Temporal Changes in the State Effect of Meditation on Response Inhibition Processes
Mindfulness January 10, 2023 Noriki Yamaya, Shigeyuki Ikeda, Yuichi Hoshino et al. 2 citations
A single 10-minute session of focused attention meditation (FAM) temporarily improves response inhibition, as measured by Stroop task performance, but the effect appears 60 minutes after meditation rather than immediately. In a study with 39 healthy participants, those who practiced FAM performed significantly better on the Stroop task 60 minutes later compared to those who did a sham meditation. Greater subjective effort during meditation was associated with better performance at that time point. The findings suggest that FAM may work by preventing cognitive fatigue, with the effect strengthening as effort increases.