About: The Homework for MBSR and MBCT

Homework: What's That About?

Participants in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) (as well as the other mindfulness-based programs at KC Mindfulness) are asked to do some homework every day, while they are in the program. Some participants are surprised by this, and some find it difficult to imagine that they will "find the time" to do homework activities. And it can, indeed, be a challenge.

Why homework? The short answer is this: If you don't practice the skills that you are being taught in the program, then you won't learn the skills, and you won't be able to apply them in your life. It isn't enough just to learn the "theory behind" mindfulness, or to learn "about" mindfulness, or to "talk about" mindfulness in the class sessions. If you don't set aside time to actually practice mindfulness, then your brain will not learn the "how-to-do-it" aspect of bringing mindfulness into your daily life.

What is the homework? You will be asked to spend around 30 minutes per day, engaging in "formal" mindfulness practice, doing the activities that you are taught in class. These activities include: the body scan; sitting meditation; walking meditation; and mindful movement. You will also be asked to keep some (brief) written notes, or records, about what you do, how you are feeling, and circumstances you encounter.

What if I don't like meditation? That's OK! One of the things you will learn about mindfulness (meditation) practice is that it might or might not be pleasurable. Some participants find that they enjoy the practice; some find that they sometimes enjoy it; others find that they are uncomfortable with the practice (at first, it can seem really difficult just to sit still!). We ask all participants to do the assigned practice, and simply take ongoing notice of what they are feeling and thinking. This is truly the heart of the practice, and the heart of what we are teaching in MBSR: that is, to approach all of our lives (and not just the pleasant parts) with curiosity and compassion.

For more information about these questions, click here to see my page about: "Why Can't I Take a Shortcut?" Also, if you want to know about the most recent research into this question, see below:

 

Recent Research about “Homework”

One of the relatively unexplored areas in mindfulness-based interventions involves the issue of “homework” practice. The traditional standard that arose out of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), as created by Jon Kabat-Zinn, has been that participants are assigned to engage in 45 minutes of “formal mindfulness practice” daily, throughout the 8 weeks of the MBSR program. So-called “informal” mindfulness practice (or “mindfulness in everyday life” is also very much encouraged; however, most MBSR teachers, and mindfulness teachers in general, believe that it is formal practice that creates the mental capacity for everyday practice. In other words, you really do need to set aside time for such practices as sitting meditation, the body scan, and mindful movement (mindful yoga), in order to be able to reliably and frequently bring your mindfulness capacities to the dynamic interactions of ordinary life. Just learning “about” mindfulness, or making efforts to “be more mindful” are probably not going to produce measurable benefits.

Nevertheless, the questions as to how much formal practice is really necessary, and how frequent must it be, remain to be answered. Many teachers, and many participants in mindfulness-based intervention programs, believe that something less than 45 minutes per day (and fewer than 6 or 7 days per week) might very well provide an effective “dose” of formal practice. At the recent MBSR (2008) research conference, two scientists presented their data on those very questions.

1. Ruth Baer, PhD (at the University of Kentucky): The Importance of Homework Practice in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. Dr. Baer (who is a very prominent researcher in the field of mindfulness) studied 174 adults who completed the MBSR program at the University of Massachusetts. They closely monitored their at-home, between-session mindfulness practice time. Overall, the participants showed improvements on various symptoms, and on a measure of well-being; and, significantly, the amount of time they spent on “formal” mindfulness practices (sitting meditation, the body scan, and mindful yoga) was “significantly related to the extent of [their] improvement.” However, time spent on “informal” mindfulness practice was not related to improvements on any of the measures.

2. Willoughby Britton, PhD (at Brown University): Issues of “dosage” in meditation research: frequency, duration and intensity. Dr. Britton studied three different groups (2 groups of adolescents, and one group of adults); her outcome measures all involved variables related to sleep and sleep problems. Her findings (as to the relationships between types and amounts of formal practice, and changes in sleep variables) were mixed. Overall, subjects in all groups showed improvements on the sleep measures. The adolescents (who were in treatment for substance abuse problems) showed improvements in sleep variables with as little as 5-10 minutes of mindfulness meditation (formal practice), 2-3 times per week. The adults (who had histories of depression) meditated an average of 40 minutes per day; Dr. Britton found that those individuals who meditated more than 40 minutes per day showed signs of “increased arousal” during sleep (e.g., more awakenings, and EEG readings associated with wakefulness or higher levels of brain arousal).

Summary: Some individuals may derive measurable benefits (of some types, e.g., quality of sleep) with as little as 5-10 minutes of sitting meditation, 2-3 times per week; it is also possible that there is an optimum period of routine formal practice, above which benefits (of some types, e.g., quality of sleep) may stabilize or even decrease (perhaps at around 40 minutes per day).

Implications: So-called “informal” mindfulness practice, by itself, is probably not sufficient to cause the sorts of changes in attentional skills and mental habits that can cause measurable improvements. On the other hand, teachers of mindfulness-based interventions should be sure that participants in their programs are not frightened away by what might seem to be overly daunting homework requirements; also, one should not convey the idea that very long periods of meditation will necessarily result in more measurable benefits (depending, of course, on what sort of benefits one is seeking). Some researchers and clinicians have found that an “invitational” approach to homework is at least as effective as a more authoritarian “required homework” approach in gaining and maintaining adherence to acceptable frequencies and durations of formal mindfulness practice. [In the Mindfulness-Based Wellness program conducted at my university in the Fall Semester of ‘07, we found that an invitational approach resulted in excellent compliance (around 15-25 minutes per day, most days every week) and very significant improvements for participants in a large number of wellness-related variables.] 

Related articles

• The Art Of Meditation [via Zemanta]

Comments

[RamonGustav]

Are you eager to secure funds for that dream project of yours?

[Hot_cialis]

cialis tadalafil cialis tadalafil 100mg cialis tadalafil 20 mg cialis tadalafil american express cialis tadalafil canada cialis tadalafil cialis tadafil tal cialis tadalafil reviews cialis tadalafil viagra cialis tadalafil work cialis the dangers fda cialis the sex pill cialis to buy

[RX-order]

buy cialis buy cialis at a discount buy cialis brand buy cialis by the pill buy cialis canada buy cialis cheap buy cialis cheaper online buy cialis mexico buy cialis omline buy cialis online 20mg buy cialis online site buy cialis online viagra buy cialis pharmacy buy cialis pills generic

[Antivirus_man]

I liked your site, you are very interesting to write. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[JOBS_frend]

The new year is already knocking at the door, let it will bring only happiness and joy.

[school_dubl]

Hi Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

[Realestate]

Hi Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

[Rental]

With the new 2011. Year! Congratulations.

[Rental]

Happy New Year! The author write more I liked it.

[Hotjobs]

Hi Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

[Golf Tips]

I certainly enjoyed the way you explore your experience and
knowledge of the subject! Keep up on it. Thanks for sharing the info

[turtle ridge homes]

You will also be asked to keep some (brief) written notes, or records, about what you do, how you are feeling, and circumstances you encounter.

[homes for sale newport coast]

This is truly the heart of the practice, and the heart of what we are teaching in MBSR: that is, to approach all of our lives (and not just the pleasant parts) with curiosity and compassion.