Awakening is not a metaphor: the effects of Buddhist meditation practices on basic wakefulness.
Willoughby B. Britton, Jared R. Lindahl, B Rael Cahn, Jake H. Davis, Roberta E Goldman
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 2014 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.12279 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Interdisciplinary review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Keywords | Buddhist meditation Alertness Arousal Relaxation Sleep Wakefulness |
| Key findings | Buddhist meditation can have both relaxing and wake-promoting effects, with early phases tending toward sleepiness and later phases toward greater wakefulness due to neuroplastic changes. |
Abstract
Buddhist meditation practices have become a topic of widespread interest in both science and medicine. Traditional Buddhist formulations describe meditation as a state of relaxed alertness that must guard against both excessive hyperarousal (restlessness) and excessive hypoarousal (drowsiness, sleep). Modern applications of meditation have emphasized the hypoarousing and relaxing effects without as much emphasis on the arousing or alertness-promoting effects. In an attempt to counterbalance the plethora of data demonstrating the relaxing and hypoarousing effects of Buddhist meditation, this interdisciplinary review aims to provide evidence of meditation's arousing or wake-promoting effects by drawing both from Buddhist textual sources and from scientific studies, including subjective, behavioral, and neuroimaging studies during wakefulness, meditation, and sleep. Factors that may influence whether meditation increases or decreases arousal are discussed, with particular emphasis on dose, expertise, and contemplative trajectory. The course of meditative progress suggests a nonlinear multiphasic trajectory, such that early phases that are more effortful may produce more fatigue and sleep propensity, while later stages produce greater wakefulness as a result of neuroplastic changes and more efficient processing.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, and Zen Meditation for Depression, Anxiety, Pain, and Psychological Distress | 2012 | Review | |
| Measuring mindfulness | 2011 | Review | |
| The Influence of Buddhist Meditation Traditions on the Autonomic System and Attention | 2015 | Review | |
| Seeking the Sacred with Psychoactive Substances | 2014 | Review | |
| Positive Psychology and Buddhism | 2023 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 82
- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
- A systematic review of the neurophysiology of mindfulness on EEG oscillations Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 2015
- The effect of mindfulness meditation on sleep quality: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences December 21, 2018
- The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists PLoS One May 24, 2017
- From many to (n)one: Meditation and the plasticity of the predictive mind. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews September 1, 2021
and 77 more in the library
Cites 96
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- Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences October 11, 2007
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
- Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 8, 2004
and 91 more in the library