Mitsuhiro Sado: Sleep to Achieve Mindfulness

2023/12/25

Mindfulness has become a household word. This is something I could not have imagined around 2010, when I first began my research on mindfulness.

While mindfulness can mean many things, a relatively common definition is "paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally." This is the definition provided by Jon Kabat-Zinn, who developed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). By carefully observing reality with this kind of mindful awareness, we become able to notice and acknowledge not only what is happening in the outside world, but also what is happening within ourselves (our thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, etc.) as they are. Because we can recognize both external and internal realities as they are, we become capable of responding to that reality more adaptively.

This kind of awareness includes values and thoughts held deep within ourselves that are difficult to notice in daily life. These might be considered equivalent to what psychoanalysis calls the "preconscious" or "unconscious."

Because mindfulness performs these functions, we can use it not only to reduce stress but also to make our lives more fruitful. One of the foundational brain functions for this is "attention."

The function of attention can be compared to the role of a flashlight in the dark. Imagine hearing a rustling sound in the dark and feeling anxious, wondering what it is. You take out a flashlight and point the light toward the sound. You see that there is a bird there and feel relieved, thinking, "Oh, it's just a bird."

You know it is a bird because the light from the flashlight is steadily directed at the source of the sound, illuminating the bird. What if the hand holding the flashlight kept shaking? The light would wander through the darkness, and it would be difficult to recognize what was at the source of the sound.

The role attention plays in recognizing reality is similar to the role of a flashlight in the dark. To recognize what is happening as it is, one needs the ability to keep their attention properly on the phenomenon and carefully observe it.

However, our "attention" is surprisingly scattered. There is a simple meditation where you focus on your breath for a few minutes. You simply continue to carefully feel the sensation of your stomach expanding when you inhale and deflating when you exhale for several minutes.

If you try it, you will notice that within less than 30 seconds, your attention drifts away from your breath, and you find yourself thinking things like, "Come to think of it, I'm busy tomorrow," or "Where should I go this Sunday?" This shows just how easily our attention tends to wander.

Therefore, in mindfulness, we use meditation as a way to train ourselves to keep our attention where we intend it to be and to recognize phenomena as they are.

However, even if you acquire the ability to control your attention through such training, the state of your attention can still decline due to your sleep status.

According to a somewhat older study published by van Dongen et al. in 2003, it was revealed that getting six hours of sleep for about 12 consecutive days causes attention to drop to a level roughly equivalent to staying awake all night, and getting four hours of sleep for 14 consecutive days causes attention to drop even more than staying awake for two full nights.

This shows that simply practicing mindfulness meditation is not enough to carefully observe and recognize phenomena as they are through mindfulness. Securing adequate sleep is also important for maintaining the proper attention that serves as the foundation for mindfulness.

As discussed above regarding sleep to achieve mindfulness, mindfulness is the ability to recognize and acknowledge external and internal phenomena as they are, and the control of attention is the foundation for this.

Furthermore, since attention significantly declines due to poor sleep, it is important to both practice mindfulness training and secure adequate sleep in order to achieve mindfulness.