Measuring mindfulness


HIGH blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. It’s a condition that can be largely controlled with diet, exercise and medication, yet experts say only about half the people who have high blood pressure manage to keep it in check. In November, Eric Loucks, director of the Mindfulness Center at the Brown University School of Public Health, and colleagues published a study in Plos One, a science journal, that put forward a possible solution: an eight-week mindfulness-based programme.