Mindfulness Meditation Reduces Errors, Has Health Benefits
December 4, 2017 at 3:50 p.m.
By Max [email protected]
My effort consisted of personal visits for presentations at five local firms, discussions during my compliance courses at Grace College and writing three articles on the subject, the last of which appeared in Quality Progress magazine. That article was optimistically titled "The Next Phase in Quality's Evolution" and it described current activities, history, definition, purpose and goals, testimonials, training and what I deemed the future benefits.
Quality Progress is a peer-reviewed publication of the American Society for Quality. The society has more than 90,000 members; most anyone with quality responsibilities joins ASQ. I eagerly waited for feedback — almost none was forthcoming. In fact, just three individuals sent comments and one of those justifiably was about the quality of the photograph accompanying the article.
Needless to say, my expectations greatly exceeded reality and I should just accept public indifference. However, I am stubborn enough to persist in supporting a training method with more than just the purpose of reducing errors. Mindfulness, in my opinion, can prove beneficial to everyone and more and more people are adopting the practice.
Let me first define the term: Mindfulness is awareness, cultivated by paying attention in a sustained and particular way; on purpose, in the present moment and nonjudgmentally. It is one of many forms of meditation. A common way of describing mindfulness is to think of it as the general receptivity and full engagement with the present moment.
Many companies have mindfulness training programs in the USA, including, among others, Google, Target, Chase Bank and the Mayo Clinic. There has been a surge of interest during the past decade driven by what has been called distraction addiction, where on a typical day individuals may send or receive 110 emails, check phones up to 30 or more times, and visit Facebook and Twitter frequently.
Americans, on average, idly spend 60 hours a week online. People tend to use half of their time not thinking about the task at hand, even when they are told explicitly to pay attention.
Multitasking (trying to do two or more things at once) is another reason for making mistakes:?It disrupts the kind of sustained thought required for problem solving and creativity. In fact, research has shown that pigeons are better at multitasking than humans. Moreover, we know that the average attention span has fallen to about eight seconds, down from 12 seconds in 2000. According to a recent study, we have a shorter attention span than goldfish.
I firmly believe that mindfulness meditation can reduce errors; it reminds us of what we should be doing and to pay full attention. We see things as they really are. Fortunately, there are other benefits as well.
Controlled studies suggest that mindfulness meditation can effectively reduce symptoms in people with chronic pain, recurrent depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, binge eating and many other health conditions. It can even change the brain's grey matter in ways that control conscious control over emotion.
Increasingly it is evident that mindfulness can also benefit cardiovascular health by virtue of its effect on reducing stress, blood pressure and obesity. One small study even indicates that meditation can help slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Some people think that meditation can help to see the world more clearly and to live a happier life.
Anyone interested can employ the following steps to practice mindfulness:
1. Sit upright in a chair in a stable position, with hands resting on the thighs.
2. Lower or close your eyes, whichever is more comfortable. (Closing is preferable.)
3. Attend to your breath, following its movement throughout the body.
4. Notice the sensations around your belly as air flows into and out of your nose and mouth.
5. Select one area of your body affected by your breathing and focus your attention there. Control your focus, not the breathing itself.
6. When you notice your mind wandering — and it will — bring your attention back to your breathing.
7. After five or 10 minutes, switch from focusing to monitoring. Think of your mind as a vast open sky and your thoughts, feelings and sensations as passing clouds.
8. Feel your whole body move with your breath. Be receptive to your sensations, noticing what arises in the moment. Be attentive to the changing quality of experience — sounds, aromas, breezes and thoughts.
After five or 10 minutes, lift your gaze and open your eyes.* Daily practice is recommended.
* Scott Rogers. Mindfulness Research and Practice Initiative. in Amishi P. Pha, "Being in the Now, Scientific American Mind, April/May 2013.
Max Sherman is a medical writer and pharmacist retired from the medical device industry. He has taught college courses on regulatory and compliance issues at Ivy Tech, Grace College and Butler University. Sherman has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge on all levels. Eclectic Science, the title of his column, will touch on famed doctors and scientists, human senses, aging, various diseases, and little-known facts about many species, including their contributions to scientific research. He can be reached by email at [email protected].
