been drinking. More than 97,000 students are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape. 599,000 students receive unintentional injuries while under the influence of alcohol.

 

These facts clearly highlight the need to explore methods to control excessive alcohol intake. One potential method is mindfulness as it has been shown to assist in the control of alcohol intake and in recovery from alcohol addiction . So it would make sense to further explore the effects of mindfulness on alcohol intake in college students, in particular, how mindfulness affects the motivations for alcohol intake by college students. In today’s Research News article “Drinking Motives Mediate the Negative Associations between Mindfulness Facets and Alcohol Outcomes among College Students”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1221322997891624/?type=3&theater

Or see below or for full text see

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4388773/

Roos and colleagues addressed this question by assessing mindfulness, drinking behavior, and motives for drinking in college students who were self-reported drinkers.

 

They found that three of the five mindfulness facets were negatively associated with drinking motives. When the facets of mindfulness of describing experience, non-judging of experience, and acting with awareness were high, there were lower levels of drinking to cope with a poor mood, drinking out of conformity, social drinking, and drinking to enhance mood. In turn, when these motives were high, with the exception of social drinking, there were higher levels of alcohol use and alcohol related problems. Hence, mindfulness appears to act by lowering motives for drinking and this in turn lowers amounts and problems with alcohol.

 

These are potentially important findings. If mindfulness skills can moderate the motives for drinking, then mindfulness training may be very helpful for college students to control their drinking. Mindfulness skills are known to improve emotion regulation, making individuals better at appreciating their emotions but acting more adaptively and appropriately to them. This undercuts the motives for drinking that involve emotions.  Mindfulness, by making the individuals more aware of exactly how they are feeling and more in touch with what is happening around them, makes them better able to recognize what is driving them toward drinking, and thereby be better able to adapt and drink appropriately.

 

It should be kept in mind that this study was correlational. That is, there was no active manipulation of mindfulness. So, it is not possible to conclude causal relationships. It remains for future research to investigate whether mindfulness training could result in a lowering of the motivations for drinking and as a result lowering drinking. Regardless, it is clear that mindfulness if significantly associated with lower motivation to drink which is in turn associated with lower intake.

 

So, alter drinking motives with mindfulness.

 

“mindfulness is likely an effective tool in helping people with addiction because it’s a single, simple skill that a person can practice multiple times throughout their day, every day, regardless of the life challenges that arise.” – James Davis

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Study Summary

Roos, C. R., Pearson, M. R., & Brown, D. B. (2015). Drinking Motives Mediate the Negative Associations between Mindfulness Facets and Alcohol Outcomes among College Students. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors : Journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors, 29(1), 176–183. http://doi.org/10.1037/a0038529

 

Abstract

Mindfulness and drinking motives have both been linked to affect regulation, yet the relationship between mindfulness and drinking motives is poorly understood. The present study examined whether drinking motives, particularly mood regulatory motives, mediated the associations between facets of mindfulness and alcohol-related outcomes among college students (N = 297). We found three specific facets of mindfulness (describing, nonjudging of inner experience, and acting with awareness) to have negative associations with alcohol outcomes. Importantly, specific drinking motives mediated these associations such that lower levels of mindfulness were associated with drinking for distinct reasons (enhancement, coping, conformity), which in turn predicted alcohol use and/or alcohol problems. Our findings suggest that drinking motives, especially mood regulatory and negative reinforcement motives, are important to examine when studying the role of mindfulness in college student drinking behavior.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4388773/

 

The Noble Eightfold Path: Right Actions

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mother-teresa (1)

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Right Actions” is the fourth component of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path, Right View, Right Intentions, Right Speech, Right Actions, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.” It follows directly from “Right View”. When one sees everything just as it is and understands how everything is impermanent and connected to everything else, that life involves suffering, that there are causes to that suffering, and that there is a way to escape from suffering, this leads directly to “Right Intention”, the aspiration to create greater happiness, wisdom, and well-being, and relieve suffering in ourselves and others. “Right Intention” then is the driver of “Right Actions,” actually engaging in activities that produce the desired results. “Right Actions” like all the components of the path is dependent upon and affects all the other components of the path.

 

In order to know what actions will actually produce greater happiness, wisdom, and well-being, and relieve suffering requires discernment dependent upon “Right View.” Without that understanding of how things really are we can easily take an action that we think will be productive only to find that it was destructive. On retreat, there are often participants who are crying and appearing to be distraught or in despair. Our initial instinct is to go to the individual and to try to console them and help them through their difficulties. But, that, in fact, will do more harm than good, preventing the individual from addressing the core problems that have arisen in retreat. Consoling them actually disrupts one of the beneficial aspects of retreat which allows deep and repressed issues to come forth, be experienced, accepted, and dealt with. In this case “Right Action” is to simply make sure that they are physically all right and leave them alone to work though their issues. On the surface, it seems cruel. But with discernment it can be seen that this will in the long run produce the relief of suffering.

