Effectiveness of Mindful Meditation on Attention, Short Term Memory and Visual Reaction Time on Normal Individual
Rachna Butola, Renu Chauhan
Indian Journal of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy - An International Journal 2014 DOI: 10.5958/j.0973-5674.8.1.029 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Pre-post intervention study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 230 |
| Population | Normal individuals aged 15-25 |
| Dose | 15 minutes once a day |
| Duration | 2 weeks |
| Measures | Trail Making Test (TMT), Digit Span Test, Human Benchmark Test |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key points | The authors report that two weeks of daily mindful meditation (15 minutes, mantra "OM") was associated with increased attention, increased short-term memory, and decreased visual reaction time in normal individuals aged 15-25. All pre-post comparisons were statistically significant, leading the authors to accept the alternative hypothesis that brief meditation training enhances these cognitive measures. |
Abstract
Background of the study: People who have undergone extensive meditation have shown improvement on cognitive performance .It does this by training and bringing mental processes under greater voluntary control and direction them in beneficial ways. This study was designed with the purpose to observe the effectiveness of mindful meditation on attention, short term memory and visual reaction time on normal individual. We examined whether brief mindfulness training affects on cognition. Our findings suggest that two weeks of meditation training can enhance the ability to sustain attention, short term memory and visual reaction time on normal individual. Purpose of the study: To examine whether brief mindful training affects on attention.short term memory and visual reaction time on normal indivisual. Procedure: A total no. of 230 subjects age group(15-25) were taken for the study. Pre evaluation has been done by using Trail making test, Digit span test and Human Benchmark test. Trail making test for attention, Digit span test for short term memory and Human Benchmark test for visual reaction time. These test were carried out to the subjects for pre and post Evaluation. Mindful meditation was provided to subjects for 15 minutes once a day for two weeks. Subject were made to sit comfortably on a mat and asked them to take a deep breath before meditation. Each subject is given a mantra (OM) and is instructed to concentrate through this mantra(OM).
Results: The data was statically analyzed by using SPSS software. There is overall increased attention, increase short term memory and decrease reaction time were shown. The P- Value of TMTA1-TMTA2- .000 , TMTB1-TMTB2- .000 , RT1-RT2 - .007 , DTI-DT2 -.000 . The value is < .05 as seen in table-3 so this study accepts the alternate hypothesis.
Conclusion: Our findings suggests that two weeks of meditation training can enhance the ability to sustain Attention ,Short term Memory and visual reaction time on normal individual.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |