MAS Week On Reading 2

The Science of Meditation

Source: http://www.perthmeditationcentre.com.au/articles/science-of-meditation.htm Accessed 7 August 2013

Meditation suffers from so much ournalistic and researcher e!aggeration that it is eas" to dismiss its apparent #enefits as place#o. $%er" wee& we hear that 'it has #een scientificall" pro%ed( that mindfulness increases empath" or happiness or cures depression. Most of this sounds li&e the sna&e-oil salesman sprui&ing his wares to the gulli#le or to those who are alread" persuaded. )nfortunatel" the %ast ma orit" of the thousands of studies on meditation is of such poor *ualit" as to #e useless. A 2007 +anadian meta-anal"sis of the #est ,00 studies concluded that not one of them achie%ed the status of good research -peer-re%iewed. dou#le-#lind and replicated trials/. 0t also highlighted two fundamental pro#lems that meditation faces in its search for scientific respect. 1he first is that are no generall" accepted definitions of meditation or mindfulness. 1he second is that there are no good h"potheses a#out how it could wor&. 0(ll address the latter issue in this article. 2ortunatel". the situation is at last starting to change. 1housands of researchers are now testing. anal"sing and arguing with a rigour that was a#sent until recentl". 1he e%idential #ase is still modest. #ut we are starting to understand how meditation could ha%e the good effects claimed for it. 1here is no dou#t that mindfulness meditation is popular #ecause it wor&s. not #ecause it is supported #" the science. 3eople who practice it are happ" with the results or the" wouldn(t continue. 1he researchers are now tr"ing to figure out wh" it seems so helpful. 1heir #est speculations re%ol%e around rela!ation. #od"-awareness. attention and the control of thoughts and emotions. 4$5A6A1078. $%er" meditator rela!es. 8o one would persist if the" didn(t. 3eople in%aria#l" descri#e rela!ation as a ma or reason for meditating. 9e &now that stress and chronic an!iet" can ha%e catastrophic effects. 0t is self-e%ident that learning to rela! *uic&l" and lower #aseline le%els of arousal could ha%e long-term #enefits on well-#eing. mood. health and longe%it". 1his is so o#%ious that 0 shouldn(t e%en ha%e to mention it. :ut 0 do. 2rom the %er" start. the ps"chological literature has s"stematicall" de%alued the idea that rela!ation could #e important. 1he pioneering writers almost completel" downpla" its potential as an agent of positi%e change. and descri#e it as a #eneficial side-effect at #est. 0 won(t argue the o#%ious ; that rela!ation is %alua#le ; #ut 0 suggest that "ou &eep in mind the huge pre udice against it in the earl" literature. $8<A8+$= :7=> A9A4$8$SS. Meditation in%aria#l" enhances #od" awareness whether that is the intention or not. $%en with wea& attention and fre*uent periods of mental wandering. meditation is guaranteed to massi%el" increase our #aseline le%el of #od"awareness. $nhanced #od" awareness -the a#ilit" to consciousl" recognise signals from the muscles and %iscera/ has man" well-documented ad%antages. 0t correlates with a conscious awareness of one(s emotions. 0t acts as an earl" warning de%ice to pic& up signals of o%er-reacti%it" -i.e.