 

There are some rather obvious “Right Actions” that are parts of most religious and moral teachings. These include not killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and abusing intoxicants. These are actually “Right Non-Actions.” The “Right Actions” would be protecting life, generosity, engaging in healthy loving sexual activities, truthfulness, and sobriety. The “Right Action” of telling the truth has been discussed with “Right Speech” and need not be repeated here. The present essay will focus of the other four.

 

Protecting life, not killing, means more than just protecting the lives of human beings. It extends to all sentient beings. We can have honest differences as to what constitutes a sentient being from all living things, to only humans, to some point in between. But taking the life of a sentient being produces suffering and deprives it of an opportunity to experience life and happiness. It would thus violate the “Right Intention” to promote greater happiness, wisdom, and well-being, and relieve suffering. If it can’t be determined which animals are sentient and which are not, then it would seem to be the best course for producing happiness and relieving suffering to err on the side of caution and refrain from killing any animal.

 

We need to protect our own life. Killing in self-defense is “Right Action” provided we have done everything possible to avoid it. Part of that self-defense is obtaining proper nourishment. It would seem reasonable that to eat, but not kill a sentient being, we should become vegetarian. But, the growing and producing of vegetables inevitably involves killing other animals. The process of harvesting crops inevitably results in the death of many rodents, birds, and reptiles. It is, in fact, virtually impossible to not in some way directly or indirectly produce or contribute to the death of animals in order to maintain one’s own life. Discernment tells us that trying our best to protect life and minimize the harm we might do in the process of preserving our own life is “Right Action.” The practical impossibility of being perfect leads to the conclusion that intention and effort to preserve life is the best we can do and that is enough.

 

Honoring the property of others, not stealing, means more than simply not taking what is not intentionally given. It also implies generosity. “Right Action” is giving freely of our time and resources where needed to promote happiness and relieve suffering. This could be volunteer work at an abused children’s shelter, monetary donations to the needy, or simply picking up groceries for an infirmed neighbor. We should not hoard our resources but share them generously. “Right Action” can also mean doing things to promote social justice. We obviously shouldn’t directly abuse the rights of others. Rather we should stand up and oppose the abuse of rights perpetrated by others or society. Hence “Right Action” could even include civil disobedience. Certainly, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King understood this. But they also understood that civil disobedience should occur only with care, deliberation, and discernment. “Right Action” demands our action, but, carefully considered action that isn’t motivated by anger, hatred, or revenge. In other words, we should not stand by as others rights are stolen. We should defend them, but do so in a responsible manner with “Right Intention.”

 

There has been immense harm caused to individuals, families, and society by sexual misconduct. It can have a devastating and permanent effects on the principals and those that surround them. It can produce lasting traumas, destroy families, and permanently scar children. It is no wonder that sexual misconduct is so important to prevent and sexual activity approached with “Right Actions.” This results in the prohibition of sexual activity by monastics. But, for the vast majority of people the middle way, between celibacy and licentiousness is called for. In other words, healthy loving sexual relations that is consensual and non-exploitive are “Right Actions.” The primary guiding principle is that the action produces greater harmony, happiness, wisdom, and well-being, and relieves suffering. So, engagement in sexual activity should be loving, caring, and sensitive, with the intention to produce good for all involved. That is right sexual action.

 

The “Right Action” of not abusing intoxicants, of sobriety, is also important as great harm can be done to the self and others by misuse of drugs and alcohol. The perils of alcoholism and the destructive power of drug addiction are well documented. But, the “Right Action” of sobriety extends to much lower levels of intoxicant use. To the extent that these substances can cloud the mind, impede judgment, and interfere with discernment, they can lead to improper or insensitive actions that can harm. So, “Right Action” calls for, if not complete prohibition, low level and judicious use of intoxicants. But, “Right Action” with intoxicants actually extends well beyond alcohol and drug to engaging in experiences that can induce harmful thinking and lead to wrong actions. This can include “ingesting” disturbing movies, books, TV shows, etc. that can induce disturbing thoughts and possibly even lead to wrong actions. “Right Action” calls for us to be careful what we consume to make sure that no matter what form it comes in, it is healthy and leads to happiness and well-being.

 

These are some specific and obvious “Right Actions.” Most actions are not so obvious. So “Right Action” calls for us to be vigilant and approach our behavior with discernment to insure, as best as possible, that our actions improve happiness and well-being and decrease suffering. But making the effort and spending the time and thoughtfulness involved in insuring that actions are “Right” can produce considerable benefits. It can make each of us and those around us happier, more content, and more fulfilled and less worried, anxious, and dissatisfied. Beyond its impact on everyday life, it can lead us to higher states as we pursue the eightfold path. Doing the “Right” thing sure has its advantages!

