Mindfulness Meditation is a very popular type of self reflection and is commonly used to relieve stress. When participating in mindfulness meditation the person is asked to focus on one thing for example their breathing. The goal of this type of meditation is to be completely focused on what is happening in the present moment and to not think about any problems one may be facing. This simple act of meditating has incredible health benefits that often go un noticed.
It can be argued that the most important skill obtained from meditation is the increased ability to pay attention. In our day and age, especially as college students, we have numerous things on our minds at once. We are constantly consumed by technology, school work, having a social life, and the list goes one. People who practice meditation are able to train their brains to tune all of the nonsense out and allow their bodies to truly relax and distress. A few years ago, a study was done which observed people who meditated for five hours a day for three months. Although not many of us have time to devote so much of our daily lives to meditation, these people were able to complete tasks with a high ability to effortlessly sustain attention to what they were doing. By simply focusing on one thing for a minimum on twenty minutes a day, we each hold the ability to transform our own brains.

It has also been said that meditation before multitasking can make everything less stressful and actually go much smoother. A study that tested this was carried out by David Levy and Jacob Wobbrock who are professors at the UW Information School. For this study they chose 36-45 human resource managers and split them into three groups. One group was given eight straight weeks of mindfulness-based meditation training. The second group received eight weeks of body relaxation training. The third group stated off without receiving any training. After eight weeks they received the same amount of training as the first group. The third group can be viewed as the control group. All three groups were given tests that forced them to multitask in a real world work environment before and after they received training in meditation. During the test, researchers were observing variables such as how long it took them to switch tasks, speed of which they completed the tasks, and accuracy while doing so. The results came out as expected. During multitasking, the first group had much lower levels of stress. The second group and the control group however did not. Once the control group had completed the eight weeks of training, they showed results identical to the first group.

Lower levels in stress were shown through an increased amount of time spent on each task because the participant was calmly completing the task and just giving their undivided attention to what they were doing in the moment rather than thinking about whats next.
Levy positively responded to the results by saying, “We are encouraged by these first results. While there is increasing scientific evidence that certain forms of meditation increase concentration and reduce emotional volatility and stress, until now there has been little direct evidence that meditation may impart such benefits for those in stressful, information-intensive environments.”

In my psychology class in high school we spent some time learning about meditation and I completely agree with the study. For two weeks straight in the beginning of my class my teacher played twenty minute guided meditation videos. The whole class would sit on the floor and follow the videos really trying to focus simply on inhaling and exhaling. Although this seems quite easy, in the beginning I found it incredibly difficult to channel my brain to one specific thought when so much was happening in the day. With practice though I was better able to focus my attention. After seeing how meditating for twenty minutes was able to effect me and help me to distress, I have no doubt in my mind that the people who were involved with the study were able to relax and effectively multitask.

Sources:

http://io9.com/how-meditation-changes-your-brain-and-makes-you-feel-b-470030863

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120614094118.htm

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200105/the-science-meditation

https://www.headspace.com/science