Mindfulness meditation improves cognition: evidence of brief mental training.


Author: Zeidan F, Johnson SK, Diamond BJ, et al.

Affiliation: Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Wake  Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA. fzeidan@wfubmc.edu
Conference/Journal: Conscious Cogn.
Date published: 2010 Jun
Other:
 Volume ID: 19   ,  Issue ID: 2   ,  Pages: 597-605   ,  Word Count: 141  
    Abstract:  Although research has found that long-term mindfulness meditation practice promotes executive 

functioning and the ability to sustain attention, the effects of brief mindfulness meditation training have not been fully 

explored. We examined whether brief meditation training affects cognition and mood when compared to an active con- 

trol group. After four sessions of either meditation training or listening to a recorded book, participants with no prior 

meditation experience were assessed with measures of mood, verbal fluency, visual coding, and working memory. 

Both interventions were effective at improving mood but only brief meditation training reduced fatigue, anxiety, and 

increased mindfulness. Moreover, brief mindfulness training significantly improved visuo-spatial processing, working 

memory, and executive functioning. Our findings suggest that 4days of meditation training can enhance the ability to 

sustain attention; benefits that have previously been reported with long-term meditators. 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights 

reserved.