RESEARCH ON MBSR

The Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program was developed and taught by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center over 25 years ago. MBSR focuses on teaching individuals non-judgmental observation of one’s constantly changing thoughts, perceptions, memories, emotions, and bodily sensations in order to develop a non-reactive, stable awareness of present-moment experience. Non-judgmental observation allows individuals to disentangle themselves from reflexive, reactive, and habitual maladaptive behaviors.1;2 Although other major forms of meditation have been shown to produce health benefits,3;4;5 MBSR may be superior for managing stress because this program avoids conceptualizing thoughts as distractions to the meditative experience, which may result in the intensification rather than the relief of stress and physical or mental symptoms.6

Research on meditation and relaxation has shown that practicing these techniques normalizes bodily functions, including reducing the heart rate, blood pressure, metabolism and vascular blood flow. Research studies on MBSR, in particular, conducted over the past 25 years, have shown reliable and reproducible effectiveness in reducing medical and psychological symptoms. The MBSR program has provided effective treatment for reducing stress,7-9 depression,7-10 and anxiety.10-11 Participants in the MBSR program have shown improved immune function;12 reduced chronic pain;2;13-14 decreased symptoms of fibromyalgia;3 and improved sleep patterns.15 Participation in MBSR has also been shown to reduce the number of primary care provider visits,11 and MBSR participants maintain significant improvements in physical and emotional symptoms and functional status after the intervention is over.13

The effectiveness of the MBSR program on brain activity, as well as on immune function, was recently examined in a randomized clinical trial conducted by Dr. Richard Davidson of the Laboratory of Affective Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin and the MacArthur Foundation's Mind/Body Network. This study measured brain electrical activity before and immediately after, and then 4 months after an 8-week MBSR program. Twenty-five participants were tested in the meditation group and 16 control group participants were tested at the same time points as the meditators. At the end of the 8-week period, subjects in both groups were vaccinated with influenza vaccine. Study results indicated that the meditators had significant increases in left-sided anterior activation, a pattern associated with positive affect, compared with the nonmeditators. Also, the meditators had significant increases in antibody titers to influenza vaccine compared with those in the control group. The findings of this study demonstrate that the MBSR program produces demonstrable positive effects on brain and immune function. 12

References

  1. Miller JJ, Fletcher K, Kabat-Zinn J. Three-year follow-up and clinical implications of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction intervention in the treatment of anxiety disorders. General Hospital Psychiatry. 1995;17:192-200.
  2. Kabat-Zinn J. An outpatient program in behavioral medicine for chronic pain patients based on the practice of mindfulness meditation: Theoretical considerations and preliminary results. General Hospital Psychiatry. 1982;4:33-47.
  3. Kaplan KH, Goldenberg DL, Galvin-Nadeau M. The impact of a meditation-based stress reduction program on fibromyalgia. General Hospital Psychiatry. 1993;15:284-289.
  4. Barnes VA, Treiber FA, Turner JR, Davis H, Strong WB. Acute effects of transcendental meditation on hemodynamic functioning in middle-aged adults. Psychosomatic Medicine. 1999;61:525-531.
  5. Barnes VA, Treiber FA, Davis H. Impact of transcendental meditation on cardiovascular function at rest and during acute stress in adolescents with high normal blood pressure. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 2001;51:597-605.
  6. Kabat-Zinn J. Full Catastrophe Living. Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness . New York: Dell Publishing; 1990.
  7. Shapiro SL, Schwartz GE, Bonner G. Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on medical and premedical students. Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 1998;21:581-599.
  8. Marcus MT, Fine PM, Moeller FG, Khan MM, Pitts K, Swank PR, Liehr P. Change in stress levels following mindfulness-based stress reduction in a therapeutic community. Addictive Disorders & Their Treatment. 2003;2:63-68.
  9. Speca M, Carlson LE, Goodey E, Angen M. A randomized, wait-list controlled clinical trial: The effect of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction program on mood and symptoms of stress in cancer outpatients. Psychosomatic Medicine. 2000;62:613-622.
  10. Reibel DK, Greeson JM, Brainard GC, Rosenzweig S. Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health-related quality of life in a heterogeneous patient population. General Hospital Psychiatry. 2001;23:183-192.
  11. Roth B, Creaser T. Mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction: Experience with a bilingual inner-city program. Nurse Practitioner. 1997;22:150-176.
  12. Davidson RJ, Kabat-Zinn J, Schumacher J, Rosenkranz M, Muller D, Santorelli SF, Urbanowski F, Harrington A, Bonus K, Sheridan JF. Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosomatic Medicine. 2003;65:564-570.
  13. Kabat-Zinn J, Lipworth L, Burney R. The clinical use of mindfulness meditation for the self-regulation of chronic pain. Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 1985;8:163-190.
  14. Kabat-Zinn J, Lipworth L, Burney R, Sellers W. Four-year follow-up of a meditation-based program for the self-regulation of chronic pain. Treatment outcomes and compliance. The Clinical Journal of Pain. 1987;2:159-173.
  15. Shapiro SL, Bootzin RR, Figueredo AJ, Lopez AM, Schwartz GE. The efficacy of mindfulness-based stress reduction in the treatment of sleep disturbance in women with breast cancer. An exploratory study. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 2003;54:85-91.