Online mindfulness intervention reduces fatigue, negative work-related worry

September 9, 2014
Science Daily/British Psychological Society (BPS)
Brief online mindfulness interventions requiring only two hours of training and practice per week are effective at reducing fatigue and negative work-related rumination and at improving sleep quality, a study concludes. 

Persistent work-related rumination, in particular where individuals experience negative emotional thoughts (affective rumination), has previously been shown to be related to increased levels of stress and work-related fatigue.

Stress and its associated physical response are known to have negative health effects in the long run. Business concerns over employee welfare and the impact of time off work highlight the importance of finding ways to help employees reduce the pressure and impact work-related worry may be having.

The intervention had a significant positive effect on levels of affective rumination, sleep quality and fatigue for participants in the intervention group in comparison to the control group. The researchers said: "Research has shown that there are significant numbers of people who are suffering from work-related fatigue and rumination. We ourselves have found evidence of the causal relationship between how people worry about work and their ability to recover and switch off effectively at the end of the day.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140909191959.htm

Yogic breathing shows promise in reducing symptoms of PTSD

September 11, 2014
Science Daily/University of Wisconsin-Madison
New research offers hope for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Researchers there have shown that a breathing-based meditation practice called Sudarshan Kriya Yoga can be an effective treatment for PTSD.

One of the greatest casualties of war is its lasting effect on the minds of soldiers. This presents a daunting public health problem: More than 20 percent of veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a 2012 report by RAND Corp.

Individuals with PTSD suffer from intrusive memories, heightened anxiety, and personality changes. The hallmark of the disorder is hyperarousal, which can be defined as overreacting to innocuous stimuli, and is often described as feeling “jumpy,” or easily startled and constantly on guard.

Hyperarousal is one aspect of the autonomic nervous system, the system that controls the beating of the heart and other body functions, and governs one’s ability to respond to his or her environment. Scientists believe hyperarousal is at the core of PTSD and the driving force behind some of its symptoms.

Standard treatment interventions for PTSD offer mixed results. Some individuals are prescribed antidepressants and do well while others do not; others are treated with psychotherapy and still experience residual affects of the disorder.

Sudarshan Kriya Yoga is a practice of controlled breathing that directly affects the autonomic nervous system. While the practice has proven effective in balancing the autonomic nervous system and reducing symptoms of PTSD in tsunami survivors, it has not been well studied until now.

“A clinician could use a ‘tool box’ of psychological assessments to determine the cognitive and emotional style of the patient, and thereby determine a treatment that would be most effective for that individual,” he says. “Right now, a large fraction of individuals who are given any one type of therapy are not improving on that therapy. The only way we can improve that is if we determine which kinds of people will benefit most from different types of treatments.”

That assessment is critical. At least 22 veterans take their own lives every day, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Because Sudarshan Kriya Yoga has already been shown to increase optimism in college students, and reduce stress and anxiety in people suffering from depression, it may be an effective way to decrease suffering and, quite possibly, the incidence of suicide among veterans.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140911151651.htm

Meditation may mitigate migraine misery

September 11, 2014
Science Daily/Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
Meditation might be a path to migraine relief, according to a new study. "For the approximate 36 million Americans who suffer from migraines, there is big need for non-pharmaceutical treatment strategies, and doctors and patients should know that meditation is a safe intervention that could potentially decrease the impact of migraines," one author said.

"We found that the MBSR participants had trends of fewer migraines that were less severe," Wells said. "Secondary effects included headaches that were shorter in duration and less disabling, and participants had increases in mindfulness and self-efficacy -- a sense of personal control over their migraines. In addition, there were no adverse events and excellent adherence."

Based on these findings, the research team concluded that MBSR is a safe and feasible therapy for adults with migraines. Although the sample size of this pilot study was too small to detect statistically significant changes in migraine frequency or severity, secondary outcomes demonstrated this intervention had a beneficial effect on headache duration, disability, self-efficacy and mindfulness.

"For the approximate 36 million Americans who suffer from migraines, there is big need for non-pharmaceutical treatment strategies, and doctors and patients should know that MBSR is a safe intervention that could potentially decrease the impact of migraines," Wells said.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140911163116.htm

Mindfulness protects adults' health from the impacts of childhood adversity

September 13, 2014
Science Daily/Temple University
Adults who were abused or neglected as children are known to have poorer health, but adults who tend to focus on and accept their reactions to the present moment—or are mindful—report having better health, regardless of their childhood adversity, researchers report.

Nearly one-fourth of those surveyed reported three or more types of adverse childhood experiences, and almost 30 percent reported having three or more stress-related health conditions like depression, headache, or back pain, noted the researchers. However, the risk of having multiple health conditions was nearly 50 percent lower among those with the highest level of mindfulness compared to those with the lowest. This was true even for those who had multiple types of childhood adversity.

Regardless of the amount of childhood adversity, those who were more mindful also reported significantly better health behaviors, like getting enough sleep, and better functioning, such as having fewer days per month when they felt poorly -- either mentally or physically, said Whitaker.

"Our results suggest that mindfulness may provide some resilience against the poor adult health outcomes that often result from childhood trauma," he said. "Mindfulness training may help adults, including those with a history of childhood trauma, to improve their own well-being and be more effective with children."
While many smaller studies have shown that learning mindfulness practices like meditation can improve psychological and physical symptoms such as depression and pain, more research is needed to see if interventions to increase mindfulness can improve the health and functioning of those who have had adverse childhood experiences, Whitaker said.

With nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults reporting one or more types of adverse childhood experiences, Whitaker noted that "mindfulness practices could be a promising way to reduce the high costs to our society that result from the trauma adults experienced during childhood."
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140913141308.htm

Yoga, meditation may help train brain to help people control computers with their mind

September 25, 2014
Science Daily/University of Minnesota
People who practice yoga and meditation long term can learn to control a computer with their minds faster and better than people with little or no yoga or meditation experience, new research by biomedical engineers shows. The research could have major implications for treatments of people who are paralyzed or have neurodegenerative diseases.

In the study, researchers involved a total of 36 participants. One group of 12 had at least one year of experience in yoga or meditation at least two times per week for one hour. The second group included 24 healthy participants who had little or no yoga or meditation experience. Both groups were new to systems using the brain to control a computer. Both groups participated in three, two-hour experiments over four weeks in which they wore a high tech, non-invasive cap over the scalp that picked up brain activity. The participants were asked to move a computer cursor across the screen by imaging left or right hand movements.

The participants with yoga or meditation experience were twice as likely to complete the brain-computer interface task by the end of 30 trials and learned three times faster than their counterparts for the left-right cursor movement experiments.

"In recent years, there has been a lot of attention on improving the computer side of the brain-computer interface but very little attention to the brain side," said lead researcher Bin He, a biomedical engineering professor in the University of Minnesota's College of Science and Engineering and director of the University's Institute for Engineering in Medicine. "This comprehensive study shows for the first time that looking closer at the brain side may provide a valuable tool for reducing obstacles for brain-computer interface success in early stages."
Researchers have been increasingly focused on finding ways to help physically disabled individuals who are paralyzed, have lost limbs, or suffer from diseases such as ALS or cerebral palsy. In these cases, brain function remains intact, but these people have to find a way to bypass muscular control to move a wheelchair, control an artificial limb, or control other devices.

Professor He gained international attention in 2013 when members of his research team were able to demonstrate flying a robot with only their minds. However, they found that not everyone can easily learn to control a computer with their brains. Many people are unsuccessful in controlling the computer after multiple attempts. A consistent and reliable EEG brain signal may depend on an undistracted mind and sustained attention. Meditators have shown more distinctive EEG patterns than untrained participants, which may explain their success.

Professor He said he got the idea for the study more than five years ago when he began his brain-computer interface research and noticed one woman participant who was much more successful than other participants at controlling the computer with her brain. The woman had extensive experience with yoga and mediation, referred to by researchers as Mind-Body Awareness Training (MBAT).

The next step for He and his team is to study a group of participants over time who are participating in yoga or meditation for the first time to see if their performance on the brain-computer interface improves.

"Our ultimate goal is to help people who are paralyzed or have brain diseases regain mobility and independence," He said. "We need to look at all possibilities to improve the number of people who could benefit from our research."
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140925132559.htm

Dispositional mindfulness associated with better cardiovascular health

October 23, 2014
Science Daily/Brown University
A new study that measured 'dispositional mindfulness' along with seven indicators of cardiovascular health found that persons reporting higher degrees of awareness of their present feelings and experiences had better health. The research suggests that interventions to improve mindfulness could benefit cardiovascular health, an idea researchers can test.

As noted more precisely in a new study in the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, researchers at Brown University found a significant association between self-reported "dispositional mindfulness" and better scores on four of seven cardiovascular health indicators, as well as a composite overall health score. Dispositional mindfulness is defined as someone's awareness and attention to what they are thinking and feeling in the moment.

The study is the first to quantify such an association between mindfulness and better cardiovascular health, said study lead author Eric Loucks, assistant professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health. It's an encouraging link for health promotion, because mindfulness can be enhanced with training.

"Mindfulness is changeable, and standardized mindfulness interventions are available," Loucks said. "Mostly they've been looked at for mental health and pain management, but increasingly they are being looked at for cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, smoking, and blood pressure."

The connection may come about because people who are attuned to their present feelings may be better at minding and managing the various cravings -- for salty or sugary foods or cigarettes or even a spell on the couch -- that undermine health, Loucks said. Mindfulness interventions, for example, have already shown efficacy in helping people to quit smoking.
 

Meditation makes you more creative

October 28, 2014
Science Daily/Leiden University
Certain meditation techniques can promote creative thinking, even if you have never meditated before. The study is a clear indication that you don't need to be an experienced meditator to profit more from meditation. The findings support the belief that meditation can have a long-lasting influence on human cognition, including how we conceive new ideas.

Long-lasting influence
The study is a clear indication that you don't need to be an experienced meditator to profit more from meditation. The findings support the belief that meditation can have a long-lasting influence on human cognition, including how we conceive new ideas. Besides experienced meditators, also novices may profit from meditation.

Different techniques, different effects
But the results demonstrate that not all forms of meditation have the same effect on creativity. Test persons performed better in divergent thinking (= thinking up as many possible solutions for a given problem) after Open Monitoring meditation (= being receptive to every thought and sensation). The researchers did not see this effect on divergent thinking after Focused Attention meditation (=focusing on a particular thought or object.)

