Mindfulness Meditation and Its Many Benefits

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by

Dawn Ferrara, Psy.D

 

When most people hear the term mindfulness meditation, they immediately think of “ohm”, mudras and the transcendental meditation of the 60’s. Well, they wouldn’t be 100% wrong. Both TM and mindfulness are forms of meditation practice but they are very different in their intention and practice. While TM is focused more on finding a state of serene peace or Zen, mindfulness mediation is focused on bringing attention to the here-and-now, to be present in the moment. The mind is open and welcoming to the present without rejection or response.

Over the last 10 years or so, mindfulness meditation has enjoyed a growing popularity and for good reason. This practice that emphasizes the “here and now” has been found to have positive effects on many aspects of a person’s well-being.

What Is This Thing Called Mindfulness?

Before we talk about all the benefits, we should probably talk about what mindfulness is. Mindfulness is not a new term. It has been around for thousands of years and is thought to have emerged from Buddhist practices.1

Mindfulness refers to a state of awareness of and attention to what is happening in the present. It’s basically paying attention to what you’re experiencing in the here and now, in this moment. But it’s more than just what is going on around you. It is being aware of you in this space in this moment.

Meditation is the practice of focusing your mind on something in an effort to improve mental well-being and foster calm and clarity. When you combine mindfulness and meditation, you are focusing your mind on your experience in the present moment (like noticing your own feelings, thoughts or sensations such as the rhythm of your breathing).

But why does it work? Scientists aren’t exactly sure. What they do know is that meditation works by increasing interoception or the awareness of the body’s state in the moment. Tapping into the brain area known as the amygdala, it turns off the “fight or flight” response and activates the body’s relaxation response. 2 Mindfulness meditation also activates parts of the brain responsible for emotional regulation and attentiveness.3 It essentially turns off the chatter that can block us from relaxing and can keep us stirred up. And when you combine these two things, amazing things start to happen.

What Mindfulness Meditation Can Do For You

People who practice mindfulness meditation consistently report all kinds of improvements in physical health and emotional well-being. Researchers took notice and gave it a closer look. Turns out, the reports seem to be true. A regular mindfulness mediation practice appears to have a positive impact on several areas of health.

Dealing with Illnesses

Mindfulness meditation has been found to have positive effects for people with a number of physical ailments including chronic pain, cancer and migraines. Studies have found that patients who engage in structured mindfulness practices report better pain management and tolerance as well as improved levels of functioning.4,5

Mindfulness meditation appears to be particularly helpful for cancer patients and its use has been studied extensively in this group. In addition to pain, cancer patients often experience a high degree of stress and worry. Studies using a practice known as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) have consistently shown that mindfulness can reduce symptoms of stress, enhance non-reactivity and observing, and decrease rumination and worry.6,7

One study in particular, the eCALM study, demonstrated that online participation in structured mindfulness programs such as MBSR can yield similar results. These findings open the door to help for patients who may be unable to travel. You can benefit from mindfulness meditation no matter where you are!8  Of course, if you have been diagnosed with a health issue, it is important that you and your healthcare provider decide on the plan that is right for you.

An Ounce of Prevention

Aside from chronic illnesses, regularly engaging in mindfulness meditation has positive effects on general health issues such as high blood pressure and cardiovascular health, weight management and smoking cessation.9,10 Mindfulness can even help you to do things that keep you well like getting your checkups, wearing your seatbelt and getting your gym time in.11

Improving Brain Function

Mindfulness involves focusing on the here and now so it’s not surprising that practicing mindfulness improves the way our brain processes information. When you practice mindfulness, you’re activating many of the same areas of the brain that are critical to attention, focus, memory and other executive functions.

Studies have found that mindfulness practice can tap into the brain’s alpha rhythm which helps to process incoming information. Mindfulness seems to help the brain  more efficiently filter out distracting information and improve focus and concentration.12 Super important in our 24/7, 140 character world.

Depression

Mental health has been another area that has really embraced mindfulness meditation practices. The effects of mindfulness on feelings of well-being are well-established. So it makes sense that it would find its way into the mental health world. And it has, in a big way.