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My effort consisted of personal visits for presentations at five local firms, discussions during my compliance courses at Grace College and writing three articles on the subject, the last of which appeared in Quality Progress magazine. That article was optimistically titled "The Next Phase in Quality's Evolution" and it described current activities, history, definition, purpose and goals, testimonials, training and what I deemed the future benefits.
Quality Progress is a peer-reviewed publication of the American Society for Quality. The society has more than 90,000 members; most anyone with quality responsibilities joins ASQ. I eagerly waited for feedback — almost none was forthcoming. In fact, just three individuals sent comments and one of those justifiably was about the quality of the photograph accompanying the article.
Needless to say, my expectations greatly exceeded reality and I should just accept public indifference. However, I am stubborn enough to persist in supporting a training method with more than just the purpose of reducing errors. Mindfulness, in my opinion, can prove beneficial to everyone and more and more people are adopting the practice.
Let me first define the term: Mindfulness is awareness, cultivated by paying attention in a sustained and particular way; on purpose, in the present moment and nonjudgmentally. It is one of many forms of meditation. A common way of describing mindfulness is to think of it as the general receptivity and full engagement with the present moment.
Many companies have mindfulness training programs in the USA, including, among others, Google, Target, Chase Bank and the Mayo Clinic. There has been a surge of interest during the past decade driven by what has been called distraction addiction, where on a typical day individuals may send or receive 110 emails, check phones up to 30 or more times, and visit Facebook and Twitter frequently.
Americans, on average, idly spend 60 hours a week online. People tend to use half of their time not thinking about the task at hand, even when they are told explicitly to pay attention.
Multitasking (trying to do two or more things at once) is another reason for making mistakes:?It disrupts the kind of sustained thought required for problem solving and creativity. In fact, research has shown that pigeons are better at multitasking than humans. Moreover, we know that the average attention span has fallen to about eight seconds, down from 12 seconds in 2000. According to a recent study, we have a shorter attention span than goldfish.
I firmly believe that mindfulness meditation can reduce errors; it reminds us of what we should be doing and to pay full attention. We see things as they really are. Fortunately, there are other benefits as well.
Controlled studies suggest that mindfulness meditation can effectively reduce symptoms in people with chronic pain, recurrent depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, binge eating and many other health conditions. It can even change the brain's grey matter in ways that control conscious control over emotion.
Increasingly it is evident that mindfulness can also benefit cardiovascular health by virtue of its effect on reducing stress, blood pressure and obesity. One small study even indicates that meditation can help slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Some people think that meditation can help to see the world more clearly and to live a happier life.
Anyone interested can employ the following steps to practice mindfulness:
1. Sit upright in a chair in a stable position, with hands resting on the thighs.
2. Lower or close your eyes, whichever is more comfortable. (Closing is preferable.)
3. Attend to your breath, following its movement throughout the body.
4. Notice the sensations around your belly as air flows into and out of your nose and mouth.
5. Select one area of your body affected by your breathing and focus your attention there. Control your focus, not the breathing itself.
6. When you notice your mind wandering — and it will — bring your attention back to your breathing.
7. After five or 10 minutes, switch from focusing to monitoring. Think of your mind as a vast open sky and your thoughts, feelings and sensations as passing clouds.
8. Feel your whole body move with your breath. Be receptive to your sensations, noticing what arises in the moment. Be attentive to the changing quality of experience — sounds, aromas, breezes and thoughts.
After five or 10 minutes, lift your gaze and open your eyes.* Daily practice is recommended.
* Scott Rogers. Mindfulness Research and Practice Initiative. in Amishi P. Pha, "Being in the Now, Scientific American Mind, April/May 2013.
Max Sherman is a medical writer and pharmacist retired from the medical device industry. He has taught college courses on regulatory and compliance issues at Ivy Tech, Grace College and Butler University. Sherman has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge on all levels. Eclectic Science, the title of his column, will touch on famed doctors and scientists, human senses, aging, various diseases, and little-known facts about many species, including their contributions to scientific research. He can be reached by email at [email protected].
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