A very promising area for the application of mindfulness is in the area of increased attention span. Withs 11% of all children are diagnosed with ADHD (1) with more than $8 billion dollars spent annually on pharmaceuticals that increase attention span.(2) Meanwhile, although the statistics surrounding the deficits of neurobiological origin called ADHD are thought-provoking, distraction is a very pervasive problem. Mindfulness works in this area because it “it teaches you to pay attention to paying attention” (3). In addition to helping people control their span of attention, mindfulness helps limit other distractions such as chronic pain and emotional distress (3).
Next, learn about different types of meditation and how they support various facets of attention.
In order to improve one’s attention through mindfulness techniques, it can be helpful to understand some of the processes behind it. As a response to stimuli, the first step is to orient one self to it and then engage with it (4). There are two types of attention. The first one is a controlled, goal-oriented form that is also called top-down. This allows us to have executive control over our thoughts (4) and is instrumental in learning. The second type of attention is driven by stimuli and instinct, and is also called bottom-up processing (4). There is a disagreement over whether the function of mindfulness strategies within the brain is top-down vs. bottom-up, although this may be due to the wide variety and applications for mindfulness. (5)
Different types of mindfulness training support different needs. It is suggested by numerous studies that concentrative attention is improved when focus is given to something specific like breath(6). Receptive attention, on the other hand does not focus on an object and instead the goal for the practitioner is remain in the present moment and no stimuli are considered “extraneous because attention is open to the entire field of experience” (6). As an article at the Huffington Post explains there are different types of meditation and they support different goals: “As opposed to “zoning out,” Mindfulness Meditation is like “zoning in” on whatever phenomenon or phenomena we choose to zone in on” (7).
Here are some resources that explain the differences between the different types of meditative practices:
http://www.chopra.com/ccl/5-types-of-meditation-decoded
http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/meditation/in-depth/meditation/art-20045858
Sources
- Centers for Disease Control (US). Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) [Internet]. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control (US); 2014 [updated 2014 Dec 10; cited 2015 Feb 20]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/data.html
- Schwarz A. The Selling of Attention Deficit Disorder. New York Times [Internet]. 2013 Dec 14 [cited 2015 Feb 20];Health:[about 10 screens]. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/health/the-selling-of-attention-deficit-disorder.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
- Sherman C. Mindful Awareness: Treating ADHD with Meditation. ADDitude Magazine [Internet]. 2006 Aug/Sept [cited 2015 Feb 20]; Available from: http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/1475.html
- Baker RL, Brown D. On engagement: Learning to pay attention. U Ark Little Rock L Rev. 2014;36(3):337-377.
- Chiesa A, Serretti A, Jakobsen J. Mindfulness: Top-down or bottom-up emotion regulation strategy? Clinical Psychology Review [Internet]. 2013 Feb[cited 2015 Feb 20];33(1):82-96. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23142788
- Jha AP, Krompinger J, Baime, MJ. Mindfulness training modifies subsystems of attention. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience [Internet] 2007 [cited 2015 Feb 20];7(2):109-119. Available from: https://www.upaya.org/uploads/pdfs/2007JhaKrompingerBaime.pdf
- Israel I. What’s the Difference Between Mindfulness, Mindfulness Meditation and Basic Meditation? Huff Post Health Living Blog [Internet]. 2013 May 30 [cited 2015 Feb 20] Available from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ira-israel/types-of-mindfulness_b_3347428.html