A Review of Mindfulness: Emphasis on the Present Moment without Judgment.
- Aug 14, 2023
- 9 min read
Updated: Apr 10, 2024
Meditation is generally thought of as a set of contemplative strategies which originated from various Eastern religious practices. Many of those practices have been studied by Western scientists and modified by our Western culture. At this point, "meditation" is a broad umbrella term which describes a great array of strategies to calm and exercise the mind. One of the practices that falls under that umbrella of meditation is the practice of mindfulness. While some meditation strategies encourage imagining "what is not" (for example, decreasing your stress by imagining that you are on a beach in Maui, or repeating and focusing on a mantra), the one defining element of mindfulness is that it demands a focus on "what is" in that current moment. In popular culture, and even many times in scientific research, mindfulness and meditation are treated as synonymous; and although mindfulness does fit under the meditation umbrella, its emphasis on "attention on the present moment without judgment" is an incredibly important distinction.
In order to understand the benefit of mindfulness and why it works, one has to understand the brain and the nervous system: all of the nerves and receptors that help the brain know what is going on in the body and take action when necessary. So, let's start with establishing how the brain and nervous system are functioning, moment by moment, in order to monitor our status and keep us alive.
Processing of the Human Nervous System and Attention
The brain is the major monitoring and responding organ of the entire body (although there is some research which indicates that the gut serves as a "second brain", and is at the very least, a crucial adjunct to the brain itself). The brain receives information from every aspect of the body and has the ability to respond in order to impact how every cell, tissue, organ and system functions. "The human brain can process up to 11 million bits of information per second." This includes conscious information (what we are aware of), subconscious information (information that we could easily be aware of but are ignoring), and unconscious information (information we are not aware of). "The conscious mind has a very limited capacity", in comparison to the overall capacity of the brain, "and can handle anything from 40 to 120 bits of information per second." In other words, every second, our brain is receiving 11 million bits of information, and our conscious mind is attending to 40-120 bits of that information! (In comparison, the earliest Internet connections transmitted just 75 bits of information per second. Now most computers are significantly faster, transmitting information at millions of bits per second --a 10 Mbps transfers 10 million bits/second, still a million bits per second less than the human brain! )
So, we've established that there is a LOT of information being received, processed, and attended to by the human brain each and every second. But, how does the brain process and transmit this information, and what does that have to do with mindfulness? Well, to make things as simple as possible, according to a 2023 estimate, "the brain has some 86 billion neurons" (nerve cells) which form "100 trillion connections to each other — numbers that, ironically, are far too large for the human brain to fathom!" These connections form a complex electrical system which allows those 86 billion neuron "receptors" to monitor the status of every inch of the body, to communicate that information to the brain over trillions of wired connections, and to allow the brain to respond and adapt to the information that it receives. Our brains are constantly monitoring the sounds and sights around us, our blood sugar level, the sensation of our legs on a chair, the ambient temperature, the taste in our mouth, how hard our heart is pumping, the amount of oxygen in our tissues.....and this list goes on and on, as it does not even come close to accounting for the millions of bits of information being received each and every second! The brain is then able to respond to this incoming information as necessary: For example, the nervous system produces vision and sound based on the visual and auditory information it receives; it may release insulin if blood sugar is too high; and it may even ignore information such as the temperature of the room or the sensation of our legs on a chair until that information seems to pose a risk (You will likely ignore the pressure to the legs until the receptors in the tissues notify your brain that you need to shift position in order to allow more adequate blood flow. At that time, your brain will make you aware of the need to move by creating a sensation of stiffness, discomfort, or numbness.) In other words, we know that a great deal of information is coming into the brain for processing and that the great majority of that information comes to our conscious attention primarily only to the extent that the brain determines is necessary for our function and survival.
Mindfulness and Attention
William James, a founding Father of Modern Psychology, was one of the first to intensely study human attention. In his book, "The Principles of Modern Psychology", he writes the following: "Everyone knows what attention is. It is the taking possession by the mind in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem as several simultaneous possible objects or trains of thought...It implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others." Although James wrote this definition in 1890, long before Mindfulness was being promoted as an essential health behavior, his words about attention clearly establish the elements of mindfulness: a conscious act of attention with a focus on one bit of experience and subsequent inattention to others.
We practice this selective attention naturally on a daily basis without any great effort or awareness on our part.....Imagine being at a "hopping" work party with a hundred loud and talkative coworkers in attendance. At first, you are just enjoying the ambiance of the party and taking in many of the sights and sounds going on around you. You are observing friends drinking, hearing loud music playing, watching people splashing in the pool, and noticing you are shivering because the wind is creating a rather cool ambient temperature....Imagine, then that you notice your romantic partner, who attended the party with you, approach his/her Ex and seemingly be enjoying him/herself more than you are comfortable with. You are five feet away from the two of them, and there is a lot of commotion still going on at the party, but you are able to drown out all of that sensory information in order to hone in on what your partner is saying to his/her Ex. Although the brain would continue to receive and process information related to the sights and sounds of the party and the feel of the cold wind on your skin, that information would not reach your conscious awareness. Instead, your attention would be consciously and selectively focused on hearing the conversation between your partner and their Ex. If the conversation became too overwhelming for you, or you decided it was a violation of your partner's privacy to be listening in on the conversation, you could just as easily change your focus, drown out the conversation between the two of them, and direct your attention toward the sights and sounds of the party again. Attention is fluid that way, and what we focus on, to a great extent, is under our control. This is one of the most important tenets of mindfulness.
