Recent Mindfulness Research Shows Big Benefits for Traders

Of all the mental skills a trader can learn, mindfulness is perhaps the most important trading psychology skill.  Recent scientific research from researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital shows mindfulness practice can actually alter brain structure.  Researchers studied the brain’s gray matter to see whether or not it changed after practicing mindfulness.  Those who practiced mindfulness for just 30 minutes a day over 8 weeks had significant structureal changes in the brain.

Brain Structure Changes

MRIs of participants’ brains showed increased grey-matter density in the hippocampus.  This is an area of the brain involved in learning and memory.  Other affected structures where grey-matter increased included brain areas associated with self-awareness and introspection.

The researchers also found decreased grey-matter density in the amygdala — the brain area known to play an important role in emotions, especially stress and anxiety.

What it Means for Traders

These findings are very good news for traders.  Obviously, enhancing our ability to learn and remember maket patterns and movement is a huge asset.  Developing self-awarenss – although not thought much about by most traders – is a very big skill.  It is through self-awareness that discipline and emotional regluation are achieved.  Further, we now have evidence that mindfulness directly and positively impacts the brain regions associated with stress and anxiety.  Keep in mind that these brain changes were realized in a controlled study by those who practiced mindfulness for a mere 30-minutes a day over two months.  That is rapid progress.  The MRIs of the control group (those who did not practice mindfulness) did not show these grey-matter changes.

Develop Your Mindfulness Practice

If you haven’t practiced mindfulness, you might want to consider making it a daily part of your routine.   We have a free Mindfulness Skill Builder available in the Free Resources section of the website.  You can access it via this link: Free Mindfulness Skill Builder.  It will teach you the simple steps of how to get started with mindfulness.

We also offer a complete mindfulness tutorial oriented to help you develop sound mindfulness skills and overcome some of the common emotional traps traders experience.  If you have ever been the victum of emotional hijackings in your trading, you will want to check my Practice Mindfulness to Overcome Erratic Trading.