Although the practice of mindfulness dates back thousands of years, there has been a large recent focus on it in the Western scientific community. Researchers’ interest in mindfulness practice has steadily increased as studies continue to reveal its beneficial effects. Current research looks at how the brain responds to mindfulness practice, how relationships benefit, and how physical and mental health improves, as well as a list of other benefits. Further, mindfulness practices have been incorporated into a number of mental health interventions and protocols, showing much efficacy and becoming leading evidenced-based modalities.
According to the creator of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), Jon Kabat-Zinn, “mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, and non judgmentallyâ€. In research mindfulness is primarily defined as the moment-to-moment awareness of one’s experience without judgment. Mindfulness practitioners learn how to pay attention on purpose by practicing specially developed mindfulness meditation practices and mindful movements. 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 mental well-being.
Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center conducted a recent study on mindfulness meditation and pain reduction. The research, published in the November 2015 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, found that mindfulness meditation reduces pain more effectively than a placebo. This is noteworthy because placebo-controlled trials are the golden standard for establishing the effectiveness of clinical and pharmacological treatments. The study was conducted using both patient pain ratings as well as brain imaging. This two-pronged approach was used to determine, both subjectively and objectively, whether mindfulness meditation was more than a placebo. The group practicing mindfulness meditation reported significantly greater pain relief and lower pain unpleasantness. Further, brain scans revealed mindfulness meditation activated brain regions (orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortex) associated with the self-control of pain as well as deactivated the thalamus—the brain region that determines what information is passed to higher brain centers. “We were completely surprised by the findings,†said lead investigator Fadel Zeidan, PhD. These findings provide objective evidence that mindfulness meditation can help reduce pain in a novel way. The researchers believe that, based on their findings, “as little as four 20-minute daily sessions of mindfulness meditation could enhance pain treatment in a clinical settingâ€.