Mindfulness
February 22, 2016
Marta Alda, Marta Puebla‐guedea, Baltasar Rodero et al.
87 citations
Meditation experts had longer telomeres and fewer short telomeres than matched non-meditators. The psychological factor most strongly linked to telomere maintenance was the absence of experiential avoidance—the tendency to suppress or avoid negative emotions and thoughts—along with a sense of common humanity, as measured by the Self-Compassion Scale. These findings suggest that how meditators relate to their inner experience, rather than meditation itself, may be key to cellular aging.
April 8, 2023
Julieta Galante, Jesús Montero‐marín, Maris Vainre et al.
3 citations
preprint
An 8-week mindfulness-based programme (MBP) led to more intense experiences of unity and disembodiment in daily life compared with mental health support as usual alone. University of Cambridge students without severe mental illness who took the MBP reported stronger feelings of oneness and separation from the body. Meditation practice itself predicted reports of unity, blissful state, insightfulness, disembodiment, and changed meanings. The findings suggest causal links between mindfulness practice and specific altered states of consciousness, and practitioners should anticipate and manage these experiences appropriately.
medRxiv
February 7, 2025
Jakub Vohryzek, Anne Maj van der Velden, Willem Kuyken et al.
1 citation
preprint
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) alters brain network dynamics during depressive rumination in people with recurrent depression. In a randomized trial, 27 patients received MBCT plus treatment as usual, while 21 received treatment as usual alone. Using fMRI, researchers analyzed brain substates during an induced rumination state before and after treatment. MBCT changed the probability of a specific 'Salience-somatomotor' brain substate occurring during rumination, compared to the control group. These dynamic network changes were linked to reduced depressive symptoms after treatment and at three months follow-up, suggesting a candidate brain mechanism for how mindfulness training improves clinical outcomes.
JCPP advances
October 7, 2025
Carolina Guzman Holst, Simona Skripkauskaite, Jack L. Andrews et al.
Most adolescents (69%-80%) followed stable low-problem trajectories for depression risk, social-emotional-behavioural functioning, wellbeing, and anxiety over a one-year school-based mindfulness intervention trial. However, 11%-23% experienced stable high-problem trajectories, 2%-16% showed increasing problems, and 1%-5% showed decreasing problems. Receiving the mindfulness intervention did not affect which trajectory adolescents followed. Individual factors like executive functioning difficulties and baseline mental health risk, along with school climate, predicted trajectory membership, but these effects did not differ between intervention and control groups. The findings indicate that universal interventions may not address the diverse needs of all students.