Benefits of mindfulness

Mindfulness is beneficial for both physical and mental health

Scientific research over 40 years has proven that mindfulness is beneficial to our health, even when practiced for short periods.

Although research for children and adolescents only account for a small portion of adult population research, the results have been supportive of the potential links between mindfulness and children’s physical and mental health

Mindfulness develops our brains

Thanks to research on neuroplasticity (the ability of neural networks in the brain to grow and reorganize in both structures and functions), we now know that human brains continue to change throughout our life. Therefore, practicing mindfulness could help develop brains of both children and adults.

1. The amygdala is activated when detecting and reacting to emotions including difficult or strong emotions such as fear. Following sessions of mindfulness training, this part of the brain may be less activated.

2. The hippocampus is critical to learning and memory and helps regulate the amygdala. The hippocampus is more activated, and produces more gray matter density following mindfulness training.

3. The prefrontal cortex is most associated with maturity, including regulating emotions and behaviors and making wise decisions. This part of the brain is more activated and developed following mindfulness training.

Source:

MindfulSchools.org

Shian-Ling Keng, Moria J. Smoski, Clive J. Robins. Effects of Mindfulness on Psychological Health: A Review of Empirical Studies. Clin Psychol Rev. 2011 August 31(6)

Darren L. Dunning, Kirsty Griffiths, Willem Kuyken, Catherine Crane, Lucy Foulkes,Jenna Parker, and Tim Dalgleish. Research Review: The effects of mindfulness-based interventions on cognition and mental health inchildren and adolescents – a meta-analysis ofrandomized controlled trials. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 60:3 (2019) 

Randye J. Semple, Christine Burke. State of the Research: Physical and Mental Health Benefits of Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Children and Adolescents. OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine. 2019, volume 4, issue 1