Meditation is an ancient practice which all spiritual paths promote. The art of quieting the mind produces many benefits for the practitioner. Improved concentration is one. Modern research is again catching up with an ancient truth, read on...
Penn researchers demonstrate improved attention with mindfulness training
Philadelphia — Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania say that practicing even small doses of daily meditation may improve focus and performance.
Meditation, according to Penn neuroscientist Amishi Jha and Michael Baime, director of Penn’s Stress Management Program, is an active process that literally changes the way the brain works. Their study is the first to examine how meditation may modify the three subcomponents of attention, including the ability to prioritize and manage tasks and goals, the ability to voluntarily focus on specific information and the ability to stay alert to the environment.
In the Penn study, subjects were split into two categories. Those new to meditation, or “mindfulness training,” took part in an eight-week course that included up to 30 minutes of daily meditation. The second group was more experienced with meditation and attended an intensive full-time, one-month retreat.
Researchers found that even for those new to the practice, meditation enhanced performance and the ability to focus attention. Performance-based measures of cognitive function demonstrated improvements in a matter of weeks. The study, published in the journal Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, suggests a new, non-medical means for improving focus and cognitive ability among disparate populations and has implications for workplace performance and learning.
Participants performed tasks at a computer that measured response speeds and accuracy. At the outset, retreat participants who were experienced in meditation demonstrated better executive functioning skills, the cognitive ability to voluntarily focus, manage tasks and prioritize goals. Upon completion of the eight-week training, participants new to meditation had greater improvement in their ability to quickly and accurately move and focus attention, a process known as “orienting.” After the one-month intensive retreat, participants also improved their ability to keep attention “at the ready.”
The results suggest that meditation, even as little as 30 minutes daily, may improve attention and focus for those with heavy demands on their time. While practicing meditation may itself may not be relaxing or restful, the attention-performance improvements that come with practice may paradoxically allow us to be more relaxed.
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The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Penn Stress Management Program.
Great post on improving your concentration. I used to have concentration problems. Here’s a website that I thought I might share with you. This informative website offers more than just simple tips and guides to improve concentration. It’s at http://www.attention-deficit-disorder.net
Very nice post! Meditation is a beautiful thing!
Best wishes.
Sincerely,
-Liane Schmidt.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Liane! I agree. Meditation is a wonderful skill.
Primordial Sound Meditation is a powerful meditation technique based on the ancient Vedic tradition of sound healing. Primordial Sound Meditation is an effortless, gentle practice that will help you let go of stress and tap into higher states of consciousness and well-being.
When you learn Primordial Sound Meditation, you receive your personal mantra, which is a specific sound or vibration that you repeat silently to yourself during meditation. Your Primordial Sound mantra is the vibration the universe was creating at the time and place of your birth, and it is calculated following Vedic mathematic formulas.