Short mindfulness meditation training: does it really reduce perceived stress?

To study whether an 8-week mindfulness meditation training program truly reduces perceived stress without designing a stress reduction program. An experimental study was performed in which we studied the effects of 8 weeks of MM training on attention and awareness, as measured by the MAAS (mindfulness attention awareness scale) and perceived stress, as measured by the PSQ (perceived stress questionnaire), in 80 volunteers from the general public recruited by email from university centers. An increase in the individual's dispositional capacity to be attentive and aware of the experience of the present moment in everyday life was observed in the experimental group versus the control group; F (2, 156) = 14.30, p = .000, η2 partial = .155. Perceived stress showed no significant differences between groups in: social acceptance; F (2, 156) = 2.30, p = .103, overload; F (2, 156) = 2.32, p = .101, irritability, tension and fatigue; F (2, 156) = 2.27, p = .106, energy and joy; F (2, 156) = 2.79, p = .065. MM practice for 8 weeks of training increases the individual's dispositional capacity to be attentive and aware of the experience of the present moment in everyday life but may not reduce perceived stress.

La Adherencia al Entrenamiento en Meditación Mindfulness con Registro en Papel y en Aplicación Móvil / The influence of different monitoring means on the adherence to mindfulness meditation practice

Los efectos beneficiosos de la meditación mindfulness (MM) se han observado en numerosos estudios, pudiendo ser la atención y conciencia en el momento presente una variable esencial. Sin embargo, la adherencia al entrenamiento de la práctica meditativa es en ocasiones baja. Se investigaron los efectos del entrenamiento en MM sobre la atención y conciencia y si el formato de registro de la práctica de MM, formato papel (PP) (n = 27) o aplicación móvil (APP) (n = 21), produce diferencias en la adherencia al entrenamiento y en la atención y conciencia. Los resultados mostraron un aumento de la atención y conciencia tras el entrenamiento, independientemente del formato de registro de la práctica. La APP redujo el abandono al entrenamiento y aumentó el tiempo de práctica de MM cada día que se practicó

Beneficial effects of mindfulness meditation (MM) have been observed in many studies, with attention to and awareness of the present moment possibly representing an essential variable. However, adhering to the meditation regimes is poor at times. As such, the effects of MM training on attention and awareness were examined here, and whether the means of recording the practice of MM - using paper (PP, n = 27) or through a mobile phone application (APP, n = 21) - produced any differences in terms of adherence to the training, or in attention and awareness. The results demonstrate that training enhances attention and awareness, irrespective of the format with which it was recorded. The APP reduced the rate of withdrawal from the training and it increased the time dedicated to the practice of MM each day