Effects of mindfulness training on sustained attention and mind-wandering in older adults: Results from the HealthyAgers randomized controlled trial.
The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences November 21, 2025 Megan Fisher, Madhura Phansikar, James Teng et al.
An eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, compared to an active control, did not produce differential improvements in most measures of sustained attention or mind-wandering among older adults aged 65-85. A small effect was observed for self-reported task-unrelated thoughts. Both groups showed improvements over time on the Go/No-Go task, and group differences emerged on reaction time variability and the Conners Continuous Performance Test. The findings suggest that mindfulness training may not specifically enhance attentional control in older adults beyond an active control intervention.