Mindfulness is shown to decrease pain in medical setting. Here is some interesting medical science showing how the brain functions with mindfulness practice to help us be less reactive to painful stimulus. Think “kids” here as “painful stimulus” (Medical News Today article Nov 15, 2015) .
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“Which part of the brain is affected? Previous data have indicated that, like other cognitive factors that modulate pain, prefrontal and cingulate cortices are intimately involved in the modulation of pain by mindfulness meditation. In this study, mindfulness meditation reduced pain by activating the orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortex brain regions, associated with the self-control of pain; while the placebo cream lowered pain by reducing brain activity in the secondary somatosensory cortex, or pain-processing areas. The thalamus was deactivated during mindfulness meditation, but activated during all other conditions. The thalamus serves as a gateway that determines if sensory information is allowed to reach higher brain centers. By deactivating this area, mindfulness meditation may have caused signals about pain to simply fade away, the team suggests.” http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/302620.php
