Impact of mindfulness on cognition: a narrative review

Abstract

There is consensus in the literature on the benefits of mindfulness in cognitive and emotional aspects for those who practice it. However, there is no scientific robustness that irrefutably proves this statement. Therefore, this narrative review is relevant, which aims to analyze the influence of mindfulness on cognition. A bibliographical search of the last 3 years was carried out on Google Scholar, resulting in 5 literary reviews, 3 experimental studies and 2 meta-analyses. Articles that did not directly address the impact of mindfulness on cognitive processes were excluded. Two reviews showed that mindfulness contributes to improving cognition, by reducing anxiety, worry and emotionality, as the individual's emotional state reflects on the learning process (COSTA, 2023) (LOPES et al., 2023). Other studies have demonstrated advances in attention and memory, metacognition and cognitive flexibility, thus influencing academic performance (LIMA; SILVA, 2023; WEARE, 2019). Furthermore, the 2023 study by Mendonça showed benefits in motor skills, superior reasoning, executive functions and ability to concentrate. Opposing the favorable results, an experimental study did not obtain significant data when analyzing arithmetic performance, however it revealed an improvement in working memory and reduced stress with mindfulness practices (NOGUES; FRANÇA; DORNELES, 2023). As stated by Pinheiros and Rodrigues, mindfulness also benefits the elderly population by acting positively on motor function, short-term memory, neurocognitive capacity and by delaying the decline in attention skills in advanced ages. It is concluded that mindfulness benefits cognition, improving attention, memory, learning, motor function and emotional regulation. However, there is a need for a systematic analysis of their impacts, since most of the studies found in this review were literary reviews with a small number of articles or experimental studies with a narrow target population and heterogeneous methodologies.