Research over the years has investigated a number of benefits of mindfulness training, and associations between increased mindfulness and higher physical and psychological functioning. This page briefly outlines some of this research and provides references and links for further reading.
Research over many years has established that meditation of various forms (e.g., mantra, Benson method, yoga) can lead to greater relaxation, improved mood, and regularly facilitates less anxiety in both regular populations and people with anxiety problems. Cahn and Polich (2006) reviewed meditation research and concluded that meditation appears to affect regions in the brain that involve attention and stimulus processing speed, and this may help to reduce the effect of stress and anxiety on psychophysical functioning. The MBSR program has also been shown to increase immune function and activation of brain regions associated with positive emotion and recovery from stressful events. Consistent with these research findings, Grossman et al. (2004) in a meta-analytic review of mindfulness-based stress reduction research concluded that mindfulness training is associated with increased coping with disability, reduced pain, and improved physical well-being for people with chronic and serious health conditions, like cancer and fibromyalgia.
Research also shows that meditation and mindfulness training is associated with improved perceived quality of life, reduced anxiety, increased relaxation, and coping. Likewise, mindfulness training has been shown to be associated with increased sense of control over emotion and internal experience, greater tolerance of uncertainty, and less fear of emotion (Astin, 1997; Craigie, 2006). It has been argued by a number of researchers (for more details see references and links below) that mindfulness training may improve one's ability to self-regulate in terms of reducing negative focus on self, and increasing meta-cognitive awareness and control, self-compassion, wisdom, and resilience. These aspects may promote increased self-determination, meaning and positive emotion. In sum, the research has shown that mindfulness training and higher self reported mindfulness is associated with a number of psychological benefits:
- Less negative emotion, negative thinking, and negative mood.
- Higher self-esteem.
- More positive emotion and sense of control over emotion.
- Greater concentration and metacognitive awareness.
- Greater sense of vitality and well-being.
Meditation and mindfulness training more specifically may thus promote a range of psychological and psychophysical benefits.
Recommended Reading:
- Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living. New York: Dell Publishing.
Website Links:
- Self-Compassion: www.self-compassion.org
- Positive Psychology: www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu/index.html
- Neuroimaging on mindfulness and grey matter: download pdf document.
- Mindfulness and health article: download pdf document.
Technical References:
- Astin, J. A. (1997). Stress reduction through mindfulness meditation: Effects on psychological symptomatology, sense of control, and spirititual experiences. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 66, 97-106.
- Baer, R. A. (2003). Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10 (2), 125-143.
- Benson, H., & Beary, J., & Carol, M. (1974). The relaxation response. Psychiatry, 37, 37-46.
- Brown, K. & Ryan, R. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84 (4), 822-848.
- Cahn, B. & Polich, J. (2006). Meditation states and traits: EEG, ERP, and neuroimaging studies. Psychological Bulletin, 13 (2), 180-211.
- Craigie, M. A. (2006). A comparison of cognitive constructs associated with generalized anxiety disorder and the impact of mindfulness training. PhD. Dissertation, Curtin University of Technology, Perth Australia.
- Craigie, M. A., Rees, C., Marsh, A, & Nathan, P. (2005). Mindfulness training for generalized anxiety disorder: Investigating changes in perceived control, fear of emotions, and intolerance of uncertainty. Paper presented at the European Association for Behaviour and Cognitive Therapy 35th Annual Conference, Thessaloniki Greece.
- Davidson et al. (2003). Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosomatic Medicine, 65, 564-570.
- Delmonte, M. M. (1985). Meditation and anxiety reduction: A literature review. Clinical Psychology Review, 5, 91-102.
- Dimidjian, S. & Linehan, M. M. (2003). Defining an agenda for future research on the clinical application of mindfulness practice. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10 (2), 166-171.
- Grossman et al. (2004). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits: A meta analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine, 57, 35-43.
- Lazar, S. W. et al. (2000). Functional brain mapping of the relaxation response and meditation. Neuroreport: For Rapid Communication of Neuroscience Research, 11 (7), 1581-1585.
- Leher, P. M. (1996). Varieties of relaxation methods and their unique effects. International Journal of Stress Managment, 3 (1), 1-15.
- Lehrer, P. M. et al. (1994). Stress management techniques: Are they equvialent or do they have specific effects. Biofeedback and Self-Regulation, 4, 353-401.
- Neff, K. D. (2003). The development and validation of a scale to measure self-compassion. Self and Identity, 2, 223-250.
- Teasdale, J. D. et al. (2000). Preventing relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychiatry, 68, 615-623.
- Teasdale, J. D., Segal, Z., & Williams, M. G. (2003). Mindfulness training and problem formulation. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10, 157-106.
- Teasdale, J. D., Moore, R. G., et al. (2002). Metacognitive awareness and prevention of relapse in depression: Empirical evidence. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70 (2), 275-287.
