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Being Mindful Promotes Good Mental Health

AScribe Newswire - April 01, 2003 ROCHESTER,N.Y., April 1 (AScribe Newswire) -- Several major Eastern philosophiesstress the importance of mindfulness, but is there really a mentalhealth benefit to being more conscious and more focused on what'shappening in the here and now?

In the April issue of the Journal of Personality and SocialPsychology, University of Rochester researchers report that individualswho are mindful are more attuned to their emotions and act in ways thatare compatible with their values and interests. Mindfulness, which isan enhanced attention to and awareness of the present, can be linked tobetter mood, higher self-esteem, life satisfaction, and optimism - allsigns of positive psychological health.

Co-authors Kirk Warren Brown and Richard M. Ryan researchedthe phenomenon of mindfulness and tracked indicators of psychologicalwell-being. They designed a scale to measure this quality ofconsciousness and administered it to subjects from college students andworking adults to people who meditate and those with cancer.

"Mindfulness appears to heighten the joys one can experiencein everyday events, as well as to be in better touch with what onereally needs and feels," says Ryan, professor of psychology andpsychiatry. "It helps people make better choices in a complex world."

With roots in Buddhist and other contemplative traditions,mindfulness is the subject of innumerable books, seminars, andworkshops designed to facilitate this state of consciousness as a meansto help people live richer, happier lives. But very little research hasexamined its direct role in psychological health and well-being, thepsychologists say.

"We've shown that mindfulness can be reliably and validlymeasured and has a significant role to play in mental health," saysBrown, visiting assistant professor of psychology. "It does appear tomake a meaningful difference in how happy people are."

Brown and Ryan designed the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale(MAAS) to measure this quality of consciousness. In a mindful state,two experiences work in tandem: focusing on present, ongoing experiencewhile allowing new experiences to come into your awareness. Higherscores on the MAAS scale predicted better mood states on a day-to-daybasis in both college students and working adults.

Participants who scored high in these positive psychologicalindicators also came through with lower levels of depression, anxiety,and stress. Very few of the study participants already knew about orpracticed mindfulness. Yet results of the research showed that studentsof Zen, who actively cultivate a heightened awareness of what's takingplace in the present moment, scored higher on the scale than a sampleof adults of the same age and gender. With practice, there's evidencethat mindfulness can be enhanced.

In a clinical study with early-stage cancer patients whoreceived training in mindfulness, patients experienced greater declinesin mood disturbance and stress as assessed by the MAAS scale.Mindfulness was a central element in an eight-week stress reductionprogram for them.

The research was supported in part by grants from theNational Institute of Mental Health, the Social Sciences and HumanitiesResearch Council of Canada, the Russell Sage Foundation, and theSociety of the Psychological Study of Social Issues.

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This news story is not produced by the American Psychological Association and does not necessarily represent the opinions of the association.