Motivation to move may start with being mindful

May 14, 2018

Science Daily/Iowa State University

A meditation and stress reduction program may be as effective at getting people to move more as structured exercise programs, according to a new study. This is part of another study that found resistance training reduces symptoms of depression.

The study compared two intervention programs -- mindfulness-based stress reduction and aerobic exercise training -- with a control group and measured changes in exercise, general physical activity and sedentary time. Jacob Meyer, an ISU assistant professor of kinesiology, says people assigned to the two interventions were more active than those in the control group, logging roughly an extra 75 minutes a week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity following the eight-week interventions. The results are published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Meyer and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Mississippi Medical Center say helping sedentary adults get those 75 minutes of exercise can extend life expectancy by nearly two years. Researchers expected the exercise intervention to increase physical activity more than the meditation training. Meyer says to see similar results from the mindfulness intervention was somewhat surprising.

"Structured exercise training is something as a field we have used for decades to improve physical activity and physical health," Meyer said. "To see a similar effect on physical activity from an intervention that focuses on the way someone thinks or perceives the world, was completely unexpected."

The researchers used a mindfulness-based stress reduction program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, which aims to reduce stress through meditation, self-awareness and being present in the moment, Meyer said. People in the mindfulness intervention spent 2 1/2 hours a week in class learning how to be mindful. They practiced mindful stretching and movement as well as breathing exercises to incorporate into their daily activities.

Similarly, those in the exercise group attended 2 1/2 hour weekly sessions learning various exercise techniques and discussing strategies to change behavior. An hour of each class was dedicated to a group activity such as walking or jogging. Meyer says both groups were encouraged to do the intervention at home for 20 to 45 minutes each day.

Shifting from structured exercise to overall movement

While the interventions did not significantly increase time spent exercising or decrease sedentary time, participants generally maintained activity levels. Meyer says this is important given the timeframe for the study. Researchers collected data during the fall and early winter months as part of a larger study focused on the cold and flu season. Seasonal variation in weather likely contributed to the sharp decline in activity for the control group, Meyer said, but the intervention groups did not experience the same drop-off.

The study focused on exercise in bouts that lasted at least 10 minutes, but also tracked general physical activity, such as walking from the parking lot to the office or working in the yard. Meyer says both intervention groups saw smaller drop-offs in general activity levels than the control group, which is encouraging given the forthcoming changes to federal physical activity recommendations.

Researchers used the 10-minute threshold to be consistent with federal guidelines of 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise weekly, in bouts of at least 10 minutes, Meyer said. However, the recommendations only focus on a small percentage (1.5 percent) of minutes in the week. That is one reason why the updated guidelines, expected later this year, emphasize overall activity, regardless of length of time.

"There are clinical and cardiovascular health benefits to exercise training, but there are also important general health benefits from a more active lifestyle," Meyer said. "Shifting from thinking we need to be in a gym for an hour at a time to thinking about being more active throughout the day helps people understand how physical activity could play a role in helping improve their health."

Resistance training and depression

A primary focus of Meyer's research examines the benefits of exercise for people with depression. As part of a separate study, Meyer worked with researchers at the University of Limerick in Ireland, and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, to test the effects of resistance training on symptoms of depression. The results, published in JAMA Psychiatry, found weightlifting and muscle-strengthening exercises significantly reduced depressive symptoms.

The meta-analysis, led by Brett Gordon at the University of Limerick, included 33 randomized controlled trials with more than 1,800 participants. Resistance training reduced symptoms for adults regardless of health status, the volume of training and whether or not strength improved, Meyer said. The results appear similar to the benefits from aerobic exercise found in other studies.

Depression affects more than 300 million people, according to the World Health Organization. Meyer says resistance training could provide a treatment option with benefits that extend beyond mental health. In the paper, researchers explain the economic costs as well as other health risks associated with depression. Meyer says resistance training also gives patients an alternative to medication.

"For general feelings of depression and the beginning phases of major depression, antidepressants and medications may not be very effective. There also is a shift toward finding options that do not require someone to start a drug regimen they may be on for the rest of their lives," Meyer said. "Understanding that resistance training appears to have similar benefits to aerobic exercise may help those wading through daunting traditional medication treatment options."

Meyer says future research is needed to know if aerobic exercise and resistance training work through similar channels to reduce depressive symptoms or work independently.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180514122420.htm

Mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy decreases PTSD symptom severity among veterans

August 4, 2015

Science Daily/The JAMA Network Journals

In a randomized trial that included veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), those who received mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy showed greater improvement in self-reported PTSD symptom severity, although the average improvement appears to have been modest, according to a study.

Posttraumatic stress disorder affects 23 percent of veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. Left untreated, PTSD is associated with high rates of other disorders, disability, and poor quality of life. Evidence suggests that mindfulness-based stress reduction, an intervention that teaches individuals to attend to the present moment in a nonjudgmental, accepting manner, can result in reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety. By encouraging acceptance of thoughts, feelings, and experiences without avoidance, mindfulness-based interventions target experiential avoidance, a key factor in the development and maintenance of PTSD, and may be an acceptable type of intervention for veterans who have poor adherence to existing treatments for PTSD, according to background information in the article.

