-
Nature Reviews. Neuroscience Apr 2015Research over the past two decades broadly supports the claim that mindfulness meditation - practiced widely for the reduction of stress and promotion of health - exerts... (Review)
Review
Research over the past two decades broadly supports the claim that mindfulness meditation - practiced widely for the reduction of stress and promotion of health - exerts beneficial effects on physical and mental health, and cognitive performance. Recent neuroimaging studies have begun to uncover the brain areas and networks that mediate these positive effects. However, the underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear, and it is apparent that more methodologically rigorous studies are required if we are to gain a full understanding of the neuronal and molecular bases of the changes in the brain that accompany mindfulness meditation.
Topics: Brain; Humans; Meditation; Mindfulness; Stress, Psychological
PubMed: 25783612
DOI: 10.1038/nrn3916 -
Behavioural Brain Research Jan 2019Meditation is an ancient practice that cultivates a calm yet focused mind; however, little is known about how short, practical meditation practices affect cognitive...
Meditation is an ancient practice that cultivates a calm yet focused mind; however, little is known about how short, practical meditation practices affect cognitive functioning in meditation-naïve populations. To address this question, we randomized subjects (ages of 18-45) who were non-experienced meditators into either a 13-min daily guided meditation session or a 13-min daily podcast listening session (control group) for a total duration of 8 weeks. We examined the effects of the daily meditation practice relative to podcast listening on mood, prefrontal and hippocampal functioning, baseline cortisol levels, and emotional regulation using the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Compared to our control group, we found that 8 but not 4 weeks of brief, daily meditation decreased negative mood state and enhanced attention, working memory, and recognition memory as well as decreased state anxiety scores on the TSST. Furthermore, we report that meditation-induced changes in emotional regulation are more strongly linked to improved affective state than improved cognition. This study not only suggests a lower limit for the duration of brief daily meditation needed to see significant benefits in non-experienced meditators, but suggests that even relatively short daily meditation practice can have similar behavioral effects as longer duration and higher-intensity mediation practices.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Affect; Anxiety; Attention; Cognition; Emotions; Female; Humans; Male; Meditation; Memory, Short-Term; Middle Aged; Mindfulness; Stress, Psychological; Young Adult
PubMed: 30153464
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2018.08.023 -
JMIR MHealth and UHealth Jun 2019College students experience high levels of stress. Mindfulness meditation delivered via a mobile app may be an appealing, efficacious way to reduce stress in college... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
BACKGROUND
College students experience high levels of stress. Mindfulness meditation delivered via a mobile app may be an appealing, efficacious way to reduce stress in college students.
OBJECTIVE
We aimed to test the initial efficacy and sustained effects of an 8-week mindfulness meditation mobile app-Calm-compared to a wait-list control on stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion in college students with elevated stress. We also explored the intervention's effect on health behaviors (ie, sleep disturbance, alcohol consumption [binge drinking], physical activity, and healthy eating [fruit and vegetable consumption]) and the feasibility and acceptability of the app.
METHODS
This study was a randomized, wait-list, control trial with assessments at baseline, postintervention (8 weeks), and at follow-up (12 weeks). Participants were eligible if they were current full-time undergraduate students and (1) at least 18 years of age, (2) scored ≥14 points on the Perceived Stress Scale, (3) owned a smartphone, (4) were willing to download the Calm app, (5) were willing to be randomized, and (7) were able to read and understand English. Participants were asked to meditate using Calm at least 10 minutes per day. A P value ≤.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS
A total of 88 participants were included in the analysis. The mean age (SD) was 20.41 (2.31) years for the intervention group and 21.85 (6.3) years for the control group. There were significant differences in all outcomes (stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion) between the intervention and control groups after adjustment for covariates postintervention (all P<.04). These effects persisted at follow-up (all P<.03), except for the nonreacting subscale of mindfulness (P=.08). There was a significant interaction between group and time factors in perceived stress (P=.002), mindfulness (P<.001), and self-compassion (P<.001). Bonferroni posthoc tests showed significant within-group mean differences for perceived stress in the intervention group (P<.001), while there were no significant within-group mean differences in the control group (all P>.19). Similar results were found for mindfulness and self-compassion. Effect sizes ranged from moderate (0.59) to large (1.24) across all outcomes. A significant group×time interaction in models of sleep disturbance was found, but no significant effects were found for other health behaviors. The majority of students in the intervention group reported that Calm was helpful to reduce stress and stated they would use Calm in the future. The majority were satisfied using Calm and likely to recommend it to other college students. The intervention group participated in meditation for an average of 38 minutes/week during the intervention and 20 minutes/week during follow-up.
CONCLUSIONS
Calm is an effective modality to deliver mindfulness meditation in order to reduce stress and improve mindfulness and self-compassion in stressed college students. Our findings provide important information that can be applied to the design of future studies or mental health resources in university programs.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03891810; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03891810.