Setup of the study
40 individuals participated in this study, who had to meditate for 25 minutes before doing their thinking tasks. There were both experienced mediators and people who never meditated before. The study investigated the influences of different types of meditative techniques on the two main ingredients of creativity:
•    Divergent thinking Allows for many new ideas to be generated. It is measured using the so-called Alternate Uses Task method where participants are required to think up as many uses as possible for a particular object, such as a pen.
•    Convergent thinking Convergent thinking, on the other hand, is a process whereby one possible solution for a particular problem is generated. This is measured using the Remote Associates Task method, where three unrelated words are presented to the participants, words such as 'time', 'hair' and 'stretch'. The participants are then asked to identify the common link: in this case, 'long'
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141028082355.htm

Meditation, support groups: Clear new evidence for mind-body connection demonstrated

November 3, 2014
Science Daily/Alberta Health Services
For the first time, researchers have shown that practicing mindfulness meditation or being involved in a support group has a positive physical impact at the cellular level in breast cancer survivors.

"We already know that psychosocial interventions like mindfulness meditation will help you feel better mentally, but now for the first time we have evidence that they can also influence key aspects of your biology," says Dr. Linda E. Carlson, PhD, principal investigator and director of research in the Psychosocial Resources Department at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre.

"It was surprising that we could see any difference in telomere length at all over the three-month period studied," says Dr. Carlson, who is also a U of C professor in the Faculty of Arts and the Cumming School of Medicine, and a member of the Southern Alberta Cancer Institute. "Further research is needed to better quantify these potential health benefits, but this is an exciting discovery that provides encouraging news."

Allison McPherson was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. When she joined the study, she was placed in the mindfulness-based cancer recovery group. Today, she says that experience has been life-changing.

"I was skeptical at first and thought it was a bunch of hocus-pocus," says McPherson, who underwent a full year of chemotherapy and numerous surgeries. "But I now practise mindfulness throughout the day and it's reminded me to become less reactive and kinder toward myself and others."

Study participant Deanne David was also placed in the mindfulness group."Being part of this made a huge difference to me," she says. "I think people involved in their own cancer journey would benefit from learning more about mindfulness and connecting with others who are going through the same things."
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141103114132.htm

Anxiety can damage brain

November 10, 2014
Science Daily/Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care
People with mild cognitive impairment are at increased risk of converting to Alzheimer's disease within a few years, but a new study warns the risk increases significantly if they suffer from anxiety.

"Our findings suggest that clinicians should routinely screen for anxiety in people who have memory problems because anxiety signals that these people are at greater risk for developing Alzheimer's," said Dr. Linda Mah, principal investigator on the study, clinician-scientist with Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute, and assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. Dr. Mah is also a co-investigator in a multi-site study lead by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and partially funded by federal dollars (Brain Canada), to prevent Alzheimer's in people with late-life depression or MCI who are at high risk for developing the progressive brain disease.

"While there is no published evidence to demonstrate whether drug treatments used in psychiatry for treating anxiety would be helpful in managing anxiety symptoms in people with mild cognitive impairment or in reducing their risk of conversion to Alzheimer's, we think that at the very least behavioural stress management programs could be recommended. In particular, there has been research on the use of mindfulness-based stress reduction in treating anxiety and other psychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer's --and this is showing promise," said Dr. Mah.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141110124352.htm

Mindfulness treatment as effective as CBT for depression, anxiety

November 27, 2014
Science Daily/Lund University

Group mindfulness treatment is as effective as individual cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in patients with depression and anxiety, according to a new study from Lund University in Sweden and Region Skåne. This is the first randomized study to compare group mindfulness treatment and individual cognitive behavioral therapy in patients with depression and anxiety in primary health care.

The researchers, led by Professor Jan Sundquist, ran the study at 16 primary health care centres in Skåne, a county in southern Sweden. They trained two mindfulness instructors, from different occupational groups, at each primary health care centre during a 6-day training course.

In spring 2012, patients with depression, anxiety or reactions to severe stress were randomized to either structured group mindfulness treatment with approximately 10 patients per group, or regular treatment (mainly individual CBT). Patients also received a private training programme and were asked to record their exercises in a diary. The treatment lasted 8 weeks. General practitioner and mindfulness instructor Ola Schenström designed the mindfulness training programme and model for training instructors.

A total of 215 patients were included in the study. Before and after treatment, the patients in the mindfulness and regular treatment groups answered questionnaires that estimated the severity of their depression and anxiety. Self-reported symptoms of depression and anxiety decreased in both groups during the 8-week treatment period. There was no statistical difference between the two treatments.

"The study's results indicate that group mindfulness treatment, conducted by certified instructors in primary health care, is as effective a treatment method as individual CBT for treating depression and anxiety," says Jan Sundquist. "This means that group mindfulness treatment should be considered as an alternative to individual psychotherapy, especially at primary health care centres that can't offer everyone individual therapy."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141127112755.htm

Mindfulness intervention boosts brain activation for healthy pleasures

December 5, 2014
Science Daily/University of Utah Health Sciences
How can people who are dependent on prescription opioids reduce their cravings? Learn to enjoy other aspects of their lives. 

Researchers report that after a sample of chronic pain patients misusing opioids went through MORE, they exhibited increased brain activation on an EEG to natural healthy pleasures. The MORE intervention concentrates on helping people to recover a sense of meaning and fulfillment in everyday life, embracing its pleasures and pain without turning to substance use as a coping mechanism.

