The list of benefits of regular Meditation sessions is a long one: stress reduction, the ability to actively relax, and better concentration are just a few of the positive effects.
As a recent study by Michigan State University shows, can benefit athletes of mindfulness exercises.
Error when playing sports avoid
The results of the study, which was published in the journal ‘Brain Science’, suggest that errors in sports – with the danger to be injured through recurring Meditate to reduce.
To this result, the team of researchers Yanli Lin, after it has carried out a meditation Experiment on 212 subjects. All of the participants in the study had previously meditated never.
For the study, the researchers formed two groups:
106 participants heard an 18-minute lecture on how to learn to speak a second language. The remaining subjects listened to a 20-minute guided Meditation.
The focus on the inner center address
In this Meditation, they were instructed “to draw your attention to the inside and the feelings, thoughts, and physical sensations in the present Moment in an open, non-judgemental way“.
After Listening to all of the volunteers, conducted a Quiz, which will distract you and your concentration should consider.
Meanwhile, the brain were measured waves of the participants using so-called electroencephalography Sensors (EEG).
Own errors better recognize
The result was clear: Those who meditated, went under during the Quiz less error.
“The EEG can measure brain activity in the millisecond range, so that we obtain precise measurements of the neural activity,“ explains senior study author, Dr. Lin, in a press release.
“A specific Signal occurs about half a second after an error has been committed, and consciously perceived. This is known as the error positivity. We have found that the strength of this signal is in the meditators compared to the control group higher.”
This means that the persons who have performed the meditation exercises, recognized their own mistakes faster and more frequently, and thus better able to fix than the rest of the subjects.
More awareness of the body gain
“I find it amazing that we were able to see how a session with a guided Meditation changes the brain activity can cause,” explains Lin.
“These findings are a proof of this, the only way to improve 20 minutes of Meditation, the brain’s ability to recognize errors and to pay attention to them,” adds Co-author Jason Moser.
The researchers assume that the reason for these findings is that Meditation sessions, raising awareness of what’s going on in your body.
They also believe that different forms of Meditation different neuro can have cognitive effects. Further studies should build on this knowledge.
Training through Meditation to improve
For athletes, the current findings could have an important meaning:
Regular Meditation may improve athletic performance.
No training session to be running at any time is perfect – mistakes are made. It was in the execution, or in the case of the breathing technique.
As the study shows, can help regular Meditation to notice these mistakes and avoid them in the future. Less injuries, more power and faster progress could be the positive effects.
“We are aware of our mistakes, we can learn from them and make the appropriate adjustments, in order to reduce the likelihood of future errors,” says Lin.
Source
- Lin, Y., et al. (2019): On Variation in Mindfulness Training: A Multimodal Study of the letter Open Monitoring Meditation on Error Monitoring, retrieved on 11.12.2019 https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/9/9/226/htm
Cornelia Bertram
*The contribution of the “error detect and avoid: to Meditate is to be released soon will make athletes more powerful” by FitForFun. Contact with the executives here.