Post by Admin on Aug 21, 2016 16:31:19 GMT -5
The article I'm discussing and sharing here is very technical, and may only be of interest to those who really zone in on the research side things-mindful. However, it brings up a very important issue for those of us using MBSR mindfulness and meditation as Veterans. I'm speaking about the flood of articles, videos, smartphone apps, seminars, web-based training,etc. found under the banner of "Mindfulness" or "Mindful Meditation".
The sheer volume of articles and research on mindfulness and meditation, just in the last few years alone, is overwhelming, making it hard to know who to trust, who to believe. In fact, In the three+ years I've been gathering references and resource materials about mindfulness and veterans I have selected over 500 papers, web pages,articles, books etc for my 'Mindful Vets' bibliography. I did NOT add to this list the hundreds of others I found simply because they were, alas, more 'MCMindful' than truly mindful -- mindful in the MBSR tradition which we learned here at the Wilmington VA.
As is the pattern in so many things these days, nowadays many are trying to cash in on 'this mindfulness thing'. The research is still in its infancy and the serious researchers will be the first to say this. Neuroscience (brain research) now includes themes such as happiness, altruism, compassion, neurotheology and more. While the initial research has been very encouraging, students of mindfulness must be wary of anyone linking the fact that because mindful meditation (MBSR type) helps a certain population, that therefore "you should buy my app". Just because has the words 'mindfulness' ore 'neuroplasticity' in it doesn't mean it's the real thing... (yes, a bit of sarcasm here...)
Therefore, be assured that on this site we filter all sites and publications which we recommend and link to. We rely on Dr Tedesco and other experts in Mindfulness to let us know which things are helpful, and which are just someone trying to get your money.
That said, now back to the title of this thread, "The Trouble With Mindfulness Apps", by Stephany Tlalka in Mindful magazine and website: Perhaps you've heard of Lumosity, a brain game which said it is 'based on neuroscience research'(brain studies)? Well,they recently had to pay a multimillion dollar fine because their claims were not actually data-driven, not backed by research. And, a few other apps are being scrutinized in a similar fashion (The article tells about them).
Judson Brewer, an addictions psychiatrist and the Director of Research at the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School(CFM), where our MBSR was born, had this to say:
So, while I encourage you to read the whole article, if it's not your cup of tea I offer one take-away: Just because something (book, app, seminar) says that it stems from recent neuroscience research, doesn't mean the parties selling it have established a data-driven basis for their product.
In short, I'm confident that all the things linked to and referenced in this site pass muster and are not 'MCMindul'; but if anyone finds anything of questionable value cited here on mindfulvets.net, please contact us right away.
The sheer volume of articles and research on mindfulness and meditation, just in the last few years alone, is overwhelming, making it hard to know who to trust, who to believe. In fact, In the three+ years I've been gathering references and resource materials about mindfulness and veterans I have selected over 500 papers, web pages,articles, books etc for my 'Mindful Vets' bibliography. I did NOT add to this list the hundreds of others I found simply because they were, alas, more 'MCMindful' than truly mindful -- mindful in the MBSR tradition which we learned here at the Wilmington VA.
As is the pattern in so many things these days, nowadays many are trying to cash in on 'this mindfulness thing'. The research is still in its infancy and the serious researchers will be the first to say this. Neuroscience (brain research) now includes themes such as happiness, altruism, compassion, neurotheology and more. While the initial research has been very encouraging, students of mindfulness must be wary of anyone linking the fact that because mindful meditation (MBSR type) helps a certain population, that therefore "you should buy my app". Just because has the words 'mindfulness' ore 'neuroplasticity' in it doesn't mean it's the real thing... (yes, a bit of sarcasm here...)
Therefore, be assured that on this site we filter all sites and publications which we recommend and link to. We rely on Dr Tedesco and other experts in Mindfulness to let us know which things are helpful, and which are just someone trying to get your money.
That said, now back to the title of this thread, "The Trouble With Mindfulness Apps", by Stephany Tlalka in Mindful magazine and website: Perhaps you've heard of Lumosity, a brain game which said it is 'based on neuroscience research'(brain studies)? Well,they recently had to pay a multimillion dollar fine because their claims were not actually data-driven, not backed by research. And, a few other apps are being scrutinized in a similar fashion (The article tells about them).
Judson Brewer, an addictions psychiatrist and the Director of Research at the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School(CFM), where our MBSR was born, had this to say:
We’ve seen companies make all sorts of claims—I won’t name any in particular but they have to do with apps and mindfulness training and subscription services to their apps—and they say ‘based in science’ and to my knowledge there’s at least one company that hasn’t published any data on their apps but they’re citing scientific research about mindfulness in general.”
So, while I encourage you to read the whole article, if it's not your cup of tea I offer one take-away: Just because something (book, app, seminar) says that it stems from recent neuroscience research, doesn't mean the parties selling it have established a data-driven basis for their product.
In short, I'm confident that all the things linked to and referenced in this site pass muster and are not 'MCMindul'; but if anyone finds anything of questionable value cited here on mindfulvets.net, please contact us right away.