Research related to Mindfulness – Page 6

Mindfulness Meditation and Lower Back Pain

June 16, 2010February 21, 2011 Karl DuffyLeave a comment

An interesting study was carried out to see how effective mindfulness meditation would be for older adults who suffer with chronic lower back pain. Among older adults, this is a common problem that can have devastating consequences. Traditional pain therapies have their limitations and side-effects. The study wished to see if mindfulness meditation, as a non-invasive method not requiring any special equipment, could contribute to the treatment of this problem. There are significant psychological and cognitive factors which contribute to the pain intensity and disability associated with this chronic pain. The researchers wished to see if the MBSR Programme could be adhered to by this age group and whether it could help with the perception and tolerance of pain, along with the associated stress.

Participants were 37 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and older with chronic lower back pain of moderate intensity occurring daily or almost every day. Participants were randomized to the 8-week mindfulness-based meditation program or to a wait-list control group. After the 8 weeks, the intervention group displayed significant improvement in pain acceptance and physical function. Furthermore, the majority of participants continued to meditate at 3-month follow-up suggesting that they had incorporated meditation into their daily lives and may indicate that they experienced ongoing benefit from mindfulness meditation.

As a result of this study, it is argued that integrative mind-body therapies such as the MBSR program are a promising, non-pharmacologic, addition to current pain treatment for older adults.

Natalia E. Morone, Carol M. Greco, and Debra K. Weiner. Mindfulness meditation for the treatment of chronic low back pain in older adults: A randomized controlled pilot study, Pain. January 2008. Vol. 134. Pp. 310-319.

Reduce the negative, develop the positive…

June 9, 2010February 21, 2011 Karl Duffy1 Comment

When we are having a tough day, finding the positive side of everyday happenings can be difficult. It is an even greater struggle for people suffering from depression. But by developing skills to tune into the positive, depressed people can strengthen their overall wellbeing and mental health, a 2009 Ohio State University study found. By staying mindful of the positive elements of daily events, or by documenting each days happiest moments in a journal, a person may lower their stress levels. “Positive emotions build resilience to stress, in addition to having an undoing effect on depression” says Alan Keck, Psychologist at the Centre for Positive Psychology.

He goes on to say that we should consciously build up our positive resilience by really focusing when we are having an experience that we find especially pleasant. This may simply be a good cup of coffee, a special brunch, a visit to friends, a nice meal. To magnify the results, he says, pay attention to what you see, hear, and feel, both physically and emotionally, and smile. Then consciously tell yourself to “remember this” experience for which you feel grateful. Doing this helps the mind store the positive effects of the moment for future use.

Effect of Mindfulness on the Brain

June 8, 2010February 21, 2011 Karl DuffyLeave a comment

Richard Davidson, Ph.D, one of the world’s foremost brain scientists and named in TIME Magazine’s as one of the world’s top 100 most influential people, has done considerable research on the effect of mindfulness practices on the brain. As I mentioned in a previous post, he is now the Director of the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he is researching how the brain can be trained and shaped to be more positive and resilient. In his work he has specialized in research on brain function related to emotion, both in normal individuals and those with, or at risk of, depression and anxiety.

In his research on brain function in anxiety he noted: The functional M.R.I. images reveal that when people are emotionally distressed — anxious, angry, depressed — the most active sites in the brain are circuitry converging on the amygdala, part of the brain’s emotional centers, and the right prefrontal cortex, a brain region important for the hypervigilance typical of people under stress.

By contrast, when people are in positive moods — upbeat, enthusiastic and energized — those sites are quiet, with the heightened activity in the left prefrontal cortex.

By taking readings on hundreds of people, Davidson established a bell curve distribution, with most people in the middle, having a mix of good and bad moods. Those relatively few people who are farthest to the right are most likely to have a clinical depression or anxiety disorder over the course of their lives. For those lucky few farthest to the left, troubling moods are rare and recovery from them is rapid….

Davidson found – in research on meditators versus non-meditators – significant increases in left-sided anterior activation in the meditators compared with the non-meditators, the pattern previously associated with positive affect. He found that regular mindfulness practice over a period of just 8 weeks significantly increased immune system functioning and additionally increased left-brain activity (furthermore, increases in the left-brain functioning directly mediated the increases in immune system functioning).

The overall results from Davidson’s mindfulness research provides evidence for the use of meditative practices to reduce negative mood states – and furthermore shows that positive mood states are more likely to become a part of a person’s natural state if they meditate regularly.

Moving towards a Mindful Society

June 1, 2010June 7, 2010 Karl DuffyLeave a comment

Jon Kabat Zinn recently gave an interesting and thought-provoking interview to the Buddhist Magazine Shambhala Sun about developing mindfulness in the whole of society. In it he talks about the benefits of developing greater awareness, for ourselves and for society as a whole:

Genuine awareness can modulate our thinking, so that we become less driven by unexamined motivations to put ourselves first, to control things to assuage our fear, to always proffer our brilliant answer. We can create an enormous amount of harm, for example, by not listening to other people who might have different views and insights. Fortunately, we have more of an opportunity these days to balance the cultivation of thinking with the cultivation of awareness. Anyone can restore some degree of balance between thinking and awareness right in this present moment, which is the only moment that any of us ever has anyway. The potential outcomes from purposefully learning to inhabit awareness and bring thought into greater balance are extremely positive and healthy for ourselves and the world at large.

The full interview is well worth the read. You can find it here:

http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?Itemid=0&id=3493&option=com_content&task=view