Mindfulness practice is now a frequent part of a person’s treatment recommendations and, it has even found its way into therapy. Studies have found that mindfulness when combined with cognitive behavioral therapy can be as effective at managing depression as maintenance psychotropic medications in some cases.13 Mindfulness practices have been shown to reduce depressive symptoms and help to improve the ability to regulate and manage emotions.14 It may even be helpful as a supplemental intervention for people who have chronic depression.15 Of course, if you have been diagnosed with a mental health issue, it is important that you and your healthcare provider decide on the plan that is right for you.

Anxiety and Stress

This is where mindfulness meditation shines! Countless studies have shown the effectiveness of mindfulness practices on stress and anxiety levels. The thinking is that mindfulness meditation elicits an adaptive response. That’s a fancy way of saying that it encourages acceptance and approach coping instead of avoidance and high reactivity. It has even been shown to be effective with one of the most severe forms of stress – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.16 This has significant implications for and offers hope for relief to our veterans, first responders and others who are at risk for PTSD.

Even if you don’t have an anxiety disorder, mindfulness meditation is a great strategy for releasing the stress of the day and recharging.

Wait, There’s More!

The list of issues that mindfulness meditation has been found to help can go on and on. Its popularity continues to rise and researchers are taking a deep dive into how and why it seems to have such positive effects.

Here are a few more benefits that seem to stem from a mindfulness practice:17

  • Improved academic success for school age children
  • Lower rates of depression and anxiety in teens
  • Decreased aggression and improved conduct in children with ADHD
  • Buffers the effects of bullying
  • Boosts resilience
  • Helps with managing symptoms of menopause
  • Improves job performance
  • Lower levels of work-related stress

 

You Can Practice Mindfulness

Practicing mindfulness doesn’t mean taking an hour out of your day, having a “meditation room” or even needing special skills or equipment. The awesome thing about mindfulness meditation is that even a few minutes a day done consistently can yield powerful results. Want to try it?

Here is an easy meditation to get you started.

  1. Find a quiet, comfortable space where you won’t be interrupted for a few minutes. You can sit in a chair or on the floor. Close your eyes if you’d like.
  2. Take a deep breath in and let it out. Now try to focus on this moment. Try to brush aside thoughts of anything else except here and now.
  3. As you focus on this moment, let yourself become aware of your breathing, the sounds of it, the sensation of your belly rising and falling.
  4. As thoughts come into your mind, simply acknowledge them and let them gently slip by. Focus on your breathing.
  5. If you find yourself distracted by your thoughts, it’s ok. It happens. Simply acknowledge that and again, return to the moment and focus on your breathing.
  6. When you are finished, take a few deep breaths and take note of how you feel.

 

Mindfulness meditation has been around for a long time and for good reason. It offers so much good and there is still so much more to learn about it. If you find yourself struggling with an illness or just struggling with day-to-day stress, mindfulness meditation may offer you a tool for handling those days just a little better.

If you want to try it but aren’t sure how to start, there are lots of tutorials online. You can also reach out to a counselor or therapist. Many counselors incorporate mindfulness into their treatment approach and help you to find the mindfulness practice that works best for you. Remember, there’s no right or wrong way. The best way is the way that works for you.

 

 

 

 

 

