Positive Emotion Correlates of Meditation Practice: a Comparison of Mindfulness Meditation and Loving-Kindness Meditation

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to uncover the day-to-day emotional profiles and dose-response relations, both within-persons and between-persons, associated with initiating one of two meditation practices, either mindfulness meditation or loving-kindness meditation. Data were pooled across two studies of midlife adults (N = 339) who were randomized to learn either mindfulness meditation or loving-kindness meditation in a six-week workshop. The duration and frequency of meditation practice was measured daily for nine weeks, commencing with the first workshop session. Likewise, positive and negative emotions were also measured daily, using the modified Differential Emotions Scale (Fredrickson, 2013). Analysis of daily emotion reports over the targeted nine-week period showed significant gains in positive emotions and no change in negative emotions, regardless of meditation type. Multilevel models also revealed significant dose-response relations between duration of meditation practice and positive emotions, both within-persons and between-persons. Moreover, the within-person dose-response relation was stronger for loving-kindness meditation than for mindfulness meditation. Similar dose-response relations were observed for the frequency of meditation practice. In the context of prior research on the mental and physical health benefits produced by subtle increases in day-to-day experiences of positive emotions, the present research points to evidence-based practices – both mindfulness meditation and loving-kindness meditation – that can improve emotional wellbeing.

Meditation and Yoga Practices as Potential Adjunctive Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and COVID-19: A Brief Overview of Key Subjects

“…[125][126][127] Regarding different forms of meditation practice, given the current social stressors, the authors posit that loving kindness and compassion meditation practices could possi-bly be utilized to not only counteract the inherent negatives of the developing situation-from the perspectives of individual physical and emotional health-but socially as well. [128][129][130] Certain forms of stress can synergize to produce greater negative consequences, but the converse may also be true that such forms of loving kindness/compassion meditation lead to a ''broadening and building'' of social connectedness through the generation of positive psychologic states, 130,131 which are further associated with enhanced vagal tone 132 and even reduced viral replication and function (e.g., in HIV-infected women), 133 thereby leading to a range of associated positive outcomes.…”

The relative impact of 15-minutes of meditation compared to a day of vacation in daily life: An exploratory analysis

“…The relative durability of the effects of meditation and vacation is an empirical question for future research. These relative effects may also depend on the type of meditation practiced (see Fredrickson et al, 2017;May et al, 2014) and the kind of vacation taken (the paucity of research on the effect of different vacation features is discussed in De Bloom et al, 2009).…”

Meditation as an Intervention for Health: A Framework for Understanding Meditation Research

“…Published research comparing "types of meditation" could benefit from including our framework and then clarifying which element or elements they are comparing. For example, some studies have compared Mindfulness and Lovingkindness practices (two specific, common Buddhist meditations that are also part of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) [25][26][27]. Based on our framework, this comparison derives from both object and the experience of meditation.…”