Meditating just a modest amount may help curb cigarette smoking, even in smokers who don’t intend to quit, according to a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
After a few hours of meditation, smokers puffed significantly less and had increased activity in brain regions associated with self-control — without even knowing that their behavior had changed.
Researchers from several institutions recruited 60 college students, including 27 smokers. Half the subjects learned a form of meditation called integrative body-mind training, or IBMT, practicing for five hours over a two-week period. IBMT involves relaxing the whole body and remaining “crisply focused on the present moment,” said University of Oregon psychologist Michael Posner, a study coauthor.
The remaining participants followed the same schedule, but instead practiced relaxation therapy, which involves periodically concentrating on different parts of the body.
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Category(s):Addictions, Mindfulness Meditation
Source material from LA Times
