Mindfulness meditation är idag en vedertagen behandlingsform mot psykisk ohälsa där behandlingen ämnar att öka medvetenhet och närvaro. Tidigare forskning visar på en positiv effekt av mindfulness med flertalet fysiologiska och psykologiska vinster. Idag lider många svenskar av psykisk ohälsa, en oroväckande ökande trend som år 2013 kostade Sverige omkring 70 miljarder kronor. Hälsa är en stor del i den idrottsvetenskapliga utbildningen och därför genomfördes följande studie som ämnades mäta hälsovinsten av korta sektioner av mindfulness meditation, 5-20 minuter, genom en interventionsstudie på universitetsstudenter i Sverige. För att testa om mindfulness meditation kan bidra till en ökad psykisk hälsa och lägre grad av ohälsa, estimeras graden stress, ångest och depression med enkäten DASS-21. Interventionsgruppen jämfördes med en kontrollgrupp som enbart fyllde i enkäten veckovis och mellan grupperna uppmättes ingen signifikant skillnad efter interventionen för stress (P=0,667), ångest (P=0,208) och depression (P=0,525). Resultat inom interventionsgruppen visar dock på att interventionen lindrade psykisk ohälsa genom minskad stress (P=0,002), ångest (P=0,003) och depression (P=0,05) enligt graderingen i enkäten DASS-21 och därmed skapar en bättre psykisk hälsa hos studenterna. Inom kontrollgruppen kunde ingen signifikant förändring på hälsa påvisas för stress (P=0,082), ångest (P=0,905) och depression (P=0,462). Hälsovinsten som uppmättes inom interventionsgruppen kan bidra till bättre studieresultat och en högre kompetensnivå hos studenterna. Därför föreslås att fler studier genomförs på området för att fastställa ytterligare hälsovinster, effekter och orsaken till effekten som uppstår genom korta, kostnadsfria och lättillgängliga sektioner av mindfulness meditation samt studera vidare bakomliggande källa till förbättringen av hälsa.

Originally derived from Eastern religions, the concept of mindfulness has been adapted and validated by psychology and medical science within recent decades. This project describes some of the religious viewpoints associated with mindfulness and its related practices, such as meditation. The primary focus however, are the forays into scientific study using validated methodology to understand what mindfulness can and cannot affect as it relates to physical and mental health. The initial studies serve as proof of concept and cover simple reductions in symptomology and suffering for conditions like anxiety and depression. The scope of mindfulness application grew as research progressed, leading to more focused studies involving the extreme stress of medical students, the lifespan of the elderly, and autobiographical memory for those in remission who had depression. Like all respectable scientific experimentation, having the ability to quantify the results and observations seen is accounted for by these studies. Furthermore, a cohesive model and adapted measurement scale are discussed to denote the clout carried by mindfulness and related practices. In closing, discussion of current research directions are given along with a re-emphasis of conclusions established in the literature.

Mindfulness is increasingly recognized as an important phenomenon in both clinical and empirical domains, though debate regarding the exact definition of mindfulness continues. Selfreport mindfulness measures have begun to appear, which is important as each measure represents an independent attempt to conceptualize mindfulness. Baer, Smith, Hopkins, Krietemeyer, and Toney (2006) recently identified five facets of mindfulness (observing, describing, acting with awareness, nonjudging, and nonreactivity) and developed the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) to assess them. They also provided preliminary evidence that the five facets were aspects of an overall mindfulness construct, demonstrated support for the convergent and discriminant validity of total mindfulness and its facets, and provided evidence to support the utility of the facets in understanding the relationships of mindfulness with other constructs. Their research raised interesting questions, especially as findings for the observe facet were not entirely consistent with current conceptualizations of mindfulness. The current study attempted to build upon and clarify the results of Baer et al. (2006) by examining the factor structure of mindfulness and the patterns of relationships between total mindfulness and its facets with already examined and newly investigated (absorption, rumination, reflection, and psychological well-being) constructs in a sample of individuals with meditation experience. One hundred ninety-three individuals completed packets including multiple self-report measures. Results indicated that a model conceptualizing the five facets as aspects of an overall mindfulness construct had good fit to the data, that the observe facet was almost entirely consistent with the conceptualization of mindfulness, that total mindfulness and its facets were related to previously examined constructs in a manner overall consistent with Baer et al. (2006), though some important differences in the strength of facet relationships with other constructs emerged, that the facets related to newly investigated constructs in conceptually consistent ways, and that mindfulness and its facets are strongly related to psychological well-being. These results support the current conceptualization of mindfulness and the adaptive nature of mindfulness in individuals with meditation experience.

The time of adolescence is marked by enhanced emotional experiences and difficulties with regulating one’s emotions. One way to improve the adolescent’s ability to regulate their emotions is to let them practice mindfulness meditation. The motivational drive behind this thesis is the question of what forms of mindfulness meditation are needed to give the highest increase in their emotion regulation-abilities. One problem is that while there exist neural studies on mindfulness meditation for adults, the research field of adolescent meditation lacks them. Because neural studies are needed to adequately answer this question, and the lack of brain imaging tools for this thesis, the focus here was to conduct some groundwork for this discussion. The first aim was to investigate the neural effects of mindfulness meditation on emotion regulation in adults and the second aim was to investigate to what extent we can generalize these neural effects to adolescents. To be able to theoretical discuss the second aim, neural and psychological studies on mindfulness meditation and emotion regulation were used as a base. The studies were grouped into five sub-categories based on age group and research field and then discussed with the help of developmental studies. Adult meditators had stronger functionality in regulatory brain regions than non-meditators during meditation and during the perception of negative stimuli. The discussion about the generalization of the adult neural patterns to adolescents showed that the findings were too diverse to come to any useful conclusions. Empirical and conceptual improvements, along with neural meditation studies on adolescents, are needed to improve the research field in both age groups.

