So your dad’s birthday totally slipped your mind and you haven’t had a chance to call your college roommate to see how her new job is going. It happens—but it may happen less often if you take time to just breathe: Meditating may help make you a more compassionate person, according to a study published in the journal Psychological Science.
For the study, researchers from Northeastern University and Harvard University looked at 39 people, 20 of whom were asked to complete an eight-week meditation training program. Ten of those participants underwent a mindfulness meditation program, and the other 10 completed a compassion meditation program. The mindfulness meditation trained people to focus and calm their minds, usually by concentrating on breathing throughout their body. The program centered around compassion included similar techniques, except while breathing, participants were supposed to concentrate on inhaling and exhaling through their hearts—which is supposed to make people more aware of their own negative feelings. These meditators were also taught that everyone feels the same discomfort as them and to take solace in this.
When participants were asked to return for a follow-up, researchers staged a waiting room with three chairs. Actors occupied two seats while the participant sat in the remaining one. When a third actor arrived on crutches and appeared to be suffering from pain, researchers watched to see if the participants offered up their seats.
Half of those who had meditated came to the actor’s aid (regardless of the type of meditation training they underwent), while just 15 percent of the non-meditating participants did the same. Why? “It could be something as simple as greater awareness of the environment,” says Paul Condon, a graduate student in the social psychology program at Northeastern University and a co-author of the study. “Meditators may be less self-focused and more externally in-tune.”
Of course, meditation doesn’t just make you nicer—there are selfish reasons to take a mental time-out, too. Read up on how the practice can do wonders for your mind, body, and soul:
Meditations for Instant Bliss!
Meditation: The Truth behind the Trend