MAS Week On Reading 2

sudden muscle tension/. 0t helps us recognise our #iological needs and limits long #efore crisis point. 0t seems to enhance our a#ilit" to tolerate unpleasant moods and sensations. 0t increases empath": if we can feel emotional responses within our own #odies we can imagine their strength and nature in others. $nhanced #od" awareness also impro%es our decision-ma&ing capacit". 7ur sense of right and wrong. good and #ad. seems to #e an e%olutionar" adaption from the gut. Animals &now when to eat something new or spit it out. $!actl" the same #iological responses occur in our gut when we appro%e or disappro%e of a politician or a course of action. :od" awareness allows us to more accuratel" catch those %isceral intuitions and so a%oid getting wa"laid #" rationalisations and the influence of others. 0t also contri#utes to what is now called '$m#odied +ognition.? 1his is a mode of rational thought that sta"s continuousl" sensiti%e to #od" signals. $nhancing #od"-awareness alters the wa" we thin& of oursel%es. 7ur sense of self-identit" operates through two distinct s"stems. 1he 'narrati%e( s"stem relies on language. memor" and a sense of purpose. 1his is 'doing( mode: '1his is me. m" histor" and what 0 do.( 1he 'e!periential( s"stem relies on the non%er#al. immediate sensations from our #od". 1his is '#eing( mode: '1his is how 0 feel in this moment.( Meditation strengthens the #odil" sense of self at the e!pense of the narrati%e sense. which incidentall" helps us control our thoughts. 0f we ha%e a strong non%er#al sense of #eing centred in the #od". we are more a#le to see a thought or an emotion as #eing 'out there.? outside the #od". 9e can disidentif" with a thought if our attention has somewhere to feel at home. :asic meditation instructions train us in this mode of escape: '9hen "ou notice a thought. let it go and return to the #reath.( 1his reduces the tendenc" towards rumination and selfreferential mental chatter. :eing more em#odied allows us to feel calm and centred without ha%ing to manipulate our mood through thought. A11$81078 A8= 1<7)@<1 +781475. Attention consists of a %ariet" of s&ills. 1hese included focusingA sustaining attentionA switching and splitting attentionA distraction management and peripheral monitoringA meta-cognition and others. 0n meditation it starts with learning to focus for longer than usual on the #od". 5earning to focus and sustain attention on the #od" is the antidote to the ump". an!ious. scattered mind. 5earning to switch attention awa" from a thought or #eha%iour -'let go and focus on the #reath(/ #rea&s the opposite tendenc" to fi!ate and ruminate. Anchoring the mind in the #od" helps inhi#it the secondar" ela#orati%e processing of the thoughts. sensations and emotions that arise while we meditate. 9e can(t help notice and e%aluate them -the 'primar"( processing/ #ut we don(t need to ela#orate on them -the 'secondar"( processing(/. 3s"chologists call this 'thought-stopping.? 0t means noticing an indi%idual thought consciousl" and then choosing whether to sta" with it or not. 1hought-stopping is coded in rule-of-thum# meditation instructions such as (notice thoughts with detachment( or '#e non udgmental( or 'let thoughts go.( 4esearchers prefer more accurate terminolog". 1he"

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descri#e this &ind of attention as #eing 'non-reacti%e( or 'non-ela#orati%e( or as 'inhi#iting secondar" processing.? 8oticing without o%erreacting demotes a thought -and the networ& of neurons that support it/ from 'acti%e( to 'read"-to-act.? 0t ust goes from centre stage to the wings. 9hen we neglect a thought. it doesn(t immediatel" #ecome e!tinct in the #rain li&e a thought of @enghis Bhan or a snail for e!ample. 1o function well we need to ha%e a lot of 'read"-to-act( anticipator" thoughts and #eha%iours at the edges of consciousness. 9e also &eep thoughts of past actions semi-acti%e. waiting for re%iew. 1his means we can(t a#andon thoughts instantl" or control attention through a #lin&ered. spotlight. on-off focus. @ood attentional control in%ol%es #oth 'focusing( on one o# ect and simultaneousl" 'monitoring( the rest. 0t means #eing a#le to decide what will #e 'acti%e( or ' ust 'read"-toact( at an" moment: what is on-stage and what is ust off-stageA what we 'process( and what we ' ust notice.( 9e can onl" do this through the s&ill of attention switching. 7therwise we would get captured #" an" strong thought or emotion the moment it arose. 0n meditation we learn how to consciousl" switch thoughts #" repeatedl" choosing when to let go and focus on something else. Mindfulness is often descri#ed as a 'non udgemental( state. 0t would #e more accurate to sa" that it is a temporar" suspension of udgement that allows a #etter udgement to arise. 1o stop and #e mindful of something introduces a space #etween perception and action for a more thoughtful response to occur. 0f this reappraisal occurs #efore the action tendencies get full" underwa". it is a#le to alter the entire su#se*uent emotional tra ector". 1his is the principle of earl" detection. 4esearch on Mindfulness-:ased +ogniti%e 1herap" suggests that if a person prone to depression can pic& up his danger signs earl" he will #e less li&el" to relapse. $M71078A5 +781475. $motion is the dri%er of our thoughts and #eha%iours and the source of all our udgements. 1his means that self-control of thought and #eha%iour largel" depends on emotional control. 1he research that meditation enhances emotional regulation is now *uite su#stantial #ut 0(d first li&e to affirm what is o#%ious. Meditation lowers arousal: it ma" not change an emotion #ut it turns down the %olume. Meditation reduces thought: we reduce the %er#al amplification of an" situation. Meditation re*uires that we sit still for se%eral minutes: we ine%ita#l" disarm our musculature and are less primed to act impulsi%el". 1his non-action is a profound signal from the #od" to the mind. 0t sa"s '8o great urgenc". 8o need to act right now.( 0t undermines the primar" role of emotion which is to dri%e #eha%iour. 3s"chologists prefer the term '$motional 4egulation( -$4/ to emotional control. 1he" speculate that disordered $4 is a primar" dri%er of an!iet". depression. pho#ias and other mental disorders. +on%ersel". there is a strong correlation #etween self-reported mindfulness and good $4 strategies. Mindfulness seems to help through mechanisms such as earl" inter%ention. reappraisal -'stop and loo&(/ and a%ersion training -the capacit" to tolerate unpleasant stimuli/. 1raditional meditations t"picall" regard thoughts and emotions with unspo&en hostilit". 1he" see them as potential temptations from tran*uilit" and inner stillness. 1his monastic #ias against thought and action partl" e!plains wh" :uddhist and >ogic meditation has alwa"s #een a fringe interest in the 9est.

