Study: Meditation good for school performance

New York. Research from the US shows that meditation can reduce symptoms of anxiety disorders and improve attention, memory, immunity, emotional control, cognitive performances, school performance and creativity.

According to research from a Texas Tech University faculty member, Integrative Body-Mind Training (IBMT) — a meditation programme developed in China in the 1990s — affects two parts of the brain in particular, the anterior cingulate cortex and adjacent medial prefrontal cortex, which play roles in attention and memory on the one hand and decision-making, empathy and emotion on the other.

After five 20-minute sessions led by an instructor, most participants noticed a significant reduction in stress, anxiety, depression, anger and fatigue. After five 20-minute sessions led by an instructor, most participants noticed a significant reduction in stress, anxiety, depression, anger and fatigue.

Mind-body approach

IBMT is a programme combining relaxation exercises, breathing exercises, posture exercises and mental visualisation. This mind-body approach allows people to access meditation progressively and more easily than techniques that focus on thought control.

After five 20-minute sessions led by an instructor, most participants noticed a significant reduction in stress, anxiety, depression, anger and fatigue. They also saw their attention improve. What’s more, IBMT participants saw overall improvements in emotional and cognitive performance, as well as improved social behaviour.

In conclusion, regular practice can be recommended as a means of learning to master oneself physically and emotionally, as meditators become mindful of their thoughts and maintain a healthy distance with their emotions.

School performance

The technique could help those with ADHD or learning difficulties to improve academic performances or improve behaviour at school.

A previous American study, published in the journal Translational Psychiatry, found that combined sessions of meditation and sport twice a week for two months reduced depression symptoms by 40 per cent.

Similarly, researcher’s at the USA’s Carnegie Mellon University studied 35 stressed job-hunters following mindfulness meditation training. The technique was found to increase functional connectivity in the brain’s resting default mode network in areas important for attention and executive control.

In another development, in her latest book, Yogalosophy for Inner Strength, Mandy Ingber, yoga teacher to Jennifer Aniston, looks at how the practice of yoga, along with meditation, self-care, nutrition and even music, can help everyone maintain optimum wellness and find resilience even during the most stressful and trying times.

Three ways to try meditation

Here Ingber shares three ways to try meditation to calm and still the mind and uplift the heart for a healthier and happier you not only through challenging periods but through all stages of life.

Simple, mindful breathing

A great description I’ve heard about meditation goes something like this: “Inhale. Exhale. Continue.” You may have heard a lot about mindfulness recently, for it has become a catchphrase these days. What is mindfulness? Simply put, mindfulness asks you to come to the present moment. To practise simple, mindful breathing, first find a comfortable seated position.

Set your timer for 20 minutes. As you sit in silence, begin to focus on the breath moving in and out of your nose. Become aware of the pause and the space in between the breaths. After the inhalation there is a pause, and then after the exhalation there is a pause.

Notice the sounds in the room, the whiz of a passing car, birds chirping. Whatever is there, notice. Notice the sensation of your skin. Is there a light breeze? Bring your mind back to your breath. Notice the thoughts as they arise. Observe the present moment. Your being-ness.

Heart pulse with mudra

An old friend, who used to like to do this meditation beside me, taught this to me, and now I share it with you. The idea is to connect with your own heartbeat, with your own pulse. It’s a beautiful feeling, and all it requires is that you pay attention to your heart.

Lie down and place one hand, palm down and fingers spread, at the centre of your chest. Place the other palm gently on top of it, connecting the thumbs to touch. It should almost look like an angel or bird with wings over your heart.

This is a heart-opening mudra. Close your eyes and simply observe your pulse as you breathe normally. Remain here, observing and sensing your pulse for ten minutes, and notice how calm you are after that time.

Candle-gazing meditation

Candle-gazing strengthens your focus, and absorbing yourself in an object that mesmerises you, like the candle flame, can help train you to bring the mind to stillness. It will also help to open the third eye. Place a lit candle on a table three feet in front of you, at eye level. Sit in an upright, comfortable position, either seated in a chair with the soles of your feet on the floor, or on the floor in a cross-legged position.

Take some deep breaths and begin to focus your gaze on the candle flame. Keep your eyes focused upon the flame, and try not to blink for as long as you can. As your thoughts arise, simply notice them, but bring your attention back to the candle flame.

Begin with five minutes; later you can increase the time up to 30 minutes. When you become more advanced, you may close your eyes and hold the image of the flame in your mind’s eye. This is a wonderful practice for absorbing your mind. Take notice of what this does for your connection to your intuition.

Lack of daily exercises

Meanwhile, health problems caused by a lack of daily physical exercise cost the world some $67.5 billion in 2013 – more than many countries’ GDP, researchers said on Thursday.

The total was divided between $53.8 billion in healthcare spending and $13.7 billion in lost productivity, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal.

The research relied on economic and population data from 142 countries, representing 93 per cent of the world’s population, its authors said.

But the figure was likely an underestimate as the data covered only 5 diseases – coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, breast cancer and colon cancer – at least the percentage attributable to physical inactivity.

Conservative estimates

The “cost calculations are based on conservative estimates, and the true cost may be even higher,” said a statement.

The paper was the first to estimate the monetary cost of the global “pandemic” of inactivity, and was part of a special series timed for release ahead of the August 5 opening of the Rio Olympic Games.

Living a sedentary lifestyle is associated with more than five million deaths in the world every year, the researchers said.

Of the total estimated cost, $31.2 billion was tax revenue lost to public healthcare spending, $12.9 billion in spending by the private sector, including health insurance companies, and $9.7 billion in direct medical costs for households.

The amounts were listed in “international dollars” – the equivalent of what an American dollar could buy in the United States in any given year. The burden for rich countries was proportionally higher in money terms, while for poor and middle-income countries the cost was mainly in disease and premature death, the study found.

“Generally, poorer countries don’t have their health needs met due to less developed health and economic systems,” said Melody Ding from the University of Sydney, who led the research.

Consequences for physical inactivity

As these countries develop economically, “so too will the consequent economic burden, if the pandemic of physical inactivity spreads as expected,” she said.

A second study in the series said people, who sit for eight hours a day may cancel out the increased risk of death this carries by doing at least an hour of exercise per day.

The World Health Organisation advises 150 minutes or more of physical activity per week – much less than the daily 60 minutes recommended by the study, which analysed data from over a million people.

“We defined physical activity as activity of at least moderate intensity,” study lead author Ulf Ekelund of the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences told AFP.

“Examples are brisk walking at 5 kilometres per hour (3.1 miles per hour) or bicycling at 16 km/h.” Cooking, for example, does not count.

Only about a quarter of people in the analysis did an hour or more of physical activity per day, the authors found.

“For many people who commute to work and have office-based jobs, there is no way to escape sitting for prolonged periods of time,” said Ekelund. “For these people in particular, we cannot stress enough the importance of getting exercise, whether it’s getting out for a walk at lunchtime, going for a run in the morning, or cycling to work.”

If an hour a day is impossible, “then at least doing some exercise each day can help reduce the risk.” (AFP)