Individual Differences in Cognitive Functioning Predict Compliance With Restoration Skills Training but Not With a Brief Conventional Mindfulness Course.

Freddie Lymeus

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.715411

Abstract

Mindfulness training is often promoted as a method to train cognitive functions and has shown such effects in previous studies. However, many conventional mindfulness exercises for beginners require cognitive effort, which may be prohibitive for some, particularly for people who have more pronounced cognitive problems to begin with. An alternative mindfulness-based approach, called restoration skills training (ReST), draws on a restorative natural practice setting to help regulate attention effortlessly and promote meditative states during exercises. Previous research has shown that a 5-week ReST course requires less effort and is attended by higher compliance with practice recommendations than a conventional mindfulness course, without compromising long-term outcomes. Here, we compare ReST and a formally matched conventional mindfulness course regarding the role that initial individual differences in cognitive functioning play in determining practice compliance and long-term improvements in dispositional mindfulness and cognitive functioning. In line with expectations, ReST participants who had more pronounced cognitive problems to begin with practiced more during the course, which in turn explained much of their improvement in dispositional mindfulness and cognitive functioning. In contrast, initial cognitive functioning did not explain practice and improvement in the conventional mindfulness course. The results provide further support for the potential utility of ReST as a low-effort method for enhancing cognitive functioning among people who would struggle with the demands of conventional mindfulness training. With careful integration of mindfulness practices with a restorative natural setting, these people can develop mindfulness and self-regulation capabilities without relying on effortful training.

Highlights

Attention Resource Dynamics in Conventional Mindfulness TrainingMindfulness training can improve multiple aspects of psychological functioning (Khoury et al, 2015; Sedlmeier et al, 2018)
The serial mediation path was in the expected direction for restoration skills training (ReST) but virtually null for conventional mindfulness training (CMT)
The results support the expectations for ReST: Participants who had poorer initial cognitive functioning practiced more if they were randomly assigned to ReST rather than CMT, which in turn predicted greater improvements in dispositional mindfulness and cognitive functioning

Summary

Introduction

Attention Resource Dynamics in Conventional Mindfulness TrainingMindfulness training can improve multiple aspects of psychological functioning (Khoury et al, 2015; Sedlmeier et al, 2018). Recent meta-analyses (Cásedas et al, 2019; Sumantry and Stewart, 2021) affirm that mindfulness training strengthens several attention-related capabilities, including alerting, inhibition, shifting, updating, executive control, and working memory. Such improvements could feasibly improve general adaptation by reducing thought intrusions, distractions and resulting lapses and mistakes, and by enhancing performance in challenging tasks and bolstering resilience in stressful conditions. Before they acquire a certain skill level, beginning meditators often struggle to maintain focus and perceive the practice as effortful (e.g., Hasenkamp et al, 2012; Lutz et al, 2015; Frewen et al, 2016)

Results

Discussion

Conclusion