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Mindfulness for Cognition

Mindfulness for Cognition

What is cognition?

Cognition can be described as your brain’s ability to process information- that includes your senses, memories, thoughts, attention, reasoning, language and mathematical abilities! Basically, if your brain was a computer, it’s all the tasks it performs as you go through life. 

So, your ability to perform effectively at school, work, and home all depends on your cognition. Cognition also contributes to our behaviours and emotions, so it impacts every aspect of our life including the social and emotional. 

Your cognitive abilities will fluctuate over time depending on all sorts of factors- your mood, tiredness, exercise, nutrition, hydration, and psychoactive drugs (e.gg caffeine). In most cases, taking good care of yourself and leading a balanced lifestyle is the best way to enhance your cognition. 

Can mindfulness improve your cognition?

More high quality research is needed, but research suggests mindfulness training could enhance several aspects of attention, including sustained attention (focussing for a long period of time), and selective attention (choosing what to pay attention to and what to ignore). 

There is also evidence mindfulness can enhance your executive function and working memory abilities. Executive function is the set of skills needed to control our behaviour- such as inhibition of and flexibility in our thoughts and responses. Working memory is the ability to hold information in your head ‘online’ and manipulate it- e.g. keeping numbers in your head and doing calculations with them. However, there is still a need for more rigorous research to verify these findings and establish what kinds of mindfulness practices are best for which cognitive outcomes. 

How?

Mindfulness involves training your focus and attention, as you practice bringing yourself back to the present moment (e.g. your breath, senses, visualisations) as opposed to letting your mind run wild. Your brain is like a muscle, where networks that you practice using become stronger and easier to use, so mindfulness could make it easier to use the cognitive abilities it involves (self awareness, self regulation, attentional control) in other contexts.

For example, there is evidence that your anterior cingulate cortex (involved in attention) is activated by and actually changes in response to mindfulness meditation. Other areas of the brain that appear to change with mindfulness meditation are the prefrontal cortex (important for planning and decision making), insula (thought to be involved in consciousness, compassion, and self-awareness), striatum (involved in motor function and motivation) and amygdala (associated with emotions and memory). Of course the brain is complex, so we can’t assume what the result of these changes would be, and more research is needed to establish the whole-brain responses to mindfulness and how this corresponds to psychological and behavioural outcomes.  Cognition could also indirectly benefit from mindfulness through improved wellbeing, stress levels, and sleep.  

COPE BETTER WITH ZENMIND

If you are ready to start your journey in managing your health and wellbeing, sign up for the Zenmind App. It’s free to begin. Our expert teachers, which includes teachers of meditation, buddhism and yoga, as well as counsellors and psychotherapists, will help you understand anxiety and how to cope better.

    Mindfulness for Depression

    Mindfulness for Depression

    What is Depression?

    Depression is more than feeling low or sad, which we all experience from time to time. Depression persists for many weeks or months and interferes with your life, e.g. your work or relationships. The symptoms vary from person to person but can include a lack of motivation,  hopelessness, sadness, guilt, low interest, disturbed sleep, and tearfulness.

    HOW COMMON IS DEPRESSION?

    Depression is the most common mental health problem, and was the second leading cause of disability worldwide in 2013. Between 2-6% of the world’s population experienced depression in 2017. Depression symptoms have increased in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic, with nearly ⅕ experiencing some form of depression during this time. 

    CAN MINDFULNESS IMPROVE DEPRESSION?

    Mindfulness is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as a way of preventing relapse in people with recurring depression, and mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT, a talking therapy combining mindfulness and cognitive therapy) is provided by some NHS mental health services for depression and addiction. There is also evidence that loving-kindness meditationyoga, and mindfulness delivered online may have benefits for reducing symptoms of depression.  

    CLINICAL DEPRESSION

    If you have clinical depression, these practices should not be used as a replacement for talking therapy or medications. Instead, they should be seen as a practice which can form part of a self-care routine, created by the individual to suit their needs and preferences. You should always consult a clinician if you are worried about the state of your mental health. 

    HOW?

    Neuroscientific and psychological research suggests that these practices could improve depression through a variety of mechanisms. Here are some of the ways this might work! 

    COPE BETTER WITH ZENMIND

    If you are ready to start your journey in managing your health and wellbeing, sign up for the Zenmind App. It’s free to begin. Our expert teachers, which includes teachers of meditation, buddhism and yoga, as well as counsellors and psychotherapists, will help you understand anxiety and how to cope better.

      The benefits of mindfulness for anxiety

      The benefits of mindfulness for anxiety

      What is Anxiey?

      Anxiety is an emotion which we all experience, usually before or during a challenging experience. When we are anxious, we might feel tense, worry, or experience physical anxiety signs like an increased heart rate or heavy breathing.

      Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

      Anxiety can also refer to a group of mental health disorders which includes generalised anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and panic disorder. If you seek help from a clinician, the go-to treatments for anxiety disorders are medications and/or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). CBT typically involves education around how anxiety works, identifying and challenging negative thoughts, gradual exposure to feared situations, and relaxation techniques.

      HOW COMMON IS ANXIETY?

      Large-scale surveys suggest that up to ⅓ of people experience an anxiety disorder in their life, but these experiences exist on a spectrum across the whole population. So, it is not the case that there are ‘people with anxiety’ and ‘people without anxiety’, but that some people are more anxious and some people are less anxious. This means that we can all benefit from practices that reduce our day-to-day levels of anxiety and improve our mental health.  

      CAN MINDFULNESS IMPROVE ANXIETY?

      There is evidence that mindfulness, meditation, and yoga practices have benefits for reducing anxiety. A 2011 Meta-analysis found that mindfulness and acceptance based interventions were associated with substantial reductions in anxiety symptoms. In one randomised control trial (the gold standard for studies that test interventions), anxiety scores fell significantly following treatment by 31-43%. 

      Another study found that an online mindfulness course reduced anxiety scores by about 50%. There is also evidence that loving-kindness meditationguided-imagery, mantra meditation, and yoga may improve anxiety. However, more research is needed to establish how effective these practices are and under what circumstances they work best. For anxiety which is disrupting your day-to-day life, these practices should not be used as a replacement for CBT or medications. Instead, they should be seen as a practice which can form part of a self-care routine, created by the individual to suit their needs and preferences. You should always consult a clinician if you are worried about the state of your mental health. 

      COPE BETTER WITH ZENMIND

      If you are ready to start your journey in managing your health and wellbeing, sign up for the Zenmind App. It’s free to begin. Our expert teachers, which includes teachers of meditation, buddhism and yoga, as well as counsellors and psychotherapists, will help you understand anxiety and how to cope better.