The MORE intervention concentrates on helping people to recover a sense of meaning and fulfillment in everyday life, embracing its pleasures and pain without turning to substance use as a coping mechanism. It integrates the latest research on addiction, cognitive neuroscience, positive psychology and mindfulness. Participants in Garland's study received eight weeks of instruction in applying mindfulness-oriented techniques to alleviate pain and craving while strengthening positive emotions and the sense of reward and meaning in life.

For example, to enhance their sense of reward in life, participants in Garland's study were taught a "mindful savoring practice," in which they focused attention on pleasant experiences such as a beautiful nature scene, sunset or feeling of connection with a loved one. 

In a meditation session, participants were taught to focus their awareness on colors, textures and scents of a bouquet of fresh flowers and to appreciate joy arising from the experience. As part of their daily homework, they were then asked to practice the meditation technique as a way to enjoy other pleasant life experiences.

Results from Garland's new research shows that after a sample of chronic pain patients misusing opioids went through MORE, they exhibited increased brain activation on an EEG to natural healthy pleasures. The more their brains became active in response to natural healthy pleasure, the less the patients craved opioids.

"These findings are scientifically important because one of the major theories about how and why addiction occurs asserts that over time drug abusers become dulled to the experience of joy in everyday life, and this pushes them to use higher and higher doses of drugs to feel happiness," said Garland.

"This study suggests that this process can be reversed. We can teach people to use mindfulness to appreciate and enjoy life more, and by doing that, they may feel less of a need for addictive drugs. It's a powerful finding."

Garland's latest study builds on earlier work published in February in The Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, in which the MORE intervention was found to reduce opioid misuse among a sample of chronic pain patients compared to another sample of chronic pain patients participating in a conventional support group.

The results are of particular interest in Utah, which claims one of the highest prescription drug abuse rates in the U.S. According to the most recent statistics available from the state Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, Utah ranks eighth in the U.S. for its number of deaths attributed to prescription drug overdose.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141205142434.htm

Yoga has potential to reduce risk factors of cardiovascular disease

December 15, 2014
Science Daily/European Society of Cardiology
There is "promising evidence" that the popular mind-body practice of yoga is beneficial in managing and improving the risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease and is a "potentially effective therapy" for cardiovascular health.

Indeed, following a systematic review of 37 randomised controlled trials (which included 2768 subjects), investigators from the Netherlands and USA have found that yoga may provide the same benefits in risk factor reduction as such traditional physical activities as biking or brisk walking. "This finding is significant," they note, "as individuals who cannot or prefer not to perform traditional aerobic exercise might still achieve similar benefits in [cardiovascular] risk reduction." Their study is published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Yoga, an ancient mind-body practice which originated in India and incorporates physical, mental, and spiritual elements, has been shown in several studies to be effective in improving cardiovascular risk factors, with reduction in the risk of heart attacks and strokes. This meta-analysis was performed, say the investigators, to appraise the evidence and provide a realistic pooled estimate of yoga's effectiveness when measured against exercise and no exercise.

Results showed first that risk factors for cardiovascular disease improved more in those doing yoga than in those doing no exercise, and second, that yoga had an effect on these risks comparable to exercise.

When compared to no exercise, yoga was associated with significant improvement in each of the primary outcome risk factors measured: body mass index was reduced by 0.77 kg/m2 (measured as a "mean difference"), systolic blood pressure reduced by.21 mm Hg, low-density (bad) lipoprotein cholesterol reduced by 12.14 mg/dl, and high-density (good) lipoprotein cholesterol increased by 3.20 mg/dl. There were also significant changes seen in secondary endpoints -- body weight fell by 2.32 kg, diastolic blood pressure by 4.9 mm Hg, total cholesterol by 18.48 mg/dl, and heart rate by.27 beats/min. However, no improvements were found in parameters of diabetes (fasting blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin).

Risk factor improvements (in BMI, blood pressure, lipid levels) were significant when yoga was used in addition to medication. Among patients with existing coronary heart disease, yoga provided a statistically significant benefit in lowering LDL cholesterol when added to medication (statins and lipid-lowering drugs).

In comparisons with exercise itself, yoga was found to have comparable effects on risk factors as aerobic exercise. The investigators note that this might be because of yoga's impact on stress reduction, "leading to positive impacts on neuroendocrine status, metabolic and cardio-vagal function."

The similarity of yoga and exercise's effect on cardiovascular risk factors, say the investigators, "suggest that there could be comparable working mechanisms, with some possible physiological aerobic benefits occurring with yoga practice, and some stress-reducing, relaxation effect occurring with aerobic exercise."

Commenting on the results, senior author Professor Myriam Hunink from Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, said that, although the evidence of yoga's beneficial effect in cardiovascular health is growing, a physiological explanation for this effect remains unclear. "Also unclear," she added, "are the dose-response relationship and the relative costs and benefits of yoga when compared to exercise or medication. However, these results indicate that yoga is potentially very useful and in my view worth pursuing as a risk improvement practice."

Moreover, in view of yoga's ease of uptake, the investigators also note that evidence supports yoga's acceptability to "patients with lower physical tolerance like those with pre-existing cardiac conditions, the elderly, or those with musculoskeletal or joint pain."

Thus, they conclude that "yoga has the potential to be a cost-effective treatment and prevention strategy given its low cost, lack of expensive equipment or technology, potential greater adherence and health-related quality of life improvements, and possible accessibility to larger segments of the population."
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141215203049.htm

Forever young: Meditation might slow the age-related loss of gray matter in the brain

February 5, 2015
Science Daily/University of California - Los Angeles
Building on their earlier work that suggested people who meditate have less age-related atrophy in the brain's white matter, a new study found that meditation appeared to help preserve the brain's gray matter, the tissue that contains neurons.

