CU Boulder researchers find that body-scanning 和 ‘敦促冲浪’ appear to help people cut down how much alcohol they drink

Mindfulness is having a moment, but is it worth all the hype? 研究ers at CU’s Center for Health 和 Neuroscience, Genes, 和 Environment (CUChange) say the answer is yes—particularly when it comes to drinking behavior.

一个团队包括 钟琴Skrzynski他是CUChange的研究助理， 最近发表的研究 building on the growing body of evidence suggesting mindfulness plays a significant role in influencing alcohol use.

Their research found that mindfulness techniques including intentional awareness of what’s happening 和 不加评判地接受一切 helped reduce cravings for alcohol.

酒精:一个日益严重的问题

对许多人来说，酒精是生活中正常的一部分. 同时, the number of deaths in 哪一个 alcohol is a significant contributing factor has risen sharply in recent years. 2020年至2021年, the number of alcohol-related deaths in the United States increased by 29%, 与2016-17年的数据相比, according to the Centers for Disease Control 和 Prevention. Data also show that one in six Americans binge drinks, with a quarter doing so every week.

如果酒精对博彩平台推荐的健康有害, 为什么戒酒这么难呢, 和 what can we do to make it easier to cut down or stop? Skrzynski has been fascinated by these questions since her undergraduate days as a psychology major at the University of Michigan.

While studying substance abuse in her introduction to psychology class, Skrzynski was struck by both the prevalence of substance abuse disorders 和 their far-reaching negative effects. “I remember being extremely curious about why people are engaging in substance abuse when it’s obviously disrupting their lives in really deleterious ways,她说。.

“When I found out psychology researchers were exploring this question in systematic ways to try to help people with addiction issues, 我记得当时在想, “这真的很酷. 我想成为这个过程的一部分.’”

从密歇根大学毕业后, she earned her PhD in psychology at Carnegie Mellon University before arriving at CU Boulder to continue her quest to pinpoint the variables that contribute to the development 和 maintenance of addictive behavior.

正念的力量

Skrzynski’s team’s recent research suggests mindfulness may be a simple but powerful way to cultivate a healthier relationship with alcohol. 由 肯特和记, one of the founding directors of CUChange 和 professor of psychiatry at CU Anschutz, the researchers designed a study to compare the effectiveness of mindfulness-based relapse prevention versus st和ard relapse prevention, in 哪一个 they r和omly assigned nearly 200 participants to one of the 两个 groups.

结果, 哪一个 were published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol 和 Drugs, suggest that mindfulness helped participants decrease their drinking. While participants in both groups experienced an initial reduction in the number of days they engaged in heavy drinking, 在20周和32周的随访中, the improvements remained stable for the mindfulness group but diminished for the st和ard treatment group.

Their research also suggested even slight increases in mindfulness had the potential to reduce alcohol cravings, 研究结果发表在 成瘾行为心理学.

“The takeaway here is that mindfulness can be a really useful tool in reducing drinking, 或者甚至完全放弃,Skrzynski说. And while this idea isn’t necessarily groundbreaking, it’s nonetheless important.

“Most researchers would agree that mindfulness does have great utility in this endeavor,她说。. “But the more supporting evidence you have, the stronger the case.”

如何变得更专注

Mindfulness consists of 两个 essential components, says Skrzynski. “一个, 有意识地意识到正在发生的事情, 和, 两个, 不加评判地接受一切.把更多的正念带入你的一天, you can try a couple of the techniques the researchers taught the mindfulness group.

首先是身体扫描, 哪一个, 顾名思义, involves slowly 和 sequentially checking in with each part of your body, from your head to your toes 和 noticing how it feels.

第二个, 敦促冲浪, means noticing when you have a craving (in this case, 酒精), 而不是喝一杯, 允许自己体验渴望, knowing that at some point the strength of the urge will peak, 在这一点上，它将开始下降.

“Both techniques involve awareness 和 acceptance of whatever is happening that you’re not trying to push it away,Skrzynski说, adding that it’s a powerful tool no matter what you’re dealing with. “尽管我的研究重点是上瘾, 事实是, mindfulness can be transformative in so many life domains.” 

安吉拉·布莱恩, a CU Boulder professor of psychology 和 neuroscience, also contributed to the research.

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