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

Minority and Low Education Groups are Less Likely to Practice Mindfulness

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Mindfulness minority2 - Olano

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Despite increased attention to diversity issues, ethnic minorities are still underrepresented in the field of psychology. Baseline knowledge on the effectiveness of treatments for ethnic minority groups is limited.” – Janice Ya Ken Cheng

 

Mindfulness practices have gone mainstream in western culture. This has not been driven by theoretical, philosophical, or religious reasons but by pragmatic ones. Mindfulness practices have been found to be very beneficial to the practitioner of all ages from children, to adults, to the elderly. They have been shown to improve the psychological and physical health of otherwise healthy individuals and to be helpful in treating both mental and physical illnesses. A variety of mindfulness techniques have been shown to be effective including meditation, mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR), mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT), Acceptance and Commitment therapy (ACT), mindful movement practices such as tai chi and qigong, and yoga. It is no wonder that these practices have spread rapidly in modern western culture.

 

At present, it is not known whether these practices have spread uniformly through the population of have been adopted primarily by specific subgroups. For the most part, mindfulness practices require a teacher, at least initially, and thus can incur costs. This suggests that there may be socioeconomic barriers to participation. In addition, because mindfulness practices have spread through the printed media, education level may be a factor in their adoption. To help promote the adoption of these healthy techniques it is important to know which groups are not currently participating in large numbers and what might be the barriers for participation.

 

In today’s Research News article “Engagement in Mindfulness Practices by U.S. Adults: Sociodemographic Barriers.” See: https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1219971614693429/?type=3&theater

 

or below or view the full text of the study at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4326023/

Olano and colleagues studied the ethnic, educational, and socioeconomic characteristics of participants in various mindfulness practices from the responses reported in the 2002, 2007, and 2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). This survey included questions regarding participant characteristics and participation in various mindfulness practices.

 

They found that over 13% of the population participated in one or more mindfulness practices. Meditation and yoga were practiced about equally being engaged in by 7.6% and 7.5% of the population of the U.S. respectively, while tai chi and qigong were much less commonly practiced, 1.2% and 0.3% of the population respectively. Gender made a difference as men were half as likely as women to engage in any of the practices and more than three times less likely to practice yoga. Education level made a large difference with education beyond high school highly predictive of engagement in mindfulness practices. Race and ethnicity was also important with white and Asian Americans much more likely to practice than black or Hispanic Americans. Interestingly, income level only made a very slight difference in participation.

 

These results are very interesting as the characteristics of participants in mindfulness practices track health statistics for these groups. Low education level and being a member of a minority group are strong predictors of poor health outcomes and males live on average 7 years less than females. These results do not demonstrate that engagement in mindfulness practices are the sole reason for health disparities, as they are still present for non-practitioners. But, it is known that mindfulness practices promote good mental and physical health. So, the lack of practice in male, minority, and low education groups suggests that they are not taking advantage of the benefits of practice which may contribute to the health disparities.

 

These results strongly suggest that greater efforts should be made to bring mindfulness practices to these vulnerable populations and thereby improve health and well-being. The results of the current study suggest that income level is not a problem. This is important as it suggests that these practices can be spread at low relative cost. Given their very positive impacts on health, mindfulness practices would appear to be a very safe and cost effective means of improving health and addressing prevalent health disparities in the population.

 

“Researchers and clinicians who are interested in ethnic minority research in general and acceptance- and mindfulness-based treat­ments in particular must face the fact that ethnic minority psycholo­gists are persistently underrepresented, despite different efforts having been made to promote the recruitment and retention of ethnic minor­ity professionals in psychology.” –  Janice Ka Yan Cheng

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Study Summary

Olano, H. A., Kachan, D., Tannenbaum, S. L., Mehta, A., Annane, D., & Lee, D. J. (2015). Engagement in Mindfulness Practices by U.S. Adults: Sociodemographic Barriers. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 21(2), 100–102. http://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2014.0269

 

Abstract

Objective: To examine the effect of sociodemographic factors on mindfulness practices.

Methods: National Health Interview Survey Alternative Medicine Supplement data were used to examine sociodemographic predictors of engagement in meditation, yoga, tai chi, and qigong.

Results: Greater education was associated with mindfulness practices (odds ratio [OR], 4.02 [95% confidence interval [CI], 3.50–4.61]), men were half as likely as women to engage in any practice, and lower engagement was found among non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics.

