Mindfulness-Based Restoration Skills Training (ReST) in a Natural Setting Compared to Conventional Mindfulness Training: Psychological Functioning After a Five-Week Course
Restoration skills training (ReST) is a mindfulness-based course that draws on restorative nature experience to facilitate the meditation practice and teach widely applicable adaptation skills. Previous studies comparing ReST to conventional mindfulness training (CMT) showed that ReST has important...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01560/full |
| _version_ | 1818513698240593920 |
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| author | Freddie Lymeus Marie Ahrling Josef Apelman Cecilia de Mander Florin Cecilia Nilsson Janina Vincenti Agnes Zetterberg Per Lindberg Terry Hartig Terry Hartig |
| author_facet | Freddie Lymeus Marie Ahrling Josef Apelman Cecilia de Mander Florin Cecilia Nilsson Janina Vincenti Agnes Zetterberg Per Lindberg Terry Hartig Terry Hartig |
| author_sort | Freddie Lymeus |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Restoration skills training (ReST) is a mindfulness-based course that draws on restorative nature experience to facilitate the meditation practice and teach widely applicable adaptation skills. Previous studies comparing ReST to conventional mindfulness training (CMT) showed that ReST has important advantages: it supports beginning meditators in connecting with restorative environmental qualities and in meditating with less effort; it restores their attention regulation capabilities; and it helps them complete the course and establish a regular meditation habit. However, mindfulness theory indicates that effortful training may be necessary to achieve generalized improvements in psychological functioning. Therefore, this study tests whether the less effortful and more acceptable ReST approach is attended by any meaningful disadvantage compared to CMT in terms of its effects on central aspects psychological functioning. We analyze data from four rounds of development of the ReST course, in each of which we compared it to a parallel and formally matched CMT course. Randomly assigned participants (total course starters = 152) provided ratings of dispositional mindfulness, cognitive functioning, and chronic stress before and after the 5-week ReST and CMT courses. Round 4 also included a separately recruited passive control condition. ReST and CMT were attended by similar average improvements in the three outcomes, although the effects on chronic stress were inconsistent. Moderate to large improvements in the three outcomes could also be affirmed in contrasts with the passive controls. Using a reliable change index, we saw that over one third of the ReST and CMT participants enjoyed reliably improved psychological functioning. The risk of experiencing deteriorated functioning was no greater with either ReST or CMT than for passive control group participants. None of the contrasts exceeded our stringent criterion for inferiority of ReST compared with CMT. We conclude that ReST is a promising alternative for otherwise healthy people with stress or concentration problems who would be less likely to complete more effortful CMT. By adapting the meditation practices to draw on restorative setting characteristics, ReST can mitigate the demands otherwise incurred in early stages of mindfulness training without compromising the acquisition of widely applicable mindfulness skills. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T00:05:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-786e5dade6c34cf7b11ff8a401eeffdc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T00:05:12Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-786e5dade6c34cf7b11ff8a401eeffdc2022-12-22T01:28:21ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782020-08-011110.3389/fpsyg.2020.01560499857Mindfulness-Based Restoration Skills Training (ReST) in a Natural Setting Compared to Conventional Mindfulness Training: Psychological Functioning After a Five-Week CourseFreddie Lymeus0Marie Ahrling1Josef Apelman2Cecilia de Mander Florin3Cecilia Nilsson4Janina Vincenti5Agnes Zetterberg6Per Lindberg7Terry Hartig8Terry Hartig9Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SwedenDepartment of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SwedenDepartment of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SwedenDepartment of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SwedenDepartment of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SwedenDepartment of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SwedenDepartment of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SwedenDepartment of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SwedenDepartment of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SwedenInstitute for Housing and Urban Research, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SwedenRestoration skills training (ReST) is a mindfulness-based course that draws on restorative nature experience to facilitate the meditation practice and teach widely applicable adaptation skills. Previous studies comparing ReST to conventional mindfulness training (CMT) showed that ReST has important advantages: it supports beginning meditators in connecting with restorative environmental qualities and in meditating with less effort; it restores their attention regulation capabilities; and it helps them complete the course and establish a regular meditation habit. However, mindfulness theory indicates that effortful training may be necessary to achieve generalized improvements in psychological functioning. Therefore, this study tests whether the less effortful and more acceptable ReST approach is attended by any meaningful disadvantage compared to CMT in terms of its effects on central aspects psychological functioning. We analyze data from four rounds of development of the ReST course, in each of which we compared it to a parallel and formally matched CMT course. Randomly assigned participants (total course starters = 152) provided ratings of dispositional mindfulness, cognitive functioning, and chronic stress before and after the 5-week ReST and CMT courses. Round 4 also included a separately recruited passive control condition. ReST and CMT were attended by similar average improvements in the three outcomes, although the effects on chronic stress were inconsistent. Moderate to large improvements in the three outcomes could also be affirmed in contrasts with the passive controls. Using a reliable change index, we saw that over one third of the ReST and CMT participants enjoyed reliably improved psychological functioning. The risk of experiencing deteriorated functioning was no greater with either ReST or CMT than for passive control group participants. None of the contrasts exceeded our stringent criterion for inferiority of ReST compared with CMT. We conclude that ReST is a promising alternative for otherwise healthy people with stress or concentration problems who would be less likely to complete more effortful CMT. By adapting the meditation practices to draw on restorative setting characteristics, ReST can mitigate the demands otherwise incurred in early stages of mindfulness training without compromising the acquisition of widely applicable mindfulness skills.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01560/fullmindfulnessrestorationmeditationnatureenvironmenttraining |
| spellingShingle | Freddie Lymeus Marie Ahrling Josef Apelman Cecilia de Mander Florin Cecilia Nilsson Janina Vincenti Agnes Zetterberg Per Lindberg Terry Hartig Terry Hartig Mindfulness-Based Restoration Skills Training (ReST) in a Natural Setting Compared to Conventional Mindfulness Training: Psychological Functioning After a Five-Week Course Frontiers in Psychology mindfulness restoration meditation nature environment training |
| title | Mindfulness-Based Restoration Skills Training (ReST) in a Natural Setting Compared to Conventional Mindfulness Training: Psychological Functioning After a Five-Week Course |
| title_full | Mindfulness-Based Restoration Skills Training (ReST) in a Natural Setting Compared to Conventional Mindfulness Training: Psychological Functioning After a Five-Week Course |
| title_fullStr | Mindfulness-Based Restoration Skills Training (ReST) in a Natural Setting Compared to Conventional Mindfulness Training: Psychological Functioning After a Five-Week Course |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mindfulness-Based Restoration Skills Training (ReST) in a Natural Setting Compared to Conventional Mindfulness Training: Psychological Functioning After a Five-Week Course |
| title_short | Mindfulness-Based Restoration Skills Training (ReST) in a Natural Setting Compared to Conventional Mindfulness Training: Psychological Functioning After a Five-Week Course |
| title_sort | mindfulness based restoration skills training rest in a natural setting compared to conventional mindfulness training psychological functioning after a five week course |
| topic | mindfulness restoration meditation nature environment training |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01560/full |
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