Meditation promotes insightful problem-solving by keeping people in a mindful and alert conscious state
Jun Ren, ZhiHui Huang, Jing Luo, Gao-Xia Wei, Xiaoping Ying, Zhiguang Ding, YiBin Wu, Fei Luo
Science China Life Sciences October 1, 2011 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-011-4233-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 48 |
| Population | University students without meditation experience |
| Intervention | Meditation |
| Duration | 20 min rest interval |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 83 |
| Key findings | Meditation after a failed problem-solving attempt led to significantly more previously unsolved insight problems being solved than a language-judgment control task. Within meditation, a more watchful state (reporting every 10 deep breaths) produced more insight than a less watchful state (every 100 breaths), and alpha-wave percentage was negatively correlated with insight, suggesting watchfulness rather than relaxation drives the effect. |
Abstract
Although previous studies have shown that sleep can inspire insight, it is still unclear whether meditation can promote insight. Meditation differs from other types of passive rest such as relaxation and sleep because it requires full consciousness and mindfulness of targets such as one's breathing. Forty-eight university students without meditation experience were recruited to learn a simple meditation technique. They were given a list of 10 insight problems to solve (the pre-test session). In this study, we focused on the unsolved problems and examined if they could be successfully solved after a 20 min rest interval with or without meditation. Results showed that relative to the control group that listened to Chinese or English words and made a language judgment, the groups who learned meditation successfully solved significantly more failed problems from the pre-test session, providing direct evidence for the role of meditation in promoting insight. Further analysis showed that maintaining a mindful and alert state during meditation (raising a hand to report every 10 deep breaths compared to every 100 deep breaths) resulted in more insight regarding the failed items from the pre-test session. This implies that it was watchfulness in meditation, rather than relaxation, that actually contributed to insight. Consistently, in the meditation session or control task, the percentage of alpha waves-a brain index of mental relaxation-was negatively correlated with insight. These results suggest a meditation-based insight-promoting mechanism different from that involved in passive rest such as relaxation and sleep.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 29
- A systematic review of the neurophysiology of mindfulness on EEG oscillations Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 2015
- Mindful creativity: the influence of mindfulness meditation on creative thinking Frontiers in Psychology 2014
- Pranayamas and their neurophysiological effects International Journal of Yoga 2020
- Professors Practicing Mindfulness: An Action Research Study on Transformed Teaching, Research, and Service Journal of Transformative Education March 12, 2018
- Tourism, meditation, sustainability Applied Studies in Agribusiness and Commerce March 31, 2016
and 24 more in the library
Cites 9
- Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences October 11, 2007
- Mental Training Affects Distribution of Limited Brain Resources PLoS Biology May 4, 2007
- Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence Journal of Neuroscience October 21, 2009
- Individual Trait Anxiety Levels Characterizing the Properties of Zen Meditation Neuropsychobiology 2004
- Short-term meditation induces white matter changes in the anterior cingulate. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences August 31, 2010
and 4 more in the library