Mindfulness

===Lecture Details===
Craig Hassed; Week 7 MED1011; HEP
===Lecture Content===
Mindfulness is not letting the mind wander from what one is doing. Within 5 minutes of using a phone, motor accident risk is 400% normal, carrying 2 or more passengers is 2 times as likely. Multitasking leads to lower performance, more errors, less engagement and a superficial experience. High performance lies somewhere between being stressed and not. Stress can be exacerbated by imagination, rumination and exaggeration, focusing on the present helps. A level of arousal is necessary for performance but not agitation/over arousal. Inner calm is different to apathy. Stress rewires brain, reversible, linked to Alzheimers. There are active states and default states of brain activity. Default states are associated with Alzheimers.
Mindfulness is raising awareness, makes life more vivid, develops sustained attention. Mindfulness based cognitive therapy is non-evaluative of thoughts, explores meta-cognition looking at relationship between self and thoughts, autonomy through non-attachment can occur. Decreases depression, thickens cortex. Benefits higher order cognitive functions, enlarges gray matter. Meditation may slow ageing and enhance genetic repair. Compassion increases with mindfulness. Helps with pain, ED, sleep, immunity, anxiety.
===Readings===