Frontiers in Psychology
September 3, 2021
Daniel W Grupe, Jonah L. Stoller, Carmen Alonso et al.
43 citations
An 8-week mindfulness intervention for police officers led to self-reported improvements in psychological distress, mental health symptoms, and sleep quality, with gains maintained at 3-month follow-up. The mindfulness group also had a significantly lower cortisol awakening response at follow-up compared to a waitlist control group. No effects were found on hair cortisol, diurnal cortisol slope, or inflammatory markers. The findings suggest mindfulness training may buffer against long-term consequences of chronic stress in policing.
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies
April 4, 2024
Michael Christopher, Sarah Bowen, Katie Witkiewitz et al.
9 citations
Law enforcement officers face high stress that harms mental health and can lead to aggression and excessive force. A multi-site, randomized, single-blind clinical feasibility trial tested mindfulness-based resilience training (MBRT) against stress management education and a no-intervention control. The study aimed to refine protocols for a future full-scale trial. Recruitment, retention, and acceptability of MBRT were high, and assessment and intervention protocols were delivered with fidelity. Several physiological and self-report measures showed responsiveness to change. These results prepare for a larger trial testing whether MBRT improves officer health and resilience and reduces aggression and excessive use of force, benefiting communities.
The American journal of orthopsychiatry
February 17, 2025
Daniel W Grupe, Sophia Diamantis, Carmen Alonso
1 citation
Contemplative practices like mindfulness can support justice in the criminal legal system, but their impact depends on the ethical framework and context. Over eight years of research with police officers and incarcerated individuals—both groups traumatized by an unjust system—qualitative interviews with officers suggest that focusing too much on individual resilience may limit interpersonal benefits and critical awareness of systemic injustice. Community advisors recommend that police training be more responsive to community concerns. An advisory board of formerly incarcerated individuals advises that mindfulness can best support community reentry by foregrounding shared humanity. To advance justice, practitioners must be explicit about ethics, target individuals and organizations capable of systems change, and emphasize shared humanity over perceived differences.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
September 17, 2021
Tammi R. A. Kral, Regina C Lapate, Ted Imhoff‐Smith et al.
preprint
Long-term mindfulness meditation is associated with stronger resting-state functional connectivity between the posterior cingulate cortex and rostrolateral prefrontal cortex, lower connector hub strength of the default mode network relative to other networks, and better attention to task. In a sample of 40 long-term meditators (average 3,759 hours of practice) compared to 124 meditation-naïve controls, orienting attention positively correlated with posterior cingulate–rostrolateral prefrontal connectivity and negatively correlated with default mode network connector hub strength. These findings suggest that posterior cingulate–rostrolateral prefrontal connectivity may support attention orienting, consistent with a role for rostrolateral prefrontal cortex in meta-cognitive background awareness, a core component of mindfulness training.
Scientific Reports
May 18, 2026
Estelle T. Higgins, William W. Busse, Danika R. Klaus et al.
Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training in adults with asthma reduced brain responses in the lateral prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortex when viewing emotional cues, and this reduction was linked to increased mindfulness. Decreased activity in the salience network after training was associated with lower psychological distress and less airway inflammation. Some of these brain and clinical changes persisted at a 6-month follow-up, while others did not. The findings indicate that MBSR promotes more efficient emotional processing and reduces reactivity, helping explain how mindfulness improves asthma control and inflammation through mind-brain-immune interactions.
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
August 1, 2022
Tammi R. A. Kral, Regina C Lapate, Ted Imhoff‐Smith et al.
Long-term mindfulness meditation is associated with stronger functional connectivity between the posterior cingulate cortex and rostrolateral prefrontal cortex, lower connector hub strength across the default mode network, and better subjective attention. In a sample of 40 long-term meditators averaging 3759 hours of practice, compared with 124 meditation-naive controls, orienting attention positively correlated with PCC-RLPFC connectivity and negatively correlated with default mode network connector hub strength. These results suggest that PCC-RLPFC connectivity may support attention orienting, a core component of metacognitive awareness trained in mindfulness meditation.