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1he ps"chological approach to mindfulness has changed all that. 0t has shifted the emphasis awa" from withdrawal towards acceptance. 0n particular. it is far more accommodating towards the peripheral thoughts. emotions and sensations that occur in meditation. 3s"chologists usuall" encourage an attitude of 'non udgmental acceptance( towards whate%er arises in consciousness while still focusing on the #od" as much as possi#le. 1his is often glossed as 'passi%el" watching( or ' ust o#ser%ing.? 1his emotionall" detached state doesn(t ela#orate on data #ut neither does it tr" to suppress it. 0t counteracts our automatic tendenc" to resist it. 1he e%idence shows that tr"ing to suppress or ignore unpleasant stimuli is usuall" counterproducti%e. 0t increases the #iological signs of stress such as s"mpathetic arousal and cardio%ascular acti%it". 0t impairs memor" and concentration. 0t increases rumination a#out negati%e mood and self-image and is a common ingredient of an!iet" and depression. '9atching without reacting( resem#les a%ersion training or 'e!posure.? which is a standard ps"chological strateg" to o%ercome pho#ias. :" ' ust watching( in a controlled situation such as meditating. we can graduall" increase our a#ilit" to tolerate unpleasant stimuli. 9e can notice pain. #ad mood or stress in the #od" without tensing up against it or tr"ing to distract oursel%es from it. 4epeated e!posure graduall" o%erwrites our pre%ious pattern of response with a new more tolerant one. 0t is the classical shift in meditation from 'doing and thin&ing( -and tr"ing to fi! things/ to ust '#eing and watching.? 1his self-acceptance also starts to reduce the painful discrepanc" gap #etween what we would li&e and what is actuall" happening. 3arado!icall". #eing 'non udgemental( in%aria#l" results in a re- udgement of the o# ect. Most commonl" this is a down-regulation of its emotional charge. 9e see it as less important and therefore re*uiring little or no response. :eing mindful -' ust watching(/ usuall" wea&ens an emotional response or the compulsi%e nature of a thought. Some researchers now see this positi%e reappraisal rather than acceptance itself as the &e" mediator of therapeutic change. 1easdale e!plains how e%en a few seconds of conscious perception are #ound to result in an automatic reappraisal. 1o #e mindful holds an o# ect in wor&ing memor" for long enough to reconte!tualise it. Cust a second or two will rapidl" e%o&e associated memories of cause and effect and so refine the first initial rule-of-thum# response. 1he mind automaticall" e%aluates all stimuli and it updates its assessments within milliseconds as e!tra information comes in. Mindfulness holds an o# ect in mind for longer and so ma&es this process more conscious. detailed and accurate. 1he parado! is that the conscious perception of something. e%en for a second. leads ine%ita#l" to an automatic ree%aluation. 1his is t"picall" a 'down-regulation( and a de%aluing of the stimulus. 2inall" meditation enhances emotional control through #rain mechanisms that are now well understood. 2ocusing and language are left-lateralised prefrontal corte! -32+/ functions. Meditation thus results in front-#ac&. left-right inhi#itions that wea&en emotion. 2ocusing enhances left-hemisphere dominance o%er the right hemisphere. 1he left hemisphere is selecti%e. anal"tic and rational. and is associated with self-control and more positi%e emotions. +on%ersel". the right hemisphere is more inclusi%e #ut also more

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%ulnera#le to emotional confusion. =ampening the right hemisphere thus impro%es mood and a sense of control. A front-#ac& inhi#ition also occurs. 1he 'rational( 32+ inhi#its the 'emotional( lim#ic s"stem deep in the #rain. 1he 32+ is highl" acti%e when we focus and use language. and the 'naming( function often used in meditation enhances this effect. 9hen we meditate we are #ecome less emotional and more calm and controlled than usual. 0n this essa" 0 ha%en(t presented an" proofs that meditation wor&s. 0(%e ust presented the most plausi#le theories #" which it could wor&. 1he final udgement and the onl" one that matters will alwa"s #e a personal one: '0 meditate #ecause 0 &now it wor&s for me.(