Effect of mindfulness meditation on attention and executive functions in elderly people

Abstract

Objectives: Elderly people are more prone to decline in cognitive functions, This study was amied to observe the effect of mindfulness meditation on the attention and executive functions in elderly people. Methods: In this case control study 100 elderly people (>60 year old) were randomly divided into study (meditating) group (n=50) and control (non-meditating) group (n=50). Meditation group did mindfulness meditation for 45day (half an hour/day, for 6 days in a week). Before and after the study period attention and executive function of both groups were assessed by Trail making test(TMT) type ‘A ‘and type ‘B’. Statistical analysis was done by using independent and paired student’s t test. P value ≤ 0.05 was taken as significant. Results: Between both the groups, there were no significant different in the baseline scores for TMT type A (p value =0.06) and type B (p value = 0.91.After study period, significant improvement were noticed in the scores of TMT type ‘A’ scores (p =0 .036) and type ‘B’ scores (p =0.002) for the study group. On the other hand there were no significant variations in the TMT type A (P = 0.663) and type B (p= .239) scores of control group. Conclusions: This study showed that, mindfulness meditation practice has positive effect on the attention and executive functions in elderly people. Regular mindfulness meditation may improve the quality of life.