First there was IBM, an international corporation that made technology that enabled us to do many things at once. Now comes IBMT, a mind-relaxation technique that enables us to do absolutely nothing. Really well.
IBMT, short for integrative body mind technique, is said in this press release from the University of Oregon to be practiced by thousands of people in China. It is also being taught to dozens of students at UO, who are taking part in research of the practice. Why do we care? Because unlike most meditative relaxation techniques which take months or years to master, IBMT can help Americans relax the way they like to do everything: fast. University of Oregon researchers have found evidence that IBMT produces measurable changes in attention and stress reduction in just five days.
Researchers at the school divided students into two groups. One group received IBMT training and the other was trained in general relaxation techniques for
20 minutes a day for five days. The researchers found that while both groups saw some
benefit from the training, those in IBMT showed dramatic differences
based on brain-imaging and physiological testing.
Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) — a scanning
method less distracting than functional magnetic resonance imaging
(fMRI) — showed IBMT subjects had increased blood flow in the right
anterior cingulate cortex, a region associated with self regulation of
cognition and emotion. Physiological tests also revealed significant changes. Compared
with the relaxation group, IBMT subjects had lower heart rates and skin
conductance responses, increased belly breathing amplitude and
decreased chest respiration rates, all of which, researchers wrote,
“reflected less effort exerted by participants and more relaxation of
body and calm state of mind.” Finally, researchers noted, IBMT subjects had more high-frequency
heart-rate variability than their relaxation counterparts, indicating
“successful inhibition of sympathetic tone and activation of
parasympathetic tone [in the autonomic nervous system].” Sympathetic
tone becomes more active when stressed.
Sounds great, but what exactly is IBMT? Related research recently published in PNAS reports that it “achieves the desired state by first giving a brief instructional period
on the method (we call it initial mind setting and its goal is to
induce a cognitive or emotional set that will influence the training).
The method stresses no effort to control thoughts, but instead a state
of restful alertness that allows a high degree of awareness of body,
breathing, and external instructions from a compact disc. It stresses a
balanced state of relaxation while focusing attention. Thought control
is achieved gradually through posture and relaxation, body–mind
harmony, and balance with the help of the coach rather than by making
the trainee attempt an internal struggle to control thoughts in
accordance with instruction.”
Read more from the University of Oregon and listen to very short audio from UO researchers here.