Abstract
The growing interest in mindfulness interventions for use in aging samples has been met with promising evidence of cognitive, emotional, and physiological benefits. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the impact of mindfulness training on three areas of functioning in older adults: behavioral and neural correlates of attentional performance, psychological well-being, and systemic inflammation. We have previously proposed that mindfulness training is uniquely suited as a rehabilitative tool for conferring both cognitive and emotional benefits for older adults. Specifically, mindfulness training's promotion of focused attention may mitigate the decline of attentional control abilities across late development and allow older adults to capitalize on their preserved emotion regulation abilities. Existing evidence points to some improvements in facets of attentional control in older adults, although some studies have shown no benefits in performance. Further, there is evidence of enhancements in both psychological and physical aspects of well-being, and accompanying improvements in systemic inflammation, following mindfulness training. The scientific investigation of mindfulness training is still relatively nascent, with only a limited number of studies, particularly randomized controlled trials utilizing active comparison conditions. It will be important for future research to incorporate placebo-controlled comparison groups to clearly establish the causal role of mindfulness practices in promoting holistic health in older adults.
Highlights
Mindfulness training has gained increasing traction in recent years as a feasible and promising intervention for enhancing facets of both psychological and physical health across development
Mindfulness Training for Healthy Aging in mindfulness practices requires the utilization of either narrowly focused attention or broadly receptive attention. Training in such mindfulness practices has been evaluated for its prophylaxis for various metrics of overall health including, but not limited to, improvements in behavioral and neural metrics of cognitive functioning, attentional control (Tang et al, 2015); regulation of affective experiences (Chiesa et al, 2013); reductions in overall levels of perceived stress and systemic inflammation (Creswell et al, 2012; Rosenkranz et al, 2013); and improvements in overall well-being and psychological health (Baer, 2003)
We have previously proposed that mindfulness training is useful in aging populations as it orients the practitioner, in an accepting and non-judgmental framework, to the mind’s tendency to wander (Bishop et al, 2004), thereby promoting the use of attentional control and allowing older adults to capitalize on the preserved emotion regulation abilities that are observed with aging (Prakash et al, 2014)
Summary
Mindfulness training has gained increasing traction in recent years as a feasible and promising intervention for enhancing facets of both psychological and physical health across development. Mindfulness Training for Healthy Aging in mindfulness practices requires the utilization of either narrowly focused attention (e.g., breath awareness or body scan practices) or broadly receptive attention (e.g., choiceless awareness or gratitude practices) Training in such mindfulness practices has been evaluated for its prophylaxis for various metrics of overall health including, but not limited to, improvements in behavioral and neural metrics of cognitive functioning, attentional control (Tang et al, 2015); regulation of affective experiences (Chiesa et al, 2013); reductions in overall levels of perceived stress and systemic inflammation (Creswell et al, 2012; Rosenkranz et al, 2013); and improvements in overall well-being and psychological health (Baer, 2003). The majority of these studies have been conducted in young adults and community participants, there is a growing interest in the application of mindfulness training as a preventative intervention targeting the elderly This population is of particular interest given the age-related declines in social support, limitations to physical independence, and decrements in several domains of cognitive function.
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