References

  1. Davis, D. M., & Hayes, J. A. (2011). What are the benefits of mindfulness? A practice review of psychotherapy-related research. Psychotherapy, 48(2), 198-208.
  2. Desbordes, G., Negi, L. T., Pace, T. W., Wallace, B. A., Raison, C. L., & Schwartz, E. L. (2012). Effects of mindful-attention and compassion meditation training on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, non-meditative state. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 6, 292.
  3. Renjen, P. N., & Chaudhari, D. M. (2017, October 1). Neurological benefits of mindfulness meditation Renjen PN, Chaudhari DM – Apollo Med. Retrieved from http://www.apollomedicine.org/article.asp?issn=0976-0016;year=2017;volume=14;issue=4;spage=198;epage=201;aulast=Renjen#ref15
  4. Cherkin, D. C., Sherman, K. J., Balderson, B. H., Cook, A. J., Anderson, M. L., Hawkes, R. J., Hansen, K.E., & Turner, J. A. (2016). Effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction vs cognitive behavioral therapy or usual care on back pain and functional limitations in adults with chronic low back pain. JAMA, 315(12), 1240-1249.
  5. Wells, R. E., Burch, R., Paulsen, R. H., Wayne, P. M., Houle, T. T., & Loder, E. (2014). Meditation for Migraines: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, 54(9), 1484-1495.
  6. Carlson, L. E., Ursuliak, Z., Goodey, E., Angen, M., & Speca, M. (2001). The effects of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction program on mood and symptoms of stress in cancer outpatients: 6-month follow-up. Supportive Care in Cancer, 9(2), 112-123.
  7. Chang, Y., Wang, L., Liu, C., Chien, T., Chen, I., & Hsu, C. (2017). The Effects of a Mindfulness Meditation Program on Quality of Life in Cancer Outpatients: An Exploratory Study. Integrative Cancer Therapies, 17(2), 363-370.
  8. Zernicke, K. A., Campbell, T. S., Speca, M., Ruff, K. M., Flowers, S., Tamagawa, R., & Carlson, L. E. (2016). The eCALM Trial: eTherapy for cancer applying mindfulness. exploratory analyses of the associations between online mindfulness-based cancer recovery participation and changes in mood, stress symptoms, mindfulness, posttraumatic growth, and spirituality. Mindfulness, 7(5), 1071-1081.
  9. Loucks, E. B., Britton, W. B., Howe, C. J., Eaton, C. B., & Buka, S. L. (2014). Positive associations of dispositional mindfulness with cardiovascular health: the new england family study. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 22(4), 540-550.
  10. Tomfohr, L. M., Pung, M. A., Mills, P. J., & Edwards, K. (2014). Trait mindfulness is associated with blood pressure and interleukin-6: exploring interactions among subscales of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire to better understand relationships between mindfulness and health. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 38(1), 28-38.
  11. Jacobs, I., Wollny, A., Sim, C., & Horsch, A. (2016). Mindfulness facets, trait emotional intelligence, emotional distress, and multiple health behaviors: A serial two-mediator model. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 57(3), 207-214.
  12. Kerr, C. E., Jones, S. R., Wan, Q., Pritchett, D. L., Wasserman, R. H., Wexler, A., … Moore, C. I. (2011). Effects of mindfulness meditation training on anticipatory alpha modulation in primary somatosensory cortex. Brain Research Bulletin, 85(3-4), 96-103.
  13. Kuyken, W., Hayes, R., Barrett, B., Byng, R., Dalgleish, T., Kessler, D., … Byford, S. (2015). The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy compared with maintenance antidepressant treatment in the prevention of depressive relapse/recurrence: results of a randomised controlled trial (the PREVENT study). Health Technology Assessment, 19(73), 1-124.
  14. Costa, A., & Barnhofer, T. (2015). Turning Towards or Turning Away: A Comparison of Mindfulness Meditation and Guided Imagery Relaxation in Patients with Acute Depression. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 44(4), 410-419.
  15. Forkmann, T., Brakemeier, E., Teismann, T., Schramm, E., & Michalak, J. (2016). The Effects of Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy added to Treatment as Usual on suicidal ideation in chronic depression: Results of a randomized-clinical trial.Journal of Affective Disorders, 200, 51-57.
  16. Felleman, B. I., Stewart, D. G., Simpson, T. L., Heppner, P. S., & Kearney, D. J. (2016). Predictors of depression and ptsd treatment response among veterans participating in mindfulness-based stress reduction. Mindfulness, 7(4), 886-895.
  17. The 23 Amazing Health Benefits of Mindfulness for Body and Brain (+ PDFs). (2019, June). Retrieved from https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-mindfulness/