This study has found each meditation practice leads to a distinct short-term psychological effect. This would lead to important implications in the use of meditative practices and intervention design depending on the individuals profile.
They compared four common meditation practices on measures of state change in affect, mind-wandering, meta-cognition, and interoception. After a 9-month mental training program divided into 3 modules: presence which included breathing meditation and body scan; affect which included loving-kindness meditation; and perspective which included observing-thought meditation. Through multilevel modeling, they found that:
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All practices increased positivity of affect, energy, and present focus and decreased thought distraction.
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body scan led to the greatest state increase in interoceptive awareness and the greatest decrease in thought content.
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loving-kindness meditation led to the greatest increase in feelings of warmth and positive thoughts about others.
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observing-thought meditation led to the greatest increase in metacognitive awareness.
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Complementary network analysis of intervariate relationships revealed distinct phenomenological clusters of psychological change congruent with the content of each practice.
Phenomenological Fingerprints of Four Meditations: Differential State Changes in Affect, Mind-Wandering, Meta-Cognition, and Interoception Before and After Daily Practice Across 9 Months of Training
This study looks into what effects an 8 week MBSR course produced on brain waves and heart rate.
The researchers measured participants brain activity using an Electroencephalogram (EEG) and their hear rate using an electrocardiogram (ECG) before and after the three week course and looked at the relationship between the two. They also identified the brain regions involved in the change in mental states. The authors then concluded that the chaotic activity of both brain and heart rate became more coordinated after engaging in mindfulness meditation. This suggests MBSR could enhance the link between body and mind
Entrainment of chaotic activities in brain and heart during MBSR mindfulness training.
Outcomes of MBSR or MBSR-based interventions in health care providers: A systematic review with a focus on empathy and emotional competencies
This article provides a systematic review and evaluation of the effects MBSR has on healthcare professionals. It was based on interventional studies published before 2015.
Its main aims were to: identify outcomes in studies on the effect of MBSR in healthcare providers; evaluate the impact of MBSR on these outcomes and assess current knowledge on whether capacities central to care (empathy, identification of one’s own emotions, identification of other’s emotions and emotional acceptance) are positively impacted by MBSR.
The evidence suggests MBSR is associated with improvements in burnout, stress, anxiety, depression and empathy. However no clear evidence was found regarding emotional competencies.
Research
Watch this 3-minute video from the UMass Medical School summerising some of the research on mindfulness that has been carried out.
Research
This video provides a quick overview of some of the research that has been carried out on mindfulness over the last 30 years
Journals
As a health care professional what effect can MBSR have on you?
Can we differentiate among aspects of mindfulness in order to create more targeted and specialised interventions?
For a more in depth understanding of some of the research that has been carried out to date and in order to provide some light into some of the questions around mindfulness that may arise to you as a practitioner the following journals have been included. However, these are just some examples as the body of literature is vast.
The efficacy of mindfulness-based stress reduction on mental health of breast cancer patients: a meta-analysis
This study aims to investigate the evidence of the efficacy of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in improving stress, depression and anxiety in breast cancer patients.
Nine published studies (two randomised controlled trials, one quasi-experimental case–control study and six one-group, pre-intervention and post-intervention studies) up to November 2011 that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were analysed. The authors concluded that on the basis of these findings, MBSR shows a moderate to large positive effect size on the mental health of breast cancer patients and warrants further systematic investigation because it has a potential to make a significant improvement on mental health for women in this group.
Mindfulnessbased stress reduction: a nonpharmacological approach for chronic illnesses
The aim of this systematic review is to determine the efficacy of MBSR in the treatment of chronic illnesses; it's mechanism of action and adverse effects. It describes an alternative method of treatment for physicians and patients that may help patients cope with their diseases in a more effective way.
All the 18 studies included in this systematic review showed improvement in the condition of patients after MBSR therapy. These studies were focused on patients with chronic diseases like cancer, hypertension, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, chronic pain and skin disorders, before and after MBSR therapy.
The authors conclude that although the research on MBSR is sparse, the results of these researches indicate that MBSR improves the
condition of patients suffering from chronic illnesses and helps them cope with a wide variety of clinical
problems.
Does Mindfulness have an effect on our body as well as our mind?
Do healthy individuals benefit from mindfulness?
How do mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction improve mental health and wellbeing? A systematic review and meta-analysis of mediation studies
An increasing number of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) studies are being conducted with nonclinical populations, but very little is known about their effectiveness. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the efficacy, mechanisms of actions, and moderators of MBSR for nonclinical populations. A systematic review of studies published in English journals in Medline, CINAHL or Alt HealthWatch from the first available date until September 19, 2014. Any quantitative study that used MBSR as an intervention, that was conducted with healthy adults, and that investigated stress or anxiety. The obtained results were maintained at an average of 19 weeks of follow-up. Results suggested large effects on stress, moderate effects on anxiety, depression, distress, and quality of life, and small effects on burnout. When combined, changes in mindfulness and compassion measures correlated with changes in clinical measures at post-treatment and at follow-up. However, heterogeneity was high, probably due to differences in the study design, the implemented protocol, and the assessed outcomes. The authors concluded MBSR is moderately effective in reducing stress, depression, anxiety and distress and in ameliorating the quality of life of healthy individuals; however, more research is warranted to identify the most effective elements of MBSR.
Is mindfulness effective for individuals with chronic illness?
Is mindfulness effective for women with breast cancer?
Is mindfulness effective for individuals with vascular disease?
Effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness based cognitive therapy in vascular disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
The aim of this meta-analysis was to determine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on psychological and physical outcomes for people with vascular disease.
Nine articles and a total of 578 participants were included, he presented prehypertension/hypertension, type 1 or 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Meta-analyses, showed evidence of reductions in stress, depression and anxiety. However, effects on physical outcomes (blood pressure, albuminuria, stress hormones) were mixed. Therefore the authors concluded that whilst populations with vascular disease appear to derive a range of psychological benefits from MBSR/MBCT intervention, the effects on physical parameters of disease are not yet established. More robust studies, with longer term follow-up, are required to ascertain full effectiveness of such intervention.