Abstract
Working memory (WM) is critical for successful task performance and higher order cognitive functions, such as planning and decision-making. Yet, WM can become imperiled over periods of stress and high demand. This is particularly true of military service members who depend on peak cognitive functioning to maintain operational readiness and achieve mission goals, but who face intense and protracted demands across their military careers. Mindfulness training (MT) is one potential method to bolster cognitive resilience—the ability to maintain or regain cognitive capacities at risk of decline. We evaluated the efficacy of mindfulness training in six longitudinal studies conducted by our research group investigating the protective benefits of mindfulness practice on working memory. U.S. Military cohorts were recruited from several military installations and participants were assigned to either receive MT or serve as active or no-training comparison participants. Soldiers’ performance was assessed on a delayed-recognition working memory task with embedded military-relevant affective or neutral distracters before (T1) and after (T2) the MT interval. Multivariate and random effects meta-analysis of six studies indicated a consistent moderate difference between MT and comparison groups in standardized mean change (SMC) from T1 to T2. These findings support the supposition that MT protects soldiers’ working memory performance relative to controls. Implications for future research and further MT development, along with suggestions for policy on MT implementation, are discussed.
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Data Availability
Meta-analyses can be reproduced from summary statistics that are reported in full in this manuscript. Other relevant data is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Notes
We confirmed that there were no other relevant published studies based on systematic review of online databases (Web of Science and PubMed) using the search terms “mindfulness” and “military”. Our search identified 192 associated references. After removing duplicates and reviewing references, we identified 50 empirical studies involving mindfulness that included military (non-veteran) samples. Of these, only two studies of MT (not included among the six we selected) delivered in the military context investigated working memory or related constructs as outcomes.
Independent samples t-tests indicated no significant differences (all ps > .05) between MT and NTC groups for age and years of military service in Study 5 or 6.
Random effects meta-analysis of the bivariate test re-test correlation calculated for each study (collapsed across MT and control groups) estimated a meta-analytic correlation of 0.436 (p < .001, 95% CI [0.367, 0.505]). This is considered to be a low level of measurement reliability in general and is somewhat smaller than values reported for other common cognitive tasks (Hedge, Powell, & Sumner, 2018) or measures of visual working memory (e.g., Dai, Li, Gan, and Du, 2019), measured across several weeks. It should also be noted that test re-test correlations are likely attenuated in the present case because of active interventions delivered to participants and systematic mean change observed among controls.
The same participants were removed as outliers when the grand mean was instead used to determine exclusions.
The difference (∆) in raw mean change in WM performance (% trials correct) was also significant (∆MC = 2.938, p < .001, 95% CI [1.660, 4.216]). MT group participants declined less or improved more than controls by roughly 2.94%.
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Funding
This research was supported by Department of Army grants #W81XWH-11–2-0124 and #W81XWH-12–2-0051 to APJ, and Henry Jackson Foundation Grant #HU0001-15–2-0003 with subaward #3479 to APJ.
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All participants provided informed consent in accordance with the Institutional Review Boards of the University of Miami and other study-affiliated universities, with oversight from the Human Research Protections Office of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).
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APJ and SLR are co-developers and copyright holders of the Mindfulness-Based Attention Training (MBAT) program materials.
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Jha, A.P., Zanesco, A.P., Denkova, E. et al. The Effects of Mindfulness Training on Working Memory Performance in High-Demand Cohorts: a Multi-study Investigation. J Cogn Enhanc 6, 192–204 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41465-021-00228-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41465-021-00228-1