January 15, 2011

A study released in 2010 suggests that mindfulness can help soldiers stay mentally fit when faced with stress. Mindfulness is the ability to be aware and attentive of the present moment without emotional reaction. The study was conducted by Amishi Jha of the Department of Psychology and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania and Elizabeth A. Stanley of Georgetown University.

Participants included 48 men with a mean age of 25, recruited from a detachment of Marine reservists during their period of pre-deployment. None had any previous experience with mindfulness. Mindfulness instruction was provided to one group of 31, with the remaining 17 forming a second group without mindfulness training.

The mindfulness-trained group attended an eight-week course and also logged the amount of out-of-class time they spent practicing formal exercises. At first, these exercises involved directing attention to a single focus, such as breath, contact points between the body and the floor, or sensations within individual body parts. Later, focus was expanded to include body parts during movement, and shifting attention between inner sensations and external experiences.

The statistical analysis showed that the Marines who spent more time practicing mindfulness exercises (on average, 10 hours outside of class) saw an improvement in their cognitive performance compared to Marines who spent less time engaging in the exercises (on average, 2 hours outside of class).* In other words, the Marines who practiced mindfulness during pre-deployment showed reduced perceived stress and improved working memory capacity above the starting baseline. The results were the opposite for those who did not practice the mindfulness techniques.

“Our findings suggest that, just as daily physical exercise leads to physical fitness, engaging in mindfulness exercises on a regular basis may improve mind-fitness,” Jha said.

“Working memory is an important feature of mind-fitness. Not only does it safeguard against distraction and emotional reactivity, but it also provides a mental workspace to ensure quick-and-considered decisions and action plans.”

“Building mind-fitness with mindfulness training may help anyone who must maintain peak performance in the face of extremely stressful circumstances, from first responders, relief workers and trauma surgeons, to professional and Olympic athletes.”

*Amishi P. Jha et al., “Examining the Protective Effects of Mindfulness Training on Working Memory Capacity and Affective Experience” Journal of Emotion. 2010 Feb;10(1):54-64.

Sources: University of Pennsylvania and Joint Force Quarterly

Dave Gorczynski is president of SPARK, a non-profit organization that has provided free energy work sessions and workshops across New York City since 2002. He writes a regular column about energy work and meditation for the Compact News in New York City's Chinatown. E-mail him at dave@sparkenergy.org.