This thesis aims to explore the doctrine of sukkhavipassaka (“dry-insight practitioner”) in Pāli Buddhism. The focus of the thesis is to utilize the canonical and commentarial sources of the various Buddhist schools to evaluate the position of this doctrine in the history of early Buddhism. Since the early 20th century the sukkhavipassaka doctrine and its practice have been reemphasized by eminent meditation monks in Burma, and later they spread to other Buddhist countries in Asia and beyond. Some scholars, nevertheless, have cast doubts on the authenticity of the sukkhavipassaka doctrine. They argue that it is a later development, not recorded in the Pāli Nikāyas since the form-sphere jhāna (Skt. dhyāna) is always necessary for the realization of arahantship, or even for stream-entry, the first stage of enlightenment. The first part of this thesis investigates the concept of the sukkhavipassaka in the four Nikāyas. Many suttas in the Pāli Nikāyas imply an acknowledgement of noble beings who lack form-sphere jhānas; also many meditative techniques described in the suttas can be practised in the so-called dry-insight way. However, it is in the Pāli commentarial literature, which is discussed in the second part of this thesis that the sukkhavipassaka doctrine appears in a full-fledged form. The Pāli commentaries not only specify the concentration that dry-insight practitioners use to develop insight knowledge, but also reveal the advantages and disadvantages of the dry-insight meditative approach. In the third part of this thesis, the canonical and commentarial materials related to the Susīma Sutta which are preserved in schools other than the Theravāda are investigated. This thesis reveals that the concept of arahants who lack the first form-sphere jhāna is accepted not only by the Theravāda but also by the Sarvāstivāda, the *Satyasiddhisāstra, and the Yogacārabhūmiśāstra. Since various Buddhist schools in India unanimously advocate the idea that there are arahants who have not achieved the form-sphere jhāna, this research concludes that the dry-insight meditative approach and dry-insight arahants are not an invention by Theravādin commentators, but a common heritage which was most probably handed down from the time of the Buddha and then shared by various Buddhist schools.

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Mindfulness has historically been cultivated via formal meditation practice and the majority of meditation research examines individuals with extensive training or participants in Mindfulness based stress reduction programs that require considerable expense, a trained facilitator, and take approximately 8 weeks to complete. However, current literature does not speak directly to those who do not have the time or ability for such commitments. Formal mindfulness meditation practice and interventions reduce stress in various populations; however, the outcomes of a one-time intervention are relatively unknown. This study aims to examine whether a one-time (20-min) mindfulness meditation intervention would improve cardiovascular variables during acute stressors in a meditation naïve sample when compared to a control group. Fifty-eight (58) normotensive undergraduate students (27 males, 31 females) with no prior meditation experience were randomly placed into either a treatment group that participated in one-time 15-minute audio training session on mindfulness meditation or a control group which listened to an audio health article. Following the training, participants participated in a psychosocial stressor modeled after the Trier Social Stress Test. Heart rate and blood pressure were assessed before and after the intervention and during the stress task. Results showed the mindfulness meditation condition group was effective in decreasing blood pressure response during the study, when compared to the control group. These results indicate that brief meditation training has beneficial effects on cardiovascular variables. These findings suggest that the benefits of a brief one-time mindfulness meditation intervention can be recognized immediately after a brief training treatment.

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The effects of short-term meditation is a debated subject. There is studies that indicates that there is none or limited effect. Research of mindfulness meditation has also shown positive effects on working memory related tasks and sustained attention, but it can also show reduction of stress and depression. This study evaluate the effects of short-term guided meditation in a group of 10 persons in comparison with a control group. Results indicated no difference in memory tasks such as digit-span but the experimental group showed significant improvements in self-reported stress and mindful assets such as Acting with awareness and Acceptance without judgement. The results are consistent with previous research in this area. / Effekten av kortsiktig meditation är omdiskuterad. Det finns studier som indikerar att det inte finns någon eller limiterad effekt. Tidigare forskning kring meditation har också visat positiva effekter på arbetsrelaterade uppgifter och bibehållen uppmärksamhet men även på stressreducering och depression. Den här studien utvärderar effekten av guidad meditation vid tre tillfällen på en experimentgrupp av tio personer i jämförelse med en kontrollgrupp. Resultaten visar inte att mindfulness hade signifikant påverkan på arbetsminnet men signifikant positiv påverkan på stressreducering och på mindfulnessdrag som Agera med medvetenhet och Acceptera utan fördomar. Resultaten går i linje med tidigare forskning inom det här området.

Mindfulness meditation is a growing area of interest for both mental health professionals and the general public alike. Beneficial outcomes are associated with these practices, although the variety of measurement techniques makes research difficult to interpret. Definitions of these constructs are varied, and anecdotal accounts point to the idea that many people hold misconceptions about mindfulness and meditation, even when meanings are made clear. Still, no formal research has been published on misconceptions of mindfulness – or, if they exist, how such misinformation affects acquisition of related skills. Furthermore, mindfulness has been incorporated into therapeutic modalities without much consideration for context, including the client's learning history. The current analogue study examined how the presentation of mindfulness meditations (i.e., inaccurate rationale/meditation and accurate rationale/meditation) affects an individual's practice. Specifically, self-reported mindfulness and meditation skills, mood questionnaires, a matching-to-sample task, and qualitative measurements were used to assess acquisition. Although primary hypotheses did not yield significant findings, results from both preliminary and exploratory analyses demonstrate significant findings with regard to teaching, learning, and measurement related to mindfulness meditation. The results, future directions, and limitations are discussed.