Brief Mindfulness Meditation Improves Emotion Processing

Abstract

Mindfulness-based interventions have previously been shown to have positive effects on psychological well-being. However, the time commitment, teacher shortage, and high cost of classic mindfulness interventions may have hindered efforts to spread the associated benefits to individuals in developing countries. Brief mindfulness meditation (BMM) has recently received attention as a way to disseminate the benefits of mindfulness-based interventions. Most existing BMM methods are adaptations of the classic approach. Few studies have investigated the mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of BMM. We developed a 15-min BMM named JW2016, which is based on the core concepts of mindfulness, Anapanasati (breath meditation of Buddhist Vipassana), our practical experience, and the results of scientific reports on meditation. We investigated the effects of this BMM on mood and emotion processing in an effort to create an effective, convenient, safe, and standardized BMM method that could benefit individuals with limited time or money to devote to meditation. Forty-six healthy participants (aged 18–25 years) were randomly allocated to the BMM group (n = 23) or the emotional regulation education (ERE) control group (n = 23). Forty-two of the study participants cooperated fully in all measurements and interventions (one time daily for seven consecutive days). Mood was measured with the Centre for Epidemiological Studies–Depression scale (CES-D) and the State Anxiety Inventory (SAI). Emotion processing was evaluated by assessing performance on an emotion intensity task, an emotional memory task, and an emotional dot-probe task. After intervention, the BMM group, but not the ERE group, showed a significant decreases in emotional intensity in response to positive as well as negative emotional stimuli, response time for emotional memory, and duration of attention bias toward negative emotional stimuli. Negative effects on mood state were found in the ERE group but not in the BMM group. This study demonstrated that BMM may improve aspects of emotion processing such as emotion intensity, emotional memory, and emotional attention bias. JW2016 BMM may be an effective, convenient, safe and standardized way to help practitioners remain focused and peaceful without any negative effect on emotion.

Mindfulness in Treatment Approaches for Addiction — Underlying Mechanisms and Future Directions

“…Early studies on the effects of mindfulness meditation on distress and negative affect have shown that practicing mindfulness meditation can lead to reduced distress that is mediated by a decrease in rumination [85]. After a MBI, participants also improved in terms of bias towards negative emotional stimuli, while emotion processing in general was decreased [86]. Participants of a brief MBI also showed significant decreases in negative affect and state anxiety [87], as well as increased positive affect and a reduction of subjectively perceived stress that was linked to decreases in cortisol levels [88].…”

A systemic approach to resilience and ecological sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic: Human, societal, and ecological health as a system-wide emergent property in the Anthropocene

“…As a clinical intervention, mindfulness meditation has been demonstrated to have beneficial effects on improvement of mental and physical states [ 74 ]. The core concepts of mindfulness include paying attention to the present moment and attaining a state of consciousness in a non-judgmental/accepting manner [ 75 ].…”

“…Evidence from the field of cognitive neuroscience suggests that long-term involvement in meditation decreases the reaction intensity of the autonomic nervous system [ 76 ] and may also increase cognitive flexibility [ 77 ] and produce positive effects on emotion-cognition interactions [ 75 ]. Zen is advocated by the writers as a spiritual path that leads to healing in the personal, social, and ecological dimensions [ 73 ].…”

Motivated Cue-Integration and Emotion Regulation: Awareness of the Association Between Interoceptive and Exteroceptive Embodied Cues and Personal Need Creates an Emotion Goal

“…Integrating peripheral cues in the moment-by-moment creation of meaning may bridge the gap between research on higher level emotion regulation ( Suri et al, 2018 ) and various conditions that hinder personal goal accessibility. There is evidence that use of brief awareness of sensation enhances aspects of emotional processing such as emotional intensity, emotional memory, and emotional attention bias ( Guendelman et al, 2017 ; Wu et al, 2019 ). Research indicates that mindfulness influences interpersonal emotional reactions through an experiential process, while altering the subjective and physiological experience of emotions, and also biasing interpersonal behavioral patterns ( Grecucci et al, 2015 ).…”