Restoration Skills Training in a Natural Setting Compared to Conventional Mindfulness Training: Sustained Advantages at a 6-Month Follow-Up
Freddie Lymeus, Mathew P. White, Per Lindberg, Terry Hartig
Frontiers in Psychology August 1, 2022 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.763650 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational follow-up study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 29 |
| Population | Adults who had completed either a Restoration skills training (ReST) or conventional mindfulness training (CMT) course |
| Interventions | Restoration skills training (ReST) conventional mindfulness training (CMT) |
| Duration | 6-month follow-up |
| Measures | dispositional mindfulness, cognitive lapses, perceived stress, reliable change index |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 14 |
| Key findings | Six months after course completion, former ReST participants on average continued to show higher dispositional mindfulness and fewer cognitive lapses than before the course, with 35% showing reliable improvement in at least one domain. ReST showed no substantive disadvantage relative to CMT, and more ReST participants continued practicing at least occasionally (92% vs. 67%). Continued practice was linked to sustained improvements for ReST but not clearly for CMT. |
Abstract
Restoration skills training (ReST) is a mindfulness-based course in which participants draw support from a natural practice setting while they learn to meditate. Well-established conventional mindfulness training (CMT) can improve psychological functioning but many perceive it as demanding and fail to sustain practice habits. Applying non-inferiority logic, previous research indicated that ReST overcomes compliance problems without compromising the benefits gained over 5 weeks' training. This article applies similar logic in a 6-month follow-up. Of 97 contacted ReST and CMT course completers, 68 responded and 29 were included with multiple imputation data. The online survey included questions about their psychological functioning in three domains (dispositional mindfulness, cognitive lapses, and perceived stress) and the forms and frequencies with which they had continued to practice mindfulness after the course. Former ReST participants continued, on average, to show higher dispositional mindfulness and fewer cognitive lapses compared to pre-course ratings. Improved psychological functioning in one or more domains was demonstrated by 35%, as determined by a reliable change index. Again, analyses detected no indications of any substantive disadvantages compared to the more demanding, established CMT approach. Compared to the CMT group, more ReST participants had also continued to practice at least occasionally (92 vs. 67%). Continued practice was linked to sustained improvements for ReST but not clearly so for CMT. ReST participants thus continued to use the skills and sustained the improvements in psychological functioning that they had gained in the course, further supporting the utility of ReST as a health intervention.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cited by 6
- Mindfulness in Posttraumatic Growth of War-Affected People: A Commentary on Expanding Oman’s Public Health Framework for Trauma Recovery in Ukrainian Contexts Mindfulness February 7, 2026
- Yoga and Meditation Improve Mental Health, with Outdoor Settings Offering Additional Benefits Where Differences Exist: A Systematic Review Ecopsychology September 17, 2026
- Effects of Mindfulness-Acceptance-Insight-Commitment (MAIC) Training on Stress and Sleep Quality in Elite Swimmers: A Randomized Controlled Mixed-Methods Trial. Behavioral Sciences June 29, 2026
- Designing for Mindfulness and Global Public Health: Where Inner Awareness Meets the External Environment Mindfulness March 1, 2025
- Exploring the Facilitating Environment for Mindfulness Meditation: Establishing a Framework through Analysis of Means and Exploratory Factor Analysis Mindfulness October 1, 2024
and 1 more in the library
Cites 19
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects Psychological Inquiry October 19, 2007
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
and 14 more in the library