MINDFULNESS TRAINING IMPROVES CHILDREN’S ATTENTION SPAN

Yet another study has found that even a small amount of training in mindfulness improves children's attention span, in particular, their ability to ignore distractions and concentrate better.

These are the findings of a recent study carried out by Dominic Crehan and Dr Michelle Ellefson at the University of Cambridge and presented at the British Psychological Society's Cognitive Developmental Psychology Annual Conference at the University of Reading.

‘Mindfulness involves paying attention in a particular way---on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally,’ says Crehan. ‘It has been shown to reduce levels of stress and depression, and to improve feelings of well-being, but to date researchers have not established a link between mindfulness and attention skills in children.’

The researchers recruited 30 children (girls and boys aged 10 to 11 years old) to take part in a mindfulness course as part of their school curriculum. The children took part in the mindfulness course in 2 groups at different times, and so the researchers were able to compare the groups and see the effects of the course. To do this, they measured the children's levels of mindfulness using a questionnaire. They also measured their attention skills, using a computer game designed specifically for this purpose. They made these measurements on three occasions, at three month intervals, so that they could measure changes in attention skills over time as a result of the mindfulness course. The results indicated that an improvement in the children's ability to focus and deal with distractions was associated with the mindfulness course.

‘The ability to pay attention in class is crucial for success at school,’ says Crehan. ‘Mindfulness appears to have an effect after only a short training course, which the children thoroughly enjoyed. Through their training, the children actually learn to watch their minds working and learn to control their attention. These findings could be particularly important for helping children with attention difficulties such as ADHD.’

Resource: British Psychological Society (BPS) (2013, September 5). Mindfulness training improves attention in children. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 7, 2013, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­/releases/2013/09/130905202847.htm

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Neuroscientists, clinicians and PhD researchers are increasingly turning their attention to an area Buddhists and philosophers have been studying for more than two millennia: mindfulness. The number of serious scientific case studies of how mindfulness can help trauma victims has grown exponentially in the past few years.

One reason is that mindfulness is increasingly being associated with the kinds of positive social and emotional experiences that trauma victims often no longer feel, what clinicians describe as emotional numbness.

Ruth Lanius (pictured above), an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Western Ontario, has been studying emotional awareness and mindfulness in complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for several years, and has found direct correlations between mindfulness and brain activity.

Using MRI scans, Lanius found that the more mindful her subjects were, the more activation showed up in an area of the brain called the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex [“dmPFC” or "DMPFC"] (a brain region involved in reflective awareness).

There is good reason for all the interest in brain science and its affect on traumatized youth. For one, it's relatively cheap, and already the jury is in … the payoff of minor sums has been quite dramatic.

Secondly, a consensus is emerging among many therapists that far too many traumatized kids are being overmedicated. Last year alone, American children consumed $16.3 billion in anti-psychotic medication. Researchers like Dr Bessel van der Kolk and others say these medications are destroying children's capacity to engage in the world. "I bet half the kids on these medications will never be functional members of society," he said. "It's a national catastrophe."

Source: Scott Johnson  Oakland Tribune  All Rights Reserved
Posted: 03/30/2011 12:00:00 AM PDT    Updated: 03/30/2011 09:28:12 AM PDT
Follow Scott Johnson at Twitter.com/scott_c_johnson and Twitter.com/oaklandeffect

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Mindfulness has become core curriculum at, among other places, Yarraman Oaks Primary School. This school in Noble Park, Victoria, Australia is just one of a growing number of Australian schools and colleges that have embraced the practice of mindfulness to improve focus and stress management.

Yarraman Oaks Principal Bill Liston was so taken with mindfulness after attending sessions by meditation teacher Janet Etty-Leal (pictured above, at Yarraman Oaks) at a principals' conference four years ago that he asked her to train his staff so they could run weekly sessions for all students.

"It is a lifetime strategy to help them cope with the day-to-day relationships with other children, with the pressure to achieve these days," he says. "It allows them to get things into perspective, and to do things in a calmer manner."

Sometimes the meditation sessions run at the start of school or after a break to help students to concentrate. Teachers also run shorter meditation sessions called "capsules" to break up two-hour classes.

Ms Etty-Leal has run mindfulness programs at more than 40 Victorian schools in recent years. She has also trained school principals, careers teachers and counsellors and Education Department staff, as well as running programs for healthcare professionals and for many companies, including Australia Post and Tattersall's.

Her recent book, Meditation Capsules, a mindfulness program for children, brings together the techniques she has taught in schools.

Dr Craig Hassed, deputy head of Monash University's department of general practice, has been teaching mindfulness techniques to trainee doctors and GPs since 1991. He also provides mindfulness training to staff and students at many Melbourne secondary schools, but particularly independent schools such as Carey Baptist Grammar, Melbourne Grammar, Geelong Grammar and St Michael's Grammar. Each week he flies to Canberra to run training sessions for staff at the Australian National University.

Other schools such as Methodist Ladies College are using mindfulness to help students focus during Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) study and exams.

Dr Hassed says Ms Etty-Leal has adapted mindfulness techniques for children so that the practice is taught through play, games and activities. "She has a special way with children."

Ms Etty-Leal says mindfulness is essential for primary-age children, particularly with the increasing incidence of syndromes such as attention deficit disorder. "If children are unable to settle and manage emotions such as anxiety, then they are not learning."

Children face many distractions, she says, such as mobile phones and digital technology, which makes it difficult to think deeply. "Neural pathways can become scrambled and less effective, which disrupts learning. When moments of sustained focus, silence and stillness become rare experiences, some children even find them uncomfortable, associating them with negative feelings such as boredom and disconnection."

South Australian psychologist Carmel Wauchope plans to use Ms Etty-Leal's meditation capsules as a base for her PhD research on the effect of mindfulness on adolescent anxiety and depression. She says at least 200 high school students will be tested before, during and after completing a meditation course based on Ms Elly-Leal's program.

Ms Wauchope trains her clients in mindfulness in her practice, Astute Education & Psychology Services. "I'm amazed by the results, particularly with young people with drug and alcohol issues. They say that meditation is better than using drugs because of the kind of space it puts them in, away from stressors. It is exceptionally useful for a range of situations."

NOTE. This blog sets out a simple form of mindfulness sitting meditation.


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