TITLE

Does Mindfulness Make for a Better Athlete?

DESCRIPTION

This is an article that discusses an original study wherein BMX (bicycle) athletes were given mindfulness training exercises.   The small study established a baseline to a stress response through a brain scan technique.  The researchers recorded those areas of the brain that responded to the stress inducing stimuli.  After establishing a baseline, the athletes were trained in body awareness techniques that follow from mindfulness meditation practices.  In the follow up measurements, the researchers found distinct changes in the brain area and communication between brain areas when the subjects put the mindfulness practices into effect while undergoing the stress inducement techniques.  The researchers did not determine, at the time of the study, as to whether the mindfulness practices generalized (transferred) to the athletic competitions.

SOURCE

New York Times, September 30, 2015, by Gretchen Reynolds

Original Source:

Johnson, D.C, and others, (2014), Modifying resilience mechanisms in at-risk individuals: a controlled study of mindfulness training in Marines preparing for deployment., Am J Psychiatry. 2014 Aug;171(8):844-53. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2014.13040502.

LINK TO RESOURCE

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/09/30/does-mindfulness-make-for-a-better-athlete/?&moduleDetail=section-news-2&action=click&contentCollection=Health®ion=Footer&module=MoreInSection&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&pgtype=Blogs

(shortened URL)  http://tinyurl.com/p88ofqf

Link to original:   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24832476

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

•What is mindful meditation?
•What techniques are used in training?
•Discuss the study and ask after reading:  What are the Independent and Dependent Variable?
•Critical Thinking Question:    What are the current flaws in the study?