Many studies show that practicing mindfulness reduces stress. In addition, the meditators had significantly better working memory capacity and were better able to sustain attention during a performance task compared with the control group. They also experienced fewer depressive symptoms and less rumination.
After the retreat, the meditation group had significantly higher self-reported mindfulness and a decreased negative affect compared with a control group. (2008) asked 20 novice meditators to participate in a 10-day intensive mindfulness meditation retreat. In one study, for example, Chambers et al. Several studies have shown that mindfulness reduces rumination. More specifically, research on mindfulness has identified these benefits: These cognitive gains, in turn, contribute to effective emotion-regulation strategies. Researchers theorize that mindfulness meditation promotes metacognitive awareness, decreases rumination via disengagement from perseverative cognitive activities and enhances attentional capacities through gains in working memory. Several disciplines and practices can cultivate mindfulness, such as yoga, tai chi and qigong, but most of the literature has focused on mindfulness that is developed through mindfulness meditation - those self-regulation practices that focus on training attention and awareness in order to bring mental processes under greater voluntary control and thereby foster general mental well-being and development and/or specific capacities such as calmness, clarity and concentration (Walsh & Shapiro, 2006). While it might be promoted by certain practices or activities, such as meditation, it is not equivalent to or synonymous with them. In this sense, mindfulness is a state and not a trait.
To be consistent with most of the research reviewed in this article, we define mindfulness as a moment-to-moment awareness of one's experience without judgment. The term "mindfulness" has been used to refer to a psychological state of awareness, the practices that promote this awareness, a mode of processing information and a character trait. Empirically supported benefits of mindfulness Among its theorized benefits are self-control, objectivity, affect tolerance, enhanced flexibility, equanimity, improved concentration and mental clarity, emotional intelligence and the ability to relate to others and one's self with kindness, acceptance and compassion.īut is mindfulness as good as advertised? This article offers an overview of the research on mindfulness and discusses its implications for practice, research and training. The practice has moved from a largely obscure Buddhist concept founded about 2,600 years ago to a mainstream psychotherapy construct today.Īdvocates of mindfulness would have us believe that virtually every client and therapist would benefit from being more mindful. Mindfulness has enjoyed a tremendous surge in popularity in the past decade, both in the popular press and in the psychotherapy literature.
This feature will provide you with updates on critical developments in psychology, drawn from peer-reviewed literature and written by leading psychology experts. "CE Corner" is a quarterly continuing education article offered by the APA Office of CE in Psychology.
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