Very interesting and relevant recent
study on the impact of mindfulness meditation (noticed thanks to heads up by SharpBrains reader John):
Building Fit Minds Under Stress (Science Daily)
- “high-stress U.S. military group preparing for deployment to Iraq has demonstrated a positive link between mindfulness training, or MT, and improvements in mood and working memory”
- The study also suggests that sufficient mindfulness training (MT) practice may protect against functional impairments associated with high-stress challenges that require a tremendous amount of cognitive control, self-awareness, situational awareness and emotional regulation
Please note that this wasn’t a properly randomized study, so in fact much/ most of the effect may be due to the placebo effect, but still the findings seem to be consistent with a growing body of evidence on the brain-based effects of structured mental training in the form of meditation (usually mindfulness meditation).
Full study Here (opens PDF).
Related articles:
- Meditation on the Brain – a Conversation with Andrew Newberg: “What is happening is that specific practices that have traditionally been associated with religious and spiritual contexts may also be very useful from a mainstream, secular, health point of view, beyond those contexts.”
- Mindful Kids, Peaceful Schools: With eyes closed and deep breaths, students are learning a new method to reduce anxiety, conflict, and attention disorders. But don’t call it meditation.
- Mindfulness Meditation for Adults & Teens with Attention Deficits: David Rabiner comments on a recent published study, saying that “although this is clearly a preliminary study, the results are both interesting and encouraging”