Topics: Adolescent; Female; Humans; Male; Meditation; Mindfulness; Mobile Applications; Personal Satisfaction; Stress, Psychological; Students; Universities; Young Adult
PubMed: 31237569
DOI: 10.2196/14273 -
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease : JAD 2015Although meditation is believed to be over five thousand years old, scientific research on it is in its infancy. Mitigating the extensive negative biochemical effects of... (Review)
Review
Although meditation is believed to be over five thousand years old, scientific research on it is in its infancy. Mitigating the extensive negative biochemical effects of stress is a superficially discussed target of Alzheimer's disease (AD) prevention, yet may be critically important. This paper reviews lifestyle and stress as possible factors contributing to AD and meditation's effects on cognition and well-being for reduction of neurodegeneration and prevention of AD. This review highlights Kirtan Kriya (KK), an easy, cost effective meditation technique requiring only 12 minutes a day, which has been successfully employed to improve memory in studies of people with subjective cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment, and highly stressed caregivers, all of whom are at increased risk for subsequent development of AD. KK has also been shown to improve sleep, decrease depression, reduce anxiety, down regulate inflammatory genes, upregulate immune system genes, improve insulin and glucose regulatory genes, and increase telomerase by 43%; the largest ever recorded. KK also improves psycho-spiritual well-being or spiritual fitness, important for maintenance of cognitive function and prevention of AD. KK is easy to learn and practice by aging individuals. It is the premise of this review that meditation in general, and KK specifically, along with other modalities such as dietary modification, physical exercise, mental stimulation, and socialization, may be beneficial as part of an AD prevention program.
Topics: Alzheimer Disease; Cognition Disorders; Humans; Life Style; Meditation; Stress, Psychological
PubMed: 26445019
DOI: 10.3233/JAD-142766 -
Progress in Brain Research 2019Rising from its contemplative and spiritual traditions, the science of meditation has seen huge growth over the last 30 years. This chapter reviews the classifications,... (Review)
Review
Rising from its contemplative and spiritual traditions, the science of meditation has seen huge growth over the last 30 years. This chapter reviews the classifications, phenomenology, neural correlates, and mechanisms of meditation. Meditation classification types are still varied and largely subjective. Broader models to describe meditation practice along multidimensional parameters may improve classification in the future. Phenomenological studies are few but growing, highlighting the subjective experience and correlations to neurophysiology. Oscillatory EEG studies are not conclusive likely due to the heterogeneous nature of the meditation styles and practitioners being assessed. Neuroimaging studies find common patterns during meditation and in long-term meditators reflecting the basic similarities of meditation in general; however, mostly the patterns differ across unique meditation traditions. Research on the mechanisms of meditation, specifically attention and emotion regulation is also discussed. There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating positive benefits from meditation in some clinical populations especially for stress reduction, anxiety, depression, and pain improvement, although future research would benefit by addressing the remaining methodological and conceptual issues. Meditation research continues to grow allowing us to understand greater nuances of how meditation works and its effects.
Topics: Biological Phenomena; Brain; Humans; Meditation; Neurosciences
PubMed: 30732832
DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2018.10.020 -
Journal of Occupational Health... Feb 2019We investigated whether a mindfulness meditation program delivered via a smartphone application could improve psychological well-being, reduce job strain, and reduce... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
We investigated whether a mindfulness meditation program delivered via a smartphone application could improve psychological well-being, reduce job strain, and reduce ambulatory blood pressure during the workday. Participants were 238 healthy employees from two large United Kingdom companies that were randomized to a mindfulness meditation practice app or a wait-list control condition. The app offered 45 prerecorded 10- to 20-min guided audio meditations. Participants were asked to complete one meditation per day. Psychosocial measures and blood pressure throughout one working day were measured at baseline and eight weeks later; a follow-up survey was also emailed to participants 16 weeks after the intervention start. Usage data showed that during the 8-week intervention period, participants randomized to the intervention completed an average of 17 meditation sessions (range 0-45 sessions). The intervention group reported significant improvement in well-being, distress, job strain, and perceptions of workplace social support compared to the control group. In addition, the intervention group had a marginally significant decrease in self-measured workday systolic blood pressure from pre- to post-intervention. Sustained positive effects in the intervention group were found for well-being and job strain at the 16-week follow-up assessment. This trial suggests that short guided mindfulness meditations delivered via smartphone and practiced multiple times per week can improve outcomes related to work stress and well-being, with potentially lasting effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Topics: Adult; Analysis of Variance; Blood Pressure; Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; Female; Humans; Male; Meditation; Middle Aged; Mindfulness; Mobile Applications; Occupational Stress; Personal Satisfaction; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Smartphone; Social Support; Treatment Outcome; United Kingdom; Young Adult
PubMed: 29723001
DOI: 10.1037/ocp0000118 -
Currents in Pharmacy Teaching & Learning Oct 2019The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of mindfulness meditation using the Headspace™ app on mindfulness, mental well-being, and perceived stress in...
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of mindfulness meditation using the Headspace™ app on mindfulness, mental well-being, and perceived stress in pharmacy students.
METHODS
Professional year one (P1), professional year two (P2,) and professional year 3 (P3) pharmacy students were recruited to participate. Students were instructed to meditate using the Headspace™ app for at least 10min per day for four weeks. Students at baseline completed the health promoting lifestyle profile (HPLP). Data was collected from the pre/post surveys using the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS), and Cohen Perceived Stress Scale (PSS).
