Recently, many studies have been written linking the connections between meditation, mindfulness, and multi-tasking. The aim of this paper is to look at and define what meditation is and how does the brain function when involved in different tasks and situations. This paper cites studies and gives and understanding into how the brain works. What parts of the brain are involved and furthermore, how to complete tasks with more success and mindfulness.
Keywords: Meditation, Multi-tasking
Meditation, Mindfulness, and Multi-Tasking
In Buddhism, meditation has been practiced for thousands of years. What most people know about meditation is that it creates a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation. In the ancient Buddhist texts, Buddha spoke …show more content…
The switching among tasks is called “attention” switching, meaning that there is not only a change in activities as in multi-tasking but also in the persons attention and focus (Delbridge, 2000) The word multi-tasking originally comes from the computer sciences and some examples of multi-tasking would be “parenting while washing dishes” or “using a cell phone while driving a car” Multi-tasking is trying to do two or more tasks by working on them at the same time or by switching back and forth between tasks, also known as “sequential multi-tasking. A task by definition is a piece of physical or mental work that is done by using a specific procedure in order to achieve a desired goal. For example, brushing your teeth is a form of multi-tasking. Multi-tasking can be studied in the laboratory, measuring speed, response and brain activity (Meyer, 2009). In a study done in 2009 measuring the effectiveness on multi-tasking using meditation was made by the University of Washington. Participants were split up into three groups. Participants in group A were trained in mindfulness. Group B was trained in relaxation, but not meditation. Group C had no training at all. The training was eight weeks in length and all participants were put into an office setting and asked to imagine that they were the new employee. Many tasks were given to the participant to accomplish. Knocks were made at the door to incite stress and distract as was the time allotted so that the participant had to achieve the tasks by a certain time. Results were obtained in four categories. Multi-tasking performance, the memory of the tasks performed their self-reported emotional state and finally their self-reported mindfulness. All participants found the test stressful, but for the meditation group there was less negative
Keywords: Meditation, Multi-tasking
Meditation, Mindfulness, and Multi-Tasking
In Buddhism, meditation has been practiced for thousands of years. What most people know about meditation is that it creates a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation. In the ancient Buddhist texts, Buddha spoke …show more content…
The switching among tasks is called “attention” switching, meaning that there is not only a change in activities as in multi-tasking but also in the persons attention and focus (Delbridge, 2000) The word multi-tasking originally comes from the computer sciences and some examples of multi-tasking would be “parenting while washing dishes” or “using a cell phone while driving a car” Multi-tasking is trying to do two or more tasks by working on them at the same time or by switching back and forth between tasks, also known as “sequential multi-tasking. A task by definition is a piece of physical or mental work that is done by using a specific procedure in order to achieve a desired goal. For example, brushing your teeth is a form of multi-tasking. Multi-tasking can be studied in the laboratory, measuring speed, response and brain activity (Meyer, 2009). In a study done in 2009 measuring the effectiveness on multi-tasking using meditation was made by the University of Washington. Participants were split up into three groups. Participants in group A were trained in mindfulness. Group B was trained in relaxation, but not meditation. Group C had no training at all. The training was eight weeks in length and all participants were put into an office setting and asked to imagine that they were the new employee. Many tasks were given to the participant to accomplish. Knocks were made at the door to incite stress and distract as was the time allotted so that the participant had to achieve the tasks by a certain time. Results were obtained in four categories. Multi-tasking performance, the memory of the tasks performed their self-reported emotional state and finally their self-reported mindfulness. All participants found the test stressful, but for the meditation group there was less negative