About the image picture.Mindfulness awareness practice [MAP] is learning how to achieve the 3”S” to our minds: Stillness, Silence, Simplicity. It helps us create a calmness in our minds so that we can be in the present and be ready to deal with what is immediately in front of us without being reminded of the regrets of the past, and the anxiety of the future.
Mind Science Centre Course
The late Mr Wee Sin Tho and Mrs Wee Geok Hua and Dr Kinjal Doshi are the main architects of the of the Mindfulness Awareness Practice (MAP) as one of the 4 core programmes of the Age Well Everyday (AWE) Programme. It is supported by a squad of volunteers in the Mind Science Centre.
Vision
The vision of the MSC MAP programme is to prevent or at least delay physical disability and dementia in each of us. In implementation, the AWE Programme is based on the concept of an community outreach programme developed and sustained by many helping hands.
The MSC MAP programme
The MSC MAP Programme consists of 12 sessions. These are:
1. Sessions 1 & 2: Mindfulness of the Breath
2. Sessions 3 & 4: Mindfulness of the Senses
3. Sessions 5 & 6: Mindfulness in Daily Activities
4. Sessions 7 & 8: Mindfulness of the Body & Movement
5. Sessions 9 & 10: Mindfulness of the Surroundings.
6. Sessions 11 & 12:Loving Kindness and Compassion
Figure 2 shows examples of MAP interventions (a) mindful breathing) and (b) visual-motor coordination task. Source: See Reference [2]
Enrolment
You can enrol and learn how to practice mindfulness awareness in the MSC organised MAP Course. The URL for further information is awe.unilearn.edu.sg
Scientific evidence of MAP
1-Locally, it was found that MAP is similar to Health education programme (HEP) in its ability to delay and prevent dementia. See Reference [1] The delivery of the MAP intervention is described in Reference [2]
2-The general thinking on the effectiveness of MAP (mindfulness awareness practice) worldwide is MAP is effective in slowing dementia. This conclusion is also arrived by two researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The did a systematic review of 30 studies and concluded that MAP has a small but significant positive effect in improving cognition compared to control studies.
3-A more conservative view is provided by Areum Han, a researcher in the Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA based on a comprehensive systematic review of 10 studies drawn from 4 databases. The conclusion is the studies were heterogeneous and there is insufficient evidence to determine whether or not practitioners should be routinely providing her mindfulness-based interventions for older adults with dementia or mild cognitive impairment. More and bigger studies are needed to provide a conclusive understanding. Meanwhile, MAP remains a useful tool to delay dementia in our older adults.
Take Home Messages
- Mindfulness Awareness Practice provides us an intervention to delay the onset of dementia and also to delay the progression of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to dementia.
- A small but significant positive effect in improving cognition compared to control studies has also been reported from a systematic review in the USA (Reference [3]).
- It is also noted that more and bigger studies are needed to provide a conclusive understanding of the place of MAP in dementia prevention.
References
1-Ng TKS, Tan XR, Todd M, Chen AC, Feng L, Lu Y, Yu F, Kua EH, Mahendran R. Effects of Mindful Awareness Practice (MAP) on Subclinical Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms and General Cognitive Function in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A 5-Year Follow-Up of the MAP-Randomized Controlled Trial. J Alzheimers Dis. 2022;90(4):1677-1688. doi: 10.3233/JAD-220641. PMID: 36314204. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36314204/
2-Ng TKS, Feng L, Fam J, Rawtaer I, Kumar AP, Rane G, Cheah IK, Mahendran R, Lee YK, Tan EC, Goh LG, Kua EH, Mahendran R. Mindfulness Awareness Practice (MAP) to Prevent Dementia in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment: Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial and Implementation Outcomes. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Sep 28;18(19):10205. doi: 10.3390/ijerph181910205. PMID: 34639513. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8508350/
3-Gracia Mirabito, Paul Verhaeghen. The Effects of Mindfulness Interventions on Older Adults’ Cognition: A Meta-Analysis. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2023 Mar 4;78(3):394-408. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbac143. PMID: 36148552. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36148552/
4-Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Older Adults with Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Meta-Analysis. Clin Gerontol. 2022 Jul-Sep;45(4):763-776. doi: 10.1080/07317115.2021.1995561. PMID: 34693892. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34693892/
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to Mrs Wee Geok Hua for the updated handbook on Mindful Awareness Practice.
Dr LG Goh
Dr GOH Lee Gan is a retired Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine, National University Health System. He has an interest in learning and teaching how we can age well everyday (AWE).