Since 1970, life expectancy around the world has risen dramatically, with people living more than 10 years longer. That's the good news. The bad news is that starting when people are in their mid-to-late-20s, the brain begins to wither -- its volume and weight begin to decrease. As this occurs, the brain can begin to lose some of its functional abilities.

So although people might be living longer, the years they gain often come with increased risks for mental illness and neurodegenerative disease. Fortunately, a new study shows meditation could be one way to minimize those risks.

The scientists looked specifically at the association between age and gray matter. They compared 50 people who had mediated for years and 50 who didn't. People in both groups showed a loss of gray matter as they aged. But the researchers found among those who meditated, the volume of gray matter did not decline as much as it did among those who didn't.
The article appears in the current online edition of the journal Frontiers in Psychology.

Dr. Florian Kurth, a co-author of the study and postdoctoral fellow at the UCLA Brain Mapping Center, said the researchers were surprised by the magnitude of the difference.

"We expected rather small and distinct effects located in some of the regions that had previously been associated with meditating," he said. "Instead, what we actually observed was a widespread effect of meditation that encompassed regions throughout the entire brain."

As baby boomers have aged and the elderly population has grown, the incidence of cognitive decline and dementia has increased substantially as the brain ages.

"In that light, it seems essential that longer life expectancies do not come at the cost of a reduced quality of life," said Dr. Eileen Luders, first author and assistant professor of neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "While much research has focused on identifying factors that increase the risk of mental illness and neurodegenerative decline, relatively less attention has been turned to approaches aimed at enhancing cerebral health."

Each group in the study was made up of 28 men and 22 women ranging in age from 24 to 77. Those who meditated had been doing so for four to 46 years, with an average of 20 years.

The participants' brains were scanned using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging. Although the researchers found a negative correlation between gray matter and age in both groups of people -- suggesting a loss of brain tissue with increasing age -- they also found that large parts of the gray matter in the brains of those who meditated seemed to be better preserved, Kurth said.

The researchers cautioned that they cannot draw a direct, causal connection between meditation and preserving gray matter in the brain. Too many other factors may come into play, including lifestyle choices, personality traits, and genetic brain differences.

"Still, our results are promising," Luders said. "Hopefully they will stimulate other studies exploring the potential of meditation to better preserve our aging brains and minds. Accumulating scientific evidence that meditation has brain-altering capabilities might ultimately allow for an effective translation from research to practice, not only in the framework of healthy aging but also pathological aging."
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150205142951.htm

U. S. Nationwide survey reveals widespread use of mind and body practices

February 12, 2015
Science Daily/NIH/National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
A large nationally representative survey shows that the number of Americans using mind and body approaches to improve health and well-being remains high. Of note is a significant increase in the use of yoga since 2002. In addition, almost as many Americans practice meditation or receive chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation.

The complementary health questionnaire was developed by NIH's National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The complementary health questionnaire is administered every 5 years as part of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), an annual study in which tens of thousands of Americans are interviewed about their health- and illness-related experiences. To identify trends in Americans' use of certain practices, 2012 survey data were compared with versions of the survey fielded in 2002 and 2007.

"The 2012 NHIS survey is the most current, comprehensive, and reliable source of information on the use of complementary health approaches by U.S. adults and children. The survey data suggest that consumers are paying attention to medical evidence and using it to inform their decisions," said Josephine P. Briggs, M.D., Director of NCCIH. "This reaffirms how important it is for NIH to rigorously study complementary health approaches and make that information easily available to consumers."

Survey highlights:
•    Approximately 21 million adults (nearly double the number from 2002) and 1.7 million children practiced yoga.

•    Nearly 20 million adults and 1.9 million children had chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation.

•    Nearly 18 million adults and 927,000 children practiced meditation.

•    Children whose parents use a complementary health approach are more likely to use one as well.

The increase in yoga has occurred across all age, racial, and ethnic groups. Most notably, the largest shift in the use of any mind and body approach was seen in the demographics of people using yoga:

•    Among Americans age 18-44, yoga use nearly doubled since 2002;

•    Among older Americans age 45-64, usage increased from 5.2 percent in 2002 to 7.2 percent in 2012; and

•    Approximately 400,000 more children aged 4-17 used yoga in 2012 than in 2007.

The high rates of use may be partly due to a growing body of research showing that some mind and body practices can help manage pain and reduce stress. Another factor that may have influenced the increased popularity of yoga is increased access--for instance, industry reports show that the number of yoga studios in the United States has increased substantially in recent years.

The 2012 survey results, released in a National Health Statistics Report by NCHS, are based on combined data from 88,962 American adults and 17,321 interviews with a knowledgeable adult about children aged 4-17 years. The 2012 survey is the third conducted by NCCIH and NCHS--previous surveys occurred as part of the 2002 and 2007 NHIS. Children's data were assessed in 2007 and 2012.

The pattern of use of complementary health approaches is one of the four guiding principles that determine the practices and products studied by NCCIH. The others are that the practice or product must be able to be studied using high-quality and rigorous research, hold promise, and have an impact on the public's health. As well, knowing about use can help identify Americans' unmet health needs. For example, pain is one of the leading reasons why Americans turn to complementary health approaches. Thus, the Center's research priorities include the study of complementary approaches--such as yoga, massage, and meditation--that may help manage pain and other symptoms that are not consistently addressed well by drugs and other conventional treatments.