Conclusion: Vulnerable population groups with worse health outcomes were less likely to engage in mindfulness practices.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4326023/

 

Alleviate Work Related Stress with On-Line Mindfulness Training

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Mindfulness stress call center2 Allexandre

Alleviate Work Related Stress with On-Line Mindfulness Training

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Managers who practice mindfulness have discovered that it improves their ability to encourage calm and stability in the workplace. They actually increase productivity when they model “mindful manager” qualities, such as listening before acting and leading people by focusing less on hierarchical relationships. “Do this because I told you to” becomes “Let’s talk about how and why we do things this way.” – Ruth W. Crocker

 

Stress is epidemic in the western workplace. A recent Harris poll found that 80 percent of workers feel stressed about one or more things in the workplace. This stress can lead to physical and psychological problems for managers and employees, including personal and professional burnout, absenteeism, lower productivity, and lower job satisfaction. Indeed, 46.4% of employees, report having psychological distress.

 

Call centers can be particularly stressful due to a heavy workload, sustained fast work pace, repetitive tasks, lack of control over the job, the blurred relation between feelings and actions, a competitive environment, and being faced with losing a client. These stresses can lead to problems, including visual, auditory, and speech fatigue. Indeed, each year, 60% of employees take sick leave and 39.4% of employees showed psychological distress symptoms and 8.3% found themselves in a severe situation of psychological distress, and 24% were taking psychoactive drugs. This also produces high turnover, with the average employee leaving the job after only a year.

 

Mindfulness training of employees is a potential help with work related stress. It has been shown to reduce the psychological and physical reactions to stress overall and particularly in the workplace and to reduce burnout. A problem in implementing mindfulness programs in the workplace is the time required for the training. This makes many managers reticent to try it. So, it is important to develop programs that do not seriously impact on work time. A potential solution is to train mindfulness on-line. Indeed, training over the internet has been found to be effective for anxiety depression.

 

In today’s Research News article “A Web-Based Mindfulness Stress Management Program in a Corporate Call Center: A Randomized Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Added Benefit of Onsite Group Support.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1219305188093405/?type=3&theater

or below, or view the full text of the study at:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4768630/

Allexandre and colleagues implemented an 8-week on-line mindfulness stress management program for call center employees and compared its effectiveness to a wait-list control group. They implemented three different programs, a condition with on-line mindfulness training alone, a condition with mindfulness training combined with a support group, and a condition with mindfulness training and a support group led by a licensed clinical psychologist.

 

They found that all the on-line mindfulness training groups had greater reductions in perceived stress, and increases in emotional well-being, and emotional role functioning than the wait-list control group. These improvements were maintained at 8-weeks after the end of the training program. The addition of the support group produced greater satisfaction with the program and greater reductions in stress, and improvements in emotional well-being, and emotional role functioning than the mindfulness training alone group. Surprisingly, the addition of a clinical psychologist to the support group did not improve the support group’s effectiveness.

 

These results suggest that mindfulness training can be implemented over the internet and it can be effective in reducing stress and improving emotional well-being, and emotional role functioning for call center employees. It has been shown previously that mindfulness reduces the psychological and physiological responses to stress. These results demonstrate that this benefit can be produced with on-line training. They further demonstrate that adding a support group magnifies the effectiveness of the program. So, mindfulness can help, but mindfulness with support from other employees is substantially better. The sharing in support groups may well help the employee to see that their issues are shared by many, reducing their impact on the individuals work performance and well-being.

 

These findings suggest that a mindfulness training program that takes little time away from work can be successfully implemented and can have beneficial effects. This may be important for convincing managers and executives to implement such programs in their enterprises,

 

So, alleviate work related stress with on-line mindfulness training.

 

“Teaching mindfulness to employees can help them take a step back, think through a problem and consider all options. And that can improve decision making and positively affect the bottom line. One recent study, for example, showed that when call center employees took part in a mindfulness program, client satisfaction increased. Employees were also less stressed, anxious and fatigued on the job, thereby increasing productivity.” – Lisa Wirthman

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Study Summary

Allexandre, D., Bernstein, A. M., Walker, E., Hunter, J., Roizen, M. F., & Morledge, T. J. (2016). A Web-Based Mindfulness Stress Management Program in a Corporate Call Center: A Randomized Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Added Benefit of Onsite Group Support. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 58(3), 254–264. http://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000000680

 

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the effectiveness of an 8-week web-based, mindfulness stress management program (WSM) in a corporate call center and added benefit of group support.

Methods: One hundred sixty-one participants were randomized to WSM, WSM with group support, WSM with group and expert clinical support, or wait-list control. Perceived stress, burnout, emotional and psychological well-being, mindfulness, and productivity were measured at baseline, weeks 8 and 16, and 1 year.

Results: Online usage was low with participants favoring CD use and group practice. All active groups demonstrated significant reductions in perceived stress and increases in emotional and psychological well-being compared with control. Group support improved participation, engagement, and outcomes.

Conclusion: A self-directed mindfulness program with group practice and support can provide an affordable, effective, and scalable workplace stress management solution. Engagement may also benefit from combining web-based and traditional CD delivery.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4768630/