Mindfulness versus Multitasking
It wasn't that long ago that we were encouraged to live our lives in ways which were anything but mindful. Wasn't it just yesterday that we were told that "multitasking" was a great daily strategy, and that splitting our attention and focus between multiple tasks was manageable and ideal?!! Well, it turns out that the opposite is true: our brains actually appreciate much more focused attention. Multitasking is now understood to be brief focused attention on one task, and then brief focused attention on another task, and then a return to the initial task, and on and on and on.... This shift in attention (basically poor focus) is less efficient, and actually stresses our brain and depletes our "neural resources". Research shows that mindfulness, which could be considered an antithesis to multitasking, is much more effective for improving function and efficiency, managing stress, and preventing overload. We all know this intuitively in our bodies and understand the stress associated with having to do multiple things at once. And we have all experienced the greater calm and efficiency we experience when we are able to sharpen and intensify focus and attention.
The "Practice" of Mindfulness
Mindfulness can be "practiced" in many ways. While the brain will naturally encourage mindfulness at times, (briefly bringing to our awareness sensations such as pain, numbness, overheating, etc.) mindfulness is most beneficial when it is "practiced". This "practice" can occur in uncountable ways, as it is based on our own experience in the moment. Mindfulness is an intentional (and curious) focus on our thoughts, feelings, or physical sensations such as discomfort, pressure, temperature, sound, smell, taste, movement, or body sense (where our body is in space). The practice of mindfulness requires us to slow down and focus on what is occurring at that moment in our own experience. That might mean focusing on how sweet or smooth a peach tastes, and how the mouth and throat coordinate swallowing it. It might then include focus on how that peach changed the dryness of the mouth, or how eating it, changed satiety. Practicing mindfulness could also include sitting out in nature and listening intently to every sounds that occurs. It could include paying attention to the direction, the force, and the temperature of the wind as it hits the body, or the sensations on our skin of pressure, softness, and warmth while sitting on the grass. Mindfulness could (and usually does) include focused attention on our breathing, or on the quality of our movements, such as in coordinating a dance or new motor activity.
Mindfulness without Judgment
The practice of mindfulness has been researched in recent decades in association with the field of Psychology. Research has indicated that the practice of mindfulness can be very effective for the management of chronic conditions such as chronic pain, depression and anxiety. Research has also indicated, however, that when we focus on "negative emotions or sensations" (sensations like pain or anxiety that we do not generally enjoy experiencing), the brain has a tendency to evaluate the sensations as such. Functional MRIs, which can give us a picture that tells us how the brain is firing, have shown that when we judge our sensations or experiences as "bad or negative" instead of simply accepting them as neutral sensations, our brains have the tendency to fire up our emotional centers, promoting a fight-or-flight response. This is the opposite of what one would hope to experience by practicing mindfulness! For this reason, mindfulness practices are generally encouraged "without judgment". This means practicing a "healthy curiosity" about every sensation experienced in the present moment, without judging whether it is a "good" or "bad" sensation. Mindfulness without judgment allows the brain to experience things like pain and anxiety without getting all ramped up in response.
Mindfulness and Slowing Down
One of the most beneficial aspects of mindfulness is that it requires us to slow down. In our fast-paced culture, down-time has become more of a necessity than a luxury. If you imagine your brain as that super computer that is receiving and weeding through 11 million bits of information per second, you can understand why you might need to offer it some down-time. When we do slow down, and engage in practices like mindfulness, we promote an increase in the function of the parasympathetic nervous system, the nervous system that helps us rest, relax, recover, and digest. It is understandable, then, how mindfulness practices might be related to better pain management, better mental health, and improved sleep and weight management.
When we rush around, not only do we promote a "fight-or-flight" response (the opposite of a parasympathetic/rest/relax/recover/digest response), but we have a much harder time in being mindful. Think about trying to focus on how effectively you are performing the new dance move you are trying to master, or focusing on changing how you throw a fast ball. Imagine the difference between evaluating the quality of your movement and performance when performing at full speed versus slowing down your movement. It is much easier for the brain to detect, focus on, and evaluate information when we slow things down.
The Benefits of Mindfulness
A search of Pub med related to "mindfulness" will produce links to almost 2700 abstracts and full research studies touting its benefits for issues anywhere from labor and delivery, athletic performance, psychopathology and mental health, chronic pain, stress management, overall health promotion, cognition, smoking cessation, weight loss, sleep, emotional regulation, attention span, PTSD, and the list goes on and on! The great thing about the practice of mindfulness is that it is easy to do, regardless of physical fitness level, and requires no particular gadget or environment in which to practice. Even individuals who have impaired attention and focus can benefit from the practice of mindfulness!
If interested in checking out the benefits of mindfulness on pain, balance, coordination and motor processing, CLICK HERE to join our virtual Mindful Movement Class, Thursdays at 3:30 pm, EST.
Mindfulness Interventions
Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Anxiety and Depression
Mindfulness-based interventions for psychiatric disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29126747/
Mindfulness-based interventions for chronic pain: Evidence and applications
Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
The effect of mindfulness meditation on sleep quality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Disclaimer: This BLOG is for Educational Purposes, Only. This information provided is educational and informational in nature and is made only as general information. The information does not establish a patient-provider relationship, establish a standard of care, or offer medical, dietary, or therapeutic care, advice, opinion, diagnosis, or treatment. This information does not replace independent professional or medical judgment and should not be relied upon as medical, psychological, or other professional advice of any kind or nature whatsoever. This information should not be used for diagnosing or treating any mental or physical health problem or disease. You are solely responsible for any action taken based on your interpretation of this information and you are responsible for your own health care decision-making by obtaining any necessary consultations with appropriately licensed health care professionals such as physicians and psychologists.
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