Read more about the use of other mind and body approaches and the use of natural products in the full report nccih.nih.gov/NHIS2012.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150212122346.htm

Nationwide study reports shifts in Americans' use of natural products

February 12, 2015
Science Daily/NIH/National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
A nationally representative survey shows that natural product use in the United States has shifted since 2007, with some products becoming more popular and some falling out of favor. Overall, natural products (dietary supplements other than vitamins and minerals) remain the most common complementary health approach.

The complementary health questionnaire was developed by NIH's National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The complementary health questionnaire is administered every 5 years as part of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), an annual study in which tens of thousands of Americans are interviewed about their health- and illness-related experiences. The 2012 NHIS survey is the most current, comprehensive, and reliable source of information on the use of complementary health approaches by U.S. adults and children.

To identify trends in Americans' use of certain supplements, 2012 survey data were compared with versions of the survey fielded in 2002 and 2007.

Survey highlights:
•    Fish oil was the top natural product among adults.

•    Adults' use of fish oil, probiotics or prebiotics, and melatonin increased between 2007 and 2012.

•    Adults' use of glucosamine/chondroitin, echinacea, and garlic decreased between 2007 and 2012.

•    Fish oil was the top natural product among children. This is a change from 2007, when Echinacea was first.

•    Melatonin was the second most used natural product by children in 2012. Its use increased substantially from 2007 to 2012.

"While NHIS does not assess why shifts in use occur, some of the trends are in line with published research on the efficacy of natural products," said Josephine P. Briggs, M.D., Director of NCCIH. "For example, the use of melatonin, shown in studies to have some benefits for sleep issues, has risen dramatically. Conversely, the use of echinacea has fallen, which may reflect conflicting results from studies on whether it's helpful for colds. This reaffirms why it is important for NIH to study these products and to provide that information to the public."

The 2012 survey results, released in a National Health Statistics Report by NCHS, are based on combined data from 88,962 American adults and 17,321 interviews with a knowledgeable adult about children aged 4-17 years. The 2012 survey is the third conducted by NCCIH and NCHS -- previous surveys occurred as part of the 2002 and 2007 NHIS. Children's data were assessed in 2007 and 2012.

"The changes in use of individual natural products seen in the surveys are generally consistent with changes in nationwide sales data. Having independent confirmation of the NHIS data strengthens confidence in our findings," said Richard L. Nahin, Ph.D., M.P.H., the NCCIH senior advisor for scientific coordination and outreach. Dr. Nahin leads NCCIH's efforts to gather health care use statistics and has co-authored the surveys' reports.

Knowing the patterns of use of complementary approaches helps to inform NIH's research priorities in this area. The scientific evidence on many complementary approaches shown by NHIS results to be popular is limited. Use by the American public is one of the four guiding principles that determine the practices and products studied by NCCIH, and these NHIS findings reflect the importance of continuing to study approaches to health and wellness that the public is using, often without the benefit of rigorous scientific study. The Center's research priorities also include the study of other complementary approaches -- such as spinal manipulation, meditation, and massage -- to manage pain and other symptoms that are not always well-addressed by conventional treatments.

Read more about the use of other natural products and the use of mind and body approaches in the full report nccih.nih.gov/NHIS2012.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150212122350.htm

How mindfulness training affects health

February 12, 2015
Science Daily/Carnegie Mellon University
Over the past decade, there have been many encouraging findings suggesting that mindfulness training can improve a broad range of mental and physical health problems. Yet, exactly how mindfulness positively impacts health is not clear. Researchers have developed a model suggesting that mindfulness influences health via stress reduction pathways.

Carnegie Mellon University's J. David Creswell -- whose cutting-edge work has shown how mindfulness meditation reduces loneliness in older adults and alleviates stress -- and his graduate student Emily K. Lindsay have developed a model suggesting that mindfulness influences health via stress reduction pathways. Their work, published in "Current Directions in Psychological Science," describes the biological pathways linking mindfulness training with reduced stress and stress-related disease outcomes.

"If mindfulness training is improving people's health, how does it get under the skin to affect all kinds of outcomes?" asked Creswell, associate professor of psychology in CMU's Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences. "We offer one of the first evidence-based biological accounts of mindfulness training, stress reduction and health."

Creswell and Lindsay highlight a body of work that depicts the biological mechanisms of mindfulness training's stress reduction effects. When an individual experiences stress, activity in the prefrontal cortex -- responsible for conscious thinking and planning -- decreases, while activity in the amygdala, hypothalamus and anterior cingulate cortex -- regions that quickly activate the body's stress response -- increases. Studies have suggested that mindfulness reverses these patterns during stress; it increases prefrontal activity, which can regulate and turn down the biological stress response.

Excessive activation of the biological stress response increases the risk of diseases impacted by stress (like depression, HIV and heart disease). By reducing individuals' experiences of stress, mindfulness may help regulate the physical stress response and ultimately reduce the risk and severity of stress-related diseases.

Creswell believes by understanding how mindfulness training affects different diseases and disorders, researchers will be able to develop better interventions, know when certain treatments will work most effectively and identify people likely to benefit from mindfulness training.

