"Mindfulness is described as paying attention in the present moment, on purpose, & without judgment. Mindfulness, which is derived from centuries-old meditative traditions & taught in a secular way, has been linked to heightened activation in brain regions responsible for regulating attention & positive affective states including empathy & other prosocial emotions. Emotions, attention, & introspection are ongoing & labile processes that may be understood & studied as skills that can be trained, similar to others human skills like music, mathematics, or sports. Use of MBSR (mindfulness-based stress reduction) in the workplace has shown that 8 weeks of training for employees of a biomedical company resulted in significantly increased relative left-sided anterior activation of the brain, a pattern that is associated with positive affect & well-being. The intervention group also showed more robust immune response to an influenza vaccine & significantly decreased self-reports of anxiety.
Mindfulness training enhances attention by bringing awareness to the object of attention whether it is the breath, other bodily sensations, external stimuli, thoughts, or emotions. Training may increase the ability to sustain engagement of self-regulatory neural circuits in the prefrontal cortex resulting in improved sustained attention and emotion regulation as well as alterations in functional connectivity of brain networks associated with attentional focus and reflective awareness of sensory experience. In mindfulness, attention can be deployed flexibly either in a narrow, focused way or broadly, to encompass a range of stimuli. From these practices a greater awareness of sensory experiences may arise. Training attention also enables the deliberate cultivation of positive qualities through specific practices designed to promote empathy and prosocial attitudes. This form of mental training is associated with increased activity in cortical areas responsible for empathy and compassion. Mindfulness may make individuals less reactive to negative experience and more likely to notice positive experience, resulting in a cascade of psychological and physiological benefits.
Approaches to stress management interventions may operate at different levels by targeting either the intensity of stress at work, perceptions or appraisals of stressful situations, and/or ways of coping with stress. Mindfulness is likely to act on the latter two aspects, that is, perceptions of stress and coping with stress. Mindfulness does not directly act on the target of stress, though a shift in perception & response to stressors could conceivably alter the nature of the stressor itself. In this respect, mindfulness shares similarities with other approaches that have been successfully used to reduce workplace stress, like cognitive reframing, but it also has distinct differences. Whereas a main ingredient of cognitive behavioral approaches involves replacing ‘‘maladaptive beliefs’’ with constructive, positive beliefs, a key difference with mindfulness is that it entails observing & noticing without reacting to or intentionally altering direct experience in the moment. Certain practices are also specifically designed to cultivate an appreciation for & understanding of our interdependence with the world. A mindful approach to stress may involve noticing body sensations, observing thoughts, & emotions related to stress and practicing self-compassion."
Flook L, Goldberg SB, Pinger L, Bonus K, Davidson RJ. Mindfulness for Teachers: A Pilot Study to Assess Effects on Stress, Burnout, and Teaching Efficacy. Mind, Brain & Education 2013; 7(3): 182-95.
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