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Depression and dementia are major public health problems in the UK. Depression in early-stage dementia is very common and significantly reduces quality of life, speeds cognitive decline and increases functional impairment. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is an effective depression prevention programme, and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has suggested that MBCT is a priority for implementation. Alongside this, there is emerging evidence demonstrating promising results in relation to the benefits of adapted mindfulness interventions for people with dementia, suggesting that it could be beneficial in reducing depressive symptoms and in slowing deterioration in cognitive functions such as sustained attention, distraction inhibition and task switching.
Depression and dementia are major public health problems in the UK. Depression in early-stage dementia is very common and significantly reduces quality of life, speeds cognitive decline and increases functional impairment. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is an effective depression prevention programme, and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has suggested that MBCT is a priority for implementation. Alongside this, there is emerging evidence demonstrating promising results in relation to the benefits of adapted mindfulness interventions for people with dementia, suggesting that it could be beneficial in reducing depressive symptoms and in slowing deterioration in cognitive functions such as sustained attention, distraction inhibition and task switching.
Depression and dementia are major public health problems in the UK. Depression in early-stage dementia is very common and significantly reduces quality of life, speeds cognitive decline and increases functional impairment. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is an effective depression prevention programme, and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has suggested that MBCT is a priority for implementation. Alongside this, there is emerging evidence demonstrating promising results in relation to the benefits of adapted mindfulness interventions for people with dementia, suggesting that it could be beneficial in reducing depressive symptoms and in slowing deterioration in cognitive functions such as sustained attention, distraction inhibition and task switching.
BACKGROUND:While most modern research focuses on the clinical benefits of mindfulness, an emerging body of work suggests that mindfulness can facilitate self-regulation of everyday thinking in typically developing individuals. This behaviour is best captured using critical thinking assessments. The aim of this paper is to describe a rigorous, pre-registered study which will investigate the effect of an online mindfulness intervention on Executive Functioning, critical thinking skills and associated thinking dispositions.
METHOD:
The design employed is a randomised-controlled 2 (condition) X 2 (time) parallel-group design which is explanatory in nature. A sample of at least 60 participants will be recruited from the pool of students at NUI Galway, with those between the ages of 18 and 65 with an adequate level of English included. Participants will be randomly assigned following screening, using block randomisation with a fixed block of 6 and a 1:1 ratio, to either the mindfulness meditation group or a sham meditation group. Both groups will be given access to the Headspace app. This is an app which provides guided meditations to users. Participants in each group will receive unique codes granting access to either the experimental or active-control intervention materials. Group allocation will be double-blinded. The primary outcome measures will assess mindfulness, executive functioning, critical thinking, actively open-minded thinking and need for cognition. Secondary outcome measures will assess eudaimonic and hedonic wellbeing, positive and negative affect, and real-world outcomes. These will be measured at baseline and at the end of the intervention. Manipulation checks will assess adherence to the intervention, meditation quality and task difficulty and enjoyment.
DISCUSSION:
If this intervention proves effective, it will show the potential of mindfulness practice to facilitate everyday critical thinking and should stimulate more interest in this line of research. If ineffective, claims regarding mindfulness and thinking skills should be tempered. This research was funded by a Galway Doctoral Research Scholarship awarded to the first author and was facilitated by Headspace Inc. who provided the intervention materials. The trial is registered in the ISRCTN registry and any protocol amendments will be recorded there (RCT ID: ISRCTN16588423. Registered 7th January 2016).
Georgetown University School of Medicine offers an elective Mind-Body Medicine Skills (MBMS) course to medical students to promote self-care and self-awareness. Participating medical students reported better management of academic stress and well-being than non-participants. In this study, we sought to assess the stress-reducing effects of MBMS by measuring physiological changes in first-year medical students. Saliva samples were collected before (January, time 1 (T1)-pre-intervention) and upon completion of the course (May, time 2 (T2p)-post-intervention), as well as from non-participating medical students (May, time 2 (T2c)-control). The T2p and T2c collections coincided with the period of final examinations. Cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S), testosterone and secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) were measured. The mean morning salivary cortisol at T2p was 97% of the mean at baseline T1 which was significantly lower than for T2c (2.4) (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.57–1.60, P = .001); DHEA-S showed similar pattern as cortisol where the T2p levels were significantly lower than T2c (P < .001) in both morning and evening collections. Testosterone ratio at T2p (0.85) was also lower than T2c (1.6) (95% CI 0.53–1.3, P = .01). sIgA levels were not statistically different. On direct comparison, the T2c and T2p means were significantly different for all cortisol, DHEA-S and testosterone values. Participants maintained their hormonal balance within the normal range throughout the academic semester while the control group showed significantly increased levels, probably exacerbated by the end of the semester exam stress. To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess the physiologic benefits of a MBMS program in medical students.