As the birthplace of artificial intelligence and cognitive psychology, Carnegie Mellon has been a leader in the study of brain and behavior for more than 50 years. The university has created some of the first cognitive tutors, helped to develop the Jeopardy-winning Watson, founded a groundbreaking doctoral program in neural computation, and completed cutting-edge work in understanding the genetics of autism. Building on its strengths in biology, computer science, psychology, statistics and engineering, CMU recently launched BrainHubSM, a global initiative that focuses on how the structure and activity of the brain give rise to complex behaviors.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150212183511.htm

Mindfulness meditation appears to help improve sleep quality

February 16, 2015
Science Daily/The JAMA Network Journals
Mindfulness meditation practices resulted in improved sleep quality for older adults with moderate sleep disturbance in a clinical trial comparing meditation to a more structured program focusing on changing poor sleep habits and establishing a bedtime routine, according to a new article.

Sleep disturbances are a medical and public health concern for our nation's aging population. An estimated 50 percent of individuals 55 years and older have some sort of sleep problem. Moderate sleep disturbances in older adults are associated with higher levels of fatigue, disturbed mood, such as depressive symptoms, and a reduced quality of life, according to the study background.

David S. Black, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and coauthors conducted the small clinical trial in Los Angeles in 2012 and their analysis included 49 individuals (average age 66). The trial included 24 individuals who took part in a standardized mindful awareness practices (MAPs) intervention and 25 individuals who participated in a sleep hygiene education (SHE) intervention. Differences between the groups were measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a widely used self-reported questionnaire of sleep disturbances.

Participants in the MAPs group showed improvement relative to those in the SHE group. The MAPs group had average PSQI scores of 10.2 at baseline and 7.4 after the intervention. The SHE group had average PSQIs of 10.2 at baseline and 9.1 after the intervention, study results show. The MAPs group also showed improvement relative to the SHE group on secondary measures of insomnia symptoms, depression symptoms, fatigue interference and fatigue severity. However, differences between the groups were not seen for anxiety, stress or inflammatory signaling, a measure of which declined in both groups over time.

"According to our findings, mindfulness meditation appears to have a role in addressing the prevalent burden of sleep problems among older adults by remediating their moderate sleep disturbances and deficits in daytime functioning, with short-term effect sizes commensurate with the status quo of clinical treatment approaches for sleep problems. ... Given that standardized mindfulness programs are readily delivered in many communities, dissemination efforts do not serve as a barrier in this instance. ... Pending future replication of these findings, structured mindfulness mediation training appears to have at least some clinical usefulness to remediate moderate sleep problems and sleep-related daytime impairment in older adults," the study concludes.

Commentary: Being Mindful of Later-Life Sleep Quality
In a related commentary, Adam P. Spira, Ph.D., of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, writes: "As the authors explain, effective nonpharmacological interventions that are both 'scalable' and 'community accessible' are needed to improve disturbed sleep and prevent clinical levels of insomnia. This is imperative given links between insomnia and poor health outcomes, risks of sleep medication use and the limited availability of health care professionals trained in effective nondrug treatments such as behavior therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. This context makes the positive results of this RCT [randomized clinical trial] compelling."

"This excellent study raises some questions that need to be answered in future research," Spira continues.

"In summary, Black et al are to be applauded for their intriguing study. Other community-based nonpharmacological interventions are needed that improve sleep and perhaps prevent insomnia among older adults. Such interventions may have a key role in safely reducing the morbidity associated with disturbed sleep in later life," Spira concludes.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150216131115.htm

Meditation can reduce chronic neck pain

February 25, 2015
Science Daily/American Pain Society
Meditation might be an effective treatment for reducing chronic neck pain, according to research. Chronic neck pain can lead to serious comorbidities like depression. Patients with chronic neck pain frequently experience distress. Meditation has been increasingly used as a supportive treatment for individuals with chronic pain.

Previous research has shown that chronic pain is associated with distress and that meditation has stress relieving benefits. German researchers compared the effects of meditation on pain, perceived stress and psychological well being. They hypothesized that an eight-week meditation program will decrease pain more effectively than a standardized exercise program and that pain relief will coincide with stress reduction.

For the study, 89 patients with chronic neck pain who showed increased perceived stress were randomized into meditation and exercise program groups. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and after eight weeks.

Results showed that meditation training significantly reduced pain when compared to the exercise group and pain-related "bothersomeness" decreased more in the meditation group as well. No significant differences between meditation and exercise were found for pain during movement, pain disability, psychological scores and quality of life, which is consistent with the known benefits of exercise on pain-related outcomes. The authors concluded that meditation has unique benefits for producing pain relief and for pain coping.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150225094105.htm

Stress reduction may reduce fasting glucose in overweight and obese women

March 6, 2015
Science Daily/The Endocrine Society
A treatment known as mindfulness-based stress reduction may decrease fasting glucose and improve quality of life in overweight and obese women, new research suggests.

MBSR is a secular mindfulness meditation program that was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The practice of MBSR involves paying attention to one's thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations in the present moment in a nonjudgmental and nonreactive manner through mindfulness exercises such as breathing awareness. MBSR may be beneficial for overweight and obese women as it has been shown to reduce stress and improve quality of life.

"In overweight and obese women, stress may contribute to increased diabetes and cardiovascular disease," said Nazia Raja-Khan, MD, assistant professor of medicine and obstetrics and gynecology at the Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania. "MBSR significantly reduces fasting glucose and improves quality of life without changing body weight or insulin resistance. Increased mindfulness and reduced stress may lead to physiological changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and/or sympathetic nervous system that result in lower glucose levels."