Melissa A. Polusny, Ph.D., of the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System, and colleagues randomly assigned 116 veterans with PTSD to receive nine sessions of mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy (n = 58) or present-centered group therapy (n = 58), an active-control condition consisting of nine weekly group sessions focused on current life problems. Outcomes were assessed before, during, and after treatment and at 2-month follow-up.

Participants in the mindfulness-based stress reduction group demonstrated greater improvement in self-reported PTSD symptom severity during treatment and at 2-month follow-up. Although participants in the mindfulness-based stress reduction group were more likely to show clinically significant improvement in self-reported PTSD symptom severity (49 percent vs 28 percent with present-centered group therapy) at 2-month follow-up, there was no difference in rates of loss of PTSD diagnosis at posttreatment (42 percent vs 44 percent) or at 2-month follow-up (53 percent vs 47 percent).

"Findings from the present study provide support for the efficacy of mindfulness-based stress reduction for the treatment of PTSD among veterans," the researchers write. "However, the magnitude of the average improvement suggests a modest effect."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150804142744.htm

How Mindfulness Can Help Reduce Your Stress Levels

February 26, 2015

By Anne Foy, Guest Contributor

Many people dismiss mindfulness as being the ‘fluffy’ part of meditation: as something adopted by those who lead certain relaxed and laidback lifestyles and enjoy too much yoga. But actually, mindfulness can be adopted as part of a scientifically valid and proven way of helping to reduce anxiety and alleviate stress levels. [1] So what exactly is mindfulness and how can it play a part in helping you to relax?

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the act of being aware of your thoughts, your feelings and the sensations within your body at all times, and also of being aware of your environment: of both the effect you are having on the world around you, and the effect your environment is having on you. [2] This high level of self-awareness has many wonderful effects on both your physical and mental health: being aware of your body can help you to regulate your breathing patterns, and control and understand your emotions in a better and more constructive way.  Mindfulness also encourages you to regulate your attention: improving your focus and preventing you from being distracted by unimportant things when you are trying to focus and concentrate on something significant. Finally, mindfulness can also help you to change your self-perception: by having a fluid and changeable idea about who you are, you are left in a better position to make positive changes in your life without feeling that you are sacrificing your sense of self.

There are many benefits of adopting mindfulness in these ways. It can encourage you to make healthy lifestyle choices, such as avoiding drinking alcohol or eating the wrong foods: ideal if you’re looking to make positive lifestyle changes and lose weight or simply focus on becoming more healthy. Brain scans conducted on mindful individuals has also shown that mindfulness can improve your memory, improve your ability to learn, and increase your levels of concentration. Mindfulness can also have a positive effect on your relationship with others, and the way you interact with people (both strangers and those close to you). It does this by encouraging you to be compassionate, to show altruism, and to put yourself in the place of others so you better understand what they are going through. Finally, of course, mindfulness can be used to help alleviate stress and anxiety. [3]

Mindful Based Stress Reduction

The technical name for using mindfulness to alleviate your stress levels is Mindful Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). [4] Long term stress can have a massively detrimental effect on your overall health and wellbeing. However mindfulness can help you to take back control of what is happening in your life and let go of the feelings of pressure, helplessness and lack of control that are all too often signs of stress. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) incorporates several different techniques such as meditation, gentle yoga and mind-body exercises into your daily routine in order to help you cope with stress and alleviate anxiety. Stress is now considered to be a national epidemic. Over 73% of the American workforce has admitted to experiencing regular stress that causes them either psychological or physical symptoms, or a combination of both. Of those Americans surveyed, 48% felt that their stress levels had gone up over the last 5 years. [5] It is clear then that stress is a problem that needs dealing with, particularly within the workforce. The best thing about mindfulness is that it is something that you can practice anywhere, either at home or at your desk, and that it doesn’t have to take up a substantial amount of your day. When you wake up every morning take a minute or two to center yourself; listen to your body and breath deeply. Practice the same focus and deep breathing exercises when stress arises throughout the day. You’ll quickly find yourself more able to process and assimilate stressful situations, and your capacity to handle stress will gradually increase.

Additional Reading

[1] “Mindfulness meditation may ease anxiety, mental stress”, Harvard Health Publications, Harvard Medical School, http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/mindfulness-meditation-may-ease-anxiety-mental-stress-201401086967

[2] Mindfulness: more than simply meditation”, Kwik Med, http://www.kwikmed.org/mindfulness-simply-meditation/

[3] “Mindfulness reduces stress, promotes resilience, University of California, Los Angeles, http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/using-mindfulness-to-reduce-stress-96966

[4] “MBSR Stress relief”, Be Mindful, http://bemindful.co.uk/mbsr/about-mbsr/

[5] “How to reduce stress with mindfulness”, Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, http://siyli.org/how-to-reduce-stress-with-mindfulness-2/