Meditation, stress and working memory

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20004940

As meditation has grown increasingly popular as a practice to reduce stress and calm the mind, researchers are uncovering the scientific benefits of this age old tradition. The goal of this study was to investigate some of the cognitive benefits of meditation, specifically in regards to working memory. Previous research shows acute stress can produce an impairment on working memory. Prior research on various meditation programs show an ability for meditation to reduce stress. This 8-week study involved 34 young adults from the Boston area who were placed into a compassion meditation, mindfulness meditation, or well-being discussion class. The hypothesis predicted that the lasting effects of meditation will attenuate the cognitive effects of stress. There was no conclusive evidence linking reduced stress in the meditation groups to improved working memory as compared to the well-being discussion class.