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Mindfulness Associated with Improved Cardiovascular Health

Mindfulness Associated with Improved Cardiovascular Health

The term “mindfulness “, an awareness of one’s own thoughts and feelings has generally been associated with meditation, and achieving stress relief and better mental health. Best selling author-psychologist Jon-Kabat Zinn ph.D., has written extensively on this including his best selling books Mindfulness Meditation, and Full Catastrophy Living. Now, researchers from Brown University have published a study in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine which shows that “dispositional mindfulness’ as they called it, is associated with better cardiovascular health.


In the study, the researchers surveyed 382 subjects answering the 15 questions that make up the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). The study subjects were asked to characterize their own thoughts and behaviors, scoring their answers by using one of six the phrases such as “almost always” to “somewhat frequently” to “almost never”, regarding statements such as these :
“I rush through activities without being really attentive to them.”, or “I tend not to notice feelings of physical tension or discomfort until they really grab my attention.” Or, I find myself doing things without paying attention.”
Lead researcher epidemiologist Eric B. Loucks speculates that better mindfulness may be an indicator that a person may be better at managing their desire or cravings for smoking, unhealthy foods and other detrimental health practices. He says, “Mindfulness is changeable, and standardized mindfulness interventions are available. “Mostly they’ve been looked at for mental health and pain management, but increasingly they are being looked at for cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, smoking, and blood pressure.”
I highly recommend to my patients that they seek familiarity with the concept and practice of Mindfulness Meditation. It can benefit anyone in a number of ways, physically as well as emotionally.

For the best in Integrative Medicine call Henry C. Sobo, M.D., at 203-348-8805 or write us at [email protected]

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