RESULTS
Ninety-two pharmacy students enrolled in the study. Seventy-percent of the participants completed the study. Only one participant was excluded in the post data analysis due to non-adherence with the protocol. The data revealed that for all scales the intervention was associated with enhanced mindfulness and mental well-being and decreased perceived stress. Further analysis indicated that controlling for various health promoting lifestyle behaviors preserves the positive impact of mindfulness meditation as demonstrated.
CONCLUSIONS
Mindfulness meditation uniformly and independently improved the participants overall mental health. The data supports a feasible option for minimizing stress and maintaining mental well-being in a demanding professional program. This study encourages students in pharmacy schools to adopt these practices in their curriculum.
Topics: Adult; Female; Humans; Male; Meditation; Mindfulness; Perception; Stress, Psychological; Students, Pharmacy; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 31685171
DOI: 10.1016/j.cptl.2019.06.005 -
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Jun 2014Numerous studies have begun to address how the brain's gray and white matter may be shaped by meditation. This research is yet to be integrated, however, and two... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Numerous studies have begun to address how the brain's gray and white matter may be shaped by meditation. This research is yet to be integrated, however, and two fundamental questions remain: Is meditation associated with altered brain structure? If so, what is the magnitude of these differences? To address these questions, we reviewed and meta-analyzed 123 brain morphology differences from 21 neuroimaging studies examining ∼300 meditation practitioners. Anatomical likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis found eight brain regions consistently altered in meditators, including areas key to meta-awareness (frontopolar cortex/BA 10), exteroceptive and interoceptive body awareness (sensory cortices and insula), memory consolidation and reconsolidation (hippocampus), self and emotion regulation (anterior and mid cingulate; orbitofrontal cortex), and intra- and interhemispheric communication (superior longitudinal fasciculus; corpus callosum). Effect size meta-analysis (calculating 132 effect sizes from 16 studies) suggests a global 'medium' effect size (Cohen's d¯=0.46; r¯=.19). Publication bias and methodological limitations are strong concerns, however. Further research using rigorous methods is required to definitively link meditation practice to altered brain morphology.
Topics: Animals; Awareness; Brain; Brain Mapping; Humans; Likelihood Functions; Meditation; Neuroimaging
PubMed: 24705269
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.03.016 -
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine Dec 2022Meditation is associated with health benefits; however, there are reports that it may trigger or exacerbate psychotic states. In this review, we aim to collate case... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Meditation is associated with health benefits; however, there are reports that it may trigger or exacerbate psychotic states. In this review, we aim to collate case reports of psychotic disorders occurring in association with meditative practice and to discuss the relationship between psychosis and meditation.
METHODOLOGY
We performed case-based analysis of all the existing studies published in English language using PubMed, PsycINFO, Cochrane, Scopus, EMBASE, CINAHL and Google Scholar with the search terms; 'Psychosis' OR 'Psychotic Symptoms' OR 'Schizophrenia' AND 'Meditation.'
RESULTS
A total of 19 studies and 28 cases were included in the review. The patients described had an age range of 18-57 years; there was equal distribution of males and females. The diagnoses included acute psychosis in 14 cases, schizophrenia in 7 cases, mania with psychotic symptoms in 3 cases, and schizoaffective disorder in 1 case. The types of meditation described were Transcendent, Mindfulness, Buddhist Meditation like Qigong, Zen, and Theraveda, and others like Bikram yoga, Pranic Healing, and Hindustan Type meditation. Of the 28 cases reported, 14 patients had certain precipitating factors like insomnia, lack of food intake, history of mental illness, stress, and psychoactive substance use.
CONCLUSION
There are case reports of psychotic disorder arising in association with meditative practice; however, it is difficult to attribute a causal relationship between the two. At the same time, there is a body of research describing the beneficial effect of meditative practice in clinical settings for patients with psychotic disorders. Appropriately designed studies are needed to further investigate the relationship between meditative practice and psychosis.
Topics: Male; Female; Humans; Adolescent; Young Adult; Adult; Middle Aged; Meditation; Psychotic Disorders; Schizophrenia; Substance-Related Disorders; Mindfulness
PubMed: 31668156
DOI: 10.1017/ipm.2019.47 -
Journal of Religion and Health Apr 2017A growing number of people are seeking health recovery treatments with a holistic approach to the human being. Meditation is a mental training capable of producing... (Review)
Review
A growing number of people are seeking health recovery treatments with a holistic approach to the human being. Meditation is a mental training capable of producing connection between the mind, body and spirit. Its practice helps people to achieve balance, relaxation and self-control, in addition to the development of consciousness. At present, meditation is classified as a complementary and integrative technique in the area of health. The purpose of this review of the literature was to describe what meditation is, its practices and effects on health, demonstrated by consistent scientific investigations. Recently, the advances in researches with meditation, the discovery of its potential as an instrument of self-regulation of the human body and its benefits to health have shown that it is a consistent alternative therapy when associated with conventional medical treatments.
Topics: Health Status; Humans; Meditation; Research
PubMed: 26915053
DOI: 10.1007/s10943-016-0211-1