Music-based interventions have become increasingly popular. However, little is known about the effect of music on spatial reasoning skills and mindfulness. Further, even less is known about how classical music influences the ability of African Americans to enhance spatial reasoning skills and to develop mindfully attentive awareness. Mindfulness is defined as the state of being attentive to and aware of what is taking place in the present moment. Spatial reasoning refers to the ability to mentally manipulate objects or physically navigate through space. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether these concepts were correlated by analyzing posttest data collected from individuals exposed to a receptive music program for various lengths of time (30 min, 3, 6, and 12 weeks, respectively). Seventy-six African Americans ranging from 18 to 65 years of age (M = 26) participated in our research. We predicted that daily, long-term listening to classical music would lead to a positive relationship between mindfulness measured using the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) and spatial reasoning measured using the Spatial Ability Practice Test 1 (SAPT1). A statistically significant moderate correlation (r(17) = .495, p = .026) was observed between MAAS and SAPT1 posttest scores for participants in the 12-week condition. A repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance also indicated a statistically significant difference between mindfulness and spatial ability scores on the combined dependent measures obtained from individuals in each music condition (F(3, 72) = 42.812, Wilk’s Lambda = .975, p = .001, partial eta-squared = .372). Post hoc test showed that scores obtained for the 30-min and 12-week conditions were significantly different, as were scores from the 3-week and 12-week conditions (Tukey, HSD). Our findings supported the hypothesis tested, and the results have implications in higher education and other professions.

exercise has been shown to noticeably reduce blood pressure (BP) and remarkably attenuate symptoms of hypertension. It is believed that physical exercise induces these beneficial effects by increasing the blood supply to the brain, enhancing the release of growth factors from skeletal muscles into the bloodstream, facilitating neurogenesis, stimulating angiogenesis, and influencing endothelial cell proliferation and subsequent endothelial cell membrane permeability. Previous findings also revealed that physical exercise significantly elevates brainderived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentrations which appear to increase dramatically in BPsensing neurons during hypertension. Elevating BDNF levels is the proposed mechanism by which physical exercise reduces BP and lowers hypertension risk. Relatively effective measures exist today to prevent or delay much of the burden of hypertension and curtail or remediate the devastating consequences of chronic elevated BP over time. Nevertheless, this medical problem contributes to excess risk for morbidity and mortality and is a major public health concern, especially among minority populations. To date, however, it appears as though few studies have focused on the impact of non-pharmacological, behavioral interventions such as physical exercise on BP in minorities. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of long-term exercise on BP in an African American sample. Specifically, the aim was to determine whether a 12-week moderate intensity physical exercise program would significantly decrease BP. Because data provided evidence to support the hypothesis tested, it was concluded that physical exercise resulted in a significant reduction in BP in the African Americans sampled.

Meditative practices have been used as adjunct interventions for mental disorders and medical conditions. Although these innovative techniques have been the focus of much research, few studies have investigated the impact of mindfulness meditation on psychological and physiological variables in a diverse sample that may be at risk of developing stress-related medical conditions that can be linked to anxiety-inducing mental disorders. Our aim was to examine the effects of mindfulness meditation, eyes-closed relaxation, and silence on nonjudgmental awareness, anxiety, depression, blood pressure (BP; commonly defined as the pressure or force of blood against the inner walls of blood vessels as blood flows through the circulatory system and usually is measured in millimeters of mercury, or mmHg), and heart rate (HR; commonly defined as the speed of the heartbeat and is typically measured in beats per minute) in African Americans. Meditation significantly increased awareness and decreased anxiety, depression, BP, and HR in participants who practiced 30 min per day four times per week for 12 weeks. Eyes-closed relaxation noticeably reduced anxiety, BP, and HR but had no effect on awareness and depression as indicated by the measures used in this study. Results of the data collected from individuals in the group exposed to silence for 30 min per day four times per week for 12 weeks were not significant. Present findings provided evidence to support the beneficial effects of mindfulness meditation and suggested that this practice may serve as an inexpensive, nonpharmacological way of positively impacting the psychological and physical health of university students and urban residents who might be at risk of experiencing anxiety, depression, an inability to focus or pay attention, or even major stress-related illnesses because of the demands of school and quality of life.

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