Dr. Raja-Khan and her colleagues conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial of 86 overweight or obese women who were similar in age and body mass index. The women received 8 weeks of either MBSR or health education control (HEC) and underwent fasting blood work and completed questionnaires at baseline, 8 weeks and 16 weeks.

The MBSR group's mindfulness scores significantly increased and its perceived stress scores significantly decreased, compared to the HEC group's scores. While sleep, depression, anxiety and overall psychological distress improved in both groups, fasting glucose dropped significantly and quality of life improved significantly in the MBSR group, but not in the HEC group.

Weight, body mass index, blood pressure, lipid profile, hemoglobin A1c, fasting insulin, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) remained similar with MBSR.

"Given the increasing epidemics of obesity and diabetes, this study is particularly relevant to the general public, as it demonstrates that stress management, specifically with mindfulness-based interventions such as MBSR, may be beneficial for reducing perceived stress and blood glucose and improving quality of life in overweight or obese women," said Raja-Khan. "This research supports the integration of mindfulness-based interventions with conventional medical approaches to obesity and diabetes prevention and treatment."

The NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and the NIH National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences funded the study.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150306181815.htm

Researchers probing potential power of meditation as therapy

April 8, 2015
Science Daily/Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
The effectiveness of meditation as a therapy for mild cognitive impairment and migraine headaches is being studied by researchers, as well as its potential to reduce pain. "We're coming to recognize that meditation changes people's brains," said one researcher. "And we're just beginning to gain understanding of what those changes mean and how they might benefit the meditator."
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When Rebecca Erwin was a varsity rower at the University of North Carolina, the coach had the team's members take a yoga and meditation class.

It had an impact.

"My teammates and I noticed that yoga and meditation improved our flexibility and focus, but also made us feel better, not just when we were rowing but in our everyday lives," she recalled. "I wondered if yoga and meditation really have scientific benefits, especially if they have specific effects on the brain, and if so, how that works."

Since becoming Rebecca Erwin Wells, M.D., she has done more than wonder about the effects of mind-body interventions, she has studied them.

"We're coming to recognize that meditation changes people's brains," said Wells, an assistant professor of neurology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. "And we're just beginning to gain understanding of what those changes mean and how they might benefit the meditator."
In separate clinical studies, Wells has looked into the effectiveness of a meditation and yoga program called mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) as a therapy for mild cognitive impairment -- problems with memory or other faculties without yet having dementia -- and for migraine headaches.

In the first study, the participants were adults between 55 and 90 with mild cognitive impairment. Those who practiced MBSR for eight weeks had significantly improved functional connectivity in the brain's network that is active during introspective thought such as retrieving memories, along with trends of less atrophy in the hippocampus (the area of the brain responsible for emotions, learning and memory) compared with the participants who received conventional care. These findings indicate that meditation may positively affect the areas of the brain most impacted by Alzheimer's and thus may be capable of slowing the progress of the disease.

Wells' second study found that adults with migraines who practiced MBSR for eight weeks had shorter and less debilitating migraines than those in the control group who received standard medical care. The members of the MBSR group also had trends of less frequent and less severe attacks, and reported having a greater sense of self-control over their migraines.

"Both of these were pilot studies with small subject groups and additional research is needed, but I'm still very excited by the findings," said Wells, who began both studies while completing fellowships at Harvard Medical School. "This type of meditation is a safe and relatively simple intervention, and if it can delay cognitive decline and help relieve migraines, it could contribute to improved quality of life for many of these individuals."

Another Wake Forest Baptist faculty member probing meditation's effects and capabilities is Fadel Zeidan, Ph.D., an assistant professor of neurobiology and anatomy.

In his research Zeidan has demonstrated that as little as three 20-minute training sessions in mindfulness meditation can reduce pain and everyday anxiety in healthy individuals with no previous meditation experience. And through the use of a special type of imaging that captures longer-duration brain processes more effectively than a standard MRI scan, he has identified the specific brain mechanisms involved.

In Zeidan's pain study, participants graded the pain caused by a device that heated a small area of their skin to 120 degrees. They rated the pain they felt while they meditated as 40 percent less intense and 57 percent less unpleasant than when they simply rested with their eyes closed. At the same time, the brain imaging showed decreased neural activity in the area of the brain involved in feeling the location and intensity of pain and increased activity in brain regions associated with attention and the ability to regulate emotions.

In the anxiety-related research, the subjects reported decreases in everyday anxiety of as much as 39 percent after practicing meditation. The scans of their brains while they meditated, meanwhile, showed increased activity in areas of the cortex associated with regulating thinking, emotions and worrying.

"In these studies we've been able to get a better sense of the brain regions associated with reducing pain and anxiety during meditation," Zeidan said. "Basically, by having people meditate while their brains are being scanned we've been able to objectively verify what people like Buddhist monks have been reporting about meditation for thousands of years."

Zeidan and Wells are currently working together on two new research trials. One, led by Zeidan, will attempt to determine more precisely how mindfulness meditation reduces pain and improves health. The other, led by Wells, will further investigate her pilot study's findings about meditation and migraines with a larger number of participants. "Our research shows that meditation produces robust effects in behavior and in the brain and may provide an effective way for people to substantially reduce their pain," Zeidan said. "What we have to do now is continue to find out exactly how it works and what it involves."
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150408085656.htm