A single session of mindfulness meditation may acutely enhance cognitive performance regardless of meditation experience

A brief session of mindfulness meditation (MM) improves attention and cognitive flexibility more than an active listening control, regardless of prior meditation experience. In a within-subject experiment, 22 experienced meditators and 20 novices completed a Stroop task at baseline, after a 10-minute MM breathing exercise, and after a 10-minute attentive listening task. Both interventions led to faster reaction times compared to baseline, but MM produced larger improvements on both congruent and incongruent trials, which tap attention, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. The findings suggest that even a single, short MM session can enhance cognitive performance without requiring previous practice.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The present study investigated acute cognitive effects of mindfulness meditation (MM) compared to an active control intervention in meditators (n = 22) and novices (n = 20) using a within-subject design. We analyzed reaction times in a digitized Stroop task at baseline, after a 10-minute MM session with a fundamental breathing exercise, and after a 10-minute attentive listening intervention. Interventions order was randomized and a 10 min delay was respected before testing. Relative to baseline, meditators and novices showed faster reaction times after both interventions, but more so after MM for the congruent and incongruent Stroop task conditions that are associated with attention, inhibition and cognitive flexibility. Although the two interventions showed cognitive effects independent of previous meditation experience, MM appeared to induce larger benefits. Our findings are encouraging and support MM’s potential as a means to enhance cognitive performance on the short-term without the need of any previous practice.