Researchers
from Michigan State University have found neural evidence that mindfulness helps
to control negative feelings.
A
group of 68 native English-speaking females, who had not practiced mindfulness
meditation before, participated in the study. Analysis showed that participants
came to the experiment with different levels of natural mindfulness.
Each
participant wore an electrode cap, to enable EEG recording. They then took part
in one of two 18-minute activities. Some listened to a guided meditation while
others were exposed to a language-learning presentation.
Immediately after the
meditation the participants were shown some disturbing pictures. The
participants were instructed to view the pictures either ‘mindfully’ or ‘naturally.’
The researchers used the EEG to record their brain activity while they were viewing
the images.
Results indicate that, whether the participants
had high or low levels of natural mindfulness, the brain was able to control
negative emotions to the same extent. Exposure to the meditation session
appeared to help the emotional brain to recover quickly after seeing the
photos, suggesting that meditation enabled participants to tame their negative
emotions.
The study tends to show that meditation can improve one’s emotional health and that
even people who are not naturally mindful can acquire these benefits through the
practice of mindfulness.
Study: Lin Y et al.
‘Deconstructing the Emotion Regulatory Properties of Mindfulness: An
Electrophysiological Investigation.’ Front. Hum. Neurosci. 7
September 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00451
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