What is it that meditation can’t help us do? Or how about another rhetorical question: The brain is a funny thing, isn’t it? We try to stuff it with good things, we are unable to undo any unintentional stuffing (for the most part) and then we have to tell it to stop talking to us about all the stuff it’s stuffed full of, plus things like worry and imagination that take on narrations of their own. What if we could clear all the chatter and organize our thoughts like those awesome closet organizers we always get deal alerts for in our email inbox and never buy because we’re too distracted and then the deal ends? What were we talking about again?
This is what mindfulness meditation can help us do and what some researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have found in a recent study on “task-unrelated” thoughts, the official term for distractions and dillydallying.
Published last month in the journal Psychological Science, the two-week study involved 48 University of California undergrads who were evaluated for “working memory capacity, mind-wandering and performance on a G.R.E. reading comprehension section.” Half of the group took classes in nutrition (way to change up the control group, guys) while the other half participated in a mindfulness-based stress-reducing program meeting four days a week for two weeks, instead of the regular once a week for eight weeks one might find outside of the study.
What researchers found after only two weeks was that mindfulness meditation helped beat cases of the mind-wanderings and improved working memory, as in students were able to access bits of info and use them more readily, helping them do better on tests. Sounds simple and difficult enough. Most of us on the brainwave-o-meter place closer to a neural twitter feed when it comes to meditation so we know it’s not always easy to keep your mind focused and unflapped.
Wait, so all we have to do is master meditation to become crazy brain geniuses, right?? Not exactly. The meditation practices don’t necessarily make you smarter, but instead help you put your mental shoes and belts and the crazy cat sweater you got from your loving yet completely out of touch aunt who still thinks you’re 10 years old in their rightful place in your brain-sized closet, so to speak.
“A type of training that can help one avoid susceptibility to worries, or other sources of mind-wandering, very well could improve performance,” said Nelson Cowan, a professor at the University of Missouri who specializes in the study of working memory capacity and attention, in an e-mail message.
Daniel T. Willingham, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia and author of “When Can You Trust the Experts? How to Tell Good Science From Bad in Education,” said that “when you see these big effects, it may not be that you’ve really fundamentally changed how the mind works. But you have removed a stumbling block that was absorbing them.”
It’s no miracle drug and it’s not some passing fad, and thank goodness. Meditation is something you have to work at and practice and keep at it. Input does not stop seeping into your brain, so you have to keep organizing.
Another interesting part of the study was that the meditation classes involved “the secular pillars of the practice” like sitting in an upright posture with legs crossed and gaze lowered, breathing exercises and “minimizing the distracting quality of past and future concerns by reframing them as mental projections occurring in the present.”
Sounds sorta familiar.
[Via NYTimes]
——
Earlier…
Interesting article.
At the moment I’m reading an excellent book on boosting your willpower by Kelly McGonigal. One of the studies in the book found that the consistent habit of just 5 minutes meditation each day helped people with their concentration, focus and their ability to resist temptation.
I’ve been doing 5 minutes a day for the last 2 weeks and I have to say that it is really helping me focus. But as you say you have to keep at it to see consistent results.
Hi!,
I am also doing meditation everyday and I am very happy about it. I appreciate your extremely helpful article about yoga. Thanks for sharing your tips, it’s an excellent read.
I admit I am an over-thinker and my mind is a wanderer. These characteristics often make me really stressed and meditation often makes me feel a lot better. Now, I just need to find time to do it everyday for a better me. Thanks for the great article.
Modern closets can be built into the walls of the house during construction so that they take up no apparent space in the bedroom, or they can be a large, free-standing piece of furniture designed for clothing storage, in which case they are often called a wardrobe or armoire. Closets are often built under stairs, thereby using awkward space that would otherwise go unused…
My personal internet site
<http://www.caramoan.co
A lot of research has gone into meditation as of late and the general consensus with neuroscientists is that it helps with cognition. However, just like improving any other part of the brain, you will have to work at it diligently. Here’s a great article on meditation and its correlation with improved cognition:
http://yourbrainatwork.org/what-is-meditation-and-how-does-it-help-the-brain-function/
Great article… now I am also planning to take some yoga classes
Would the blogger of this post mind if we quickly share this article on our
personal blog or personal social media accounts like Facebook and Twitter?
Also visit my web page – auto insurance online
Meditation has brought joy,peace tranquality,calmness,stillness & understanding with my ownself. Best part of my senior years to search my soul & not to blame others.
Blessings, Veena
Wonderful issues altogether, you just received a new reader. What might you recommend about your publish that you simply made some days ago? Any certain?
Meditation was a total waste of time for me. I am quitting it to go back to the real world.
Those who administered the “study” are a little behind the times. Still, I suppose they should be recognized for finally having realized what has been known for at least 5000 years, if not longer.
You will need to do some research online to find the product that
suitss you. There are numerous foods that have an effect on the color of your enamel when taken excessively.
This superficial yellowing is commonly caused by abnormal
intake of coffee and also cola as well as using tobacco.
Even reliable teeth whiteners may not turn out to be the most effective tooth whitening option.
However the home procedure is much cheaper than the professional job.
This is a lightweight, compact-sized microwave oven designed to be used on small desks.
Belinda Sinclair empowers men and women to increase
their Wow Factor through personal development and image makeovers.
In this article he has offered essential information about teeth whitening solutions.
While it won’t help you with your desktop or online photos,
you can easily edit your phone gallery images.
“I’m just relying on my elementary paper plane experience,” sɑid Bush, “I was a pro back then. If your paper airplane doesn’t go very far or very fast, just keep practicing until it does. Every now and then I pay attention to music because it sounds different or is highly anticipated.
Interesting blog! Is your theme custom made or did you
download it from somewhere? A design like yours with a few simple adjustements
would really make my blog shine. Please let me know where you got your theme.
Many thanks
“I’m just relying on my elementary paper plane experience,” said Bush, “I was a pro back then. We don’t mean it when we say that people check their brains with their baggage. Things take a turn when Andy needs to demonstrate an eye wash.
I couldn’trefrain frߋm commenting. Well written!
I do not even know the way I ended up right here, but I thought this publish was once great.
I do not realize who you’re however certainly you are going to a famous blogger for those who are not already.
Cheers!
Hurrah, that’s what I was searching for, what a stuff!
present here at this weblog, thanks admin of this web
site.
As the admin of this site is working, no uncertainty very rapidly it will
be well-known, due to its quality contents.
I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you design this website yourself
or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz respond as I’m looking
to create my own blog and would like to know where
u got this from. kudos
Of course the high quality products from replacement window contractors like
America’s Best Choice have to do a lot in this change.
With metal gutters and downspouts too, signs of rusting and
corroding reflect their true condition. ‘ Re roofing Leeds
– If your roof has passed its sell-by date, we can provide you
with a whole new one, fully guaranteed for 25 years.
I have to admit this is most definitely one of the more impressive postings I’ve discovered for this topic. I’ll definately keep an eye on your posts.
Oh my goodness! Amazing article dude! Thank you so much.
http://www.livinghealthybychoice.com/
Hi there, simply was alert to your weblog via Google, and located that it’s really informative. I am going to be careful for brussels. I’ll appreciate for those who continue this in future. Many people can be benefited out of your writing. Cheers!