Meditation to boost test scores
Researchers in the department of psychological and brain
sciences at the University of California have been studying the relationship
between mindfulness and mind-wandering or the tendency to allow of our minds to drift
away to unrelated thoughts.
Past studies have already shown that mind-wandering underlies
performance on a variety of tests, including working memory capacity and
intelligence.
The better a students
working memory (ability to hold large chunks of information and use them) – the
better they tend to perform on reading comprehension tests.
The study was recently published in the journal Psychological
Science and was based on research of 48 University of California undergraduates that
went through a two-week intensive mindfulness training program, reduced their
mind-wandering, improved their working memory capacity, and also performed
better on a reading comprehension test.
The mindfulness training included “sitting in an upright
posture with legs crossed and gaze lowered, breathing exercises and minimizing
the distracting quality of past and future concerns by reframing them as mental
projects occurring in the present”. "Our results suggest that cultivating mindfulness is an effective and efficient technique for improving cognitive function, with wide reaching consequences" the researchers wrote in the Psychological Science study.
Hear that teenager?
I shall be scheduling some Exam Ease meditation class in June and July (Melbourne, Australia) if you would like to find out more please contact me at sarah@quietmind.com.au
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