Intensive meditation training reduces the attentional blink—a phenomenon where a second target in a rapid stream is often missed when it appears shortly after a first target. Three months of daily mental practice led to a smaller attentional blink and decreased brain-resource allocation to the first target, measured by a smaller P3b brain potential. Individuals with the largest reduction in resource allocation to the first target showed the greatest improvement in detecting the second target. These findings indicate that mental training enhances control over limited attentional resources and supports lifelong brain plasticity.
A pilot study tested a modified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program as a smoking cessation intervention. Eighteen participants attended weekly mindfulness sessions and attempted to quit smoking in week seven without medication. Six weeks after the quit day, 56% (10 of 18) had biologically confirmed seven-day smoking abstinence. Greater meditation practice was linked to higher abstinence rates and lower stress and emotional distress. The findings suggest mindfulness training may help with smoking cessation and merits further research in a larger controlled trial.
In a randomized clinical trial of mindfulness training for smokers, the quality of mindfulness practice—how well participants engaged with the techniques—predicted improvements in psychological functioning (including negative affect, emotion regulation, quality of life, and mindfulness) both immediately after treatment and at a 5-month follow-up, even after accounting for the amount of time spent practicing. The amount of practice time predicted improvements only at posttreatment, not at follow-up. Neither practice time nor change in practice quality predicted smoking abstinence at 1 or 6 months after quitting. The findings suggest that the quality of mindfulness practice is a more enduring predictor of psychological benefits than the quantity of practice.