How Mindfulness Raises Your Pain Threshold (Backed by Neuroscience)

Can You Actually Raise Your Pain Threshold? Research Says Yes

If your pain threshold feels low, if small things hurt more than they should, there’s promising science that says you can change that.

Mindfulness, a practice rooted in moment-to-moment awareness without judgement, has been shown to significantly raise pain thresholds, even in short time frames.

But why and how?

Long-term meditators show a higher pain threshold than non-meditators. But you don’t need to train for years to see benefits. One study found that just 20 minutes of mindfulness for four days significantly increased pain tolerance. Other research shows that just 12 minutes a day is enough to rewire your brain.

How does it work?

From a Neuroscience Perspective

Mindfulness...

• Reduces activation in brain regions tied to fear, stress, and negative emotion.

• Protects key areas of the brain involved in emotion regulation, interoception, and impulse control.

• Improves stress response, helping you appraise painful or difficult experiences with more clarity and less reactivity.

When your brain isn’t on high alert, it doesn’t sound the pain alarm as loudly.

From a Qualitative Standpoint, Mindfulness:

• Helps you observe pain without judgment. You feel what’s there, not your fear of what’s coming.

• Enhances emotional regulation. It teaches you to respond, not react.

• Activates the parasympathetic nervous system, bringing your body into rest-and-digest mode.

• Increases body awareness. This helps you catch flare-ups and tension patterns early.

You don’t have to eliminate pain to change your experience of it.

If you’re ready to go deeper into the science and practices of mindfulness and chronic pain, check out Pain in Panorama, my evidence-based course on rethinking the pain experience.

Small shifts in awareness can lead to big shifts in relief.

References:

•Hannibal KE, Bishop MD. Chronic stress, cortisol dysfunction, and pain: a psychoneuroendocrine rationale for stress management in pain rehabilitation. Phys Ther. 2014;94(12):1816-1825. doi:10.2522/ptj.20130597

•Kabat-Zinn J. Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Context: Past, Present, and Future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice. 2003;10(2):144-156. doi:10.1093/clipsy/bpg016

•McManus C. Mindfulness-Based Biopsychosocial Approach to the Treatment of Chronic Pain. Lecture presented at the: 2018; Samuel Merritt University.

•Shapiro SL, Siegel DJ. Good Morning, I Love You: Mindfulness + Self-Compassion Practices to Rewire Your Brain for Calm, Clarity + Joy. Boulder, CO: Sounds True; 2022.