7 Evidence-Based Benefits of Practicing Mindfulness

You are probably aware of the term and you may even practice it at times. In a moment of stress when you tell yourself to breath, you are practicing it without even knowing it. We’re talking about Mindfulness. While the word may conjure up images of yoga mats and zen gardens, mindfulness is so much more than simply thinking about the word “om” repeatedly, and learning the techniques associated can provide you with many benefits. 

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the act of staying aware and paying attention to yourself and your surroundings. It is about truly being present in the moment, to enjoy your life as it is happening rather than looking back on the moment.

The best, and most visually popular, way to practice mindfulness is to sit in complete silence with your legs crossed, eyes shut, and palms facing upwards. Don’t have the time? Don’t stress…Stressing is the complete opposite of what mindfulness is about. Stressing means that you are focused on the future, not the present.

In this busy world, we are so focused on accomplishing our to-do lists – both personally and at work - that we don’t have the time to find a connection with the present moment. We do not look inward to recognize and acknowledge what we are doing or how we are feeling. While sitting in a quiet room with your legs crossed is a fantastic way to center yourself and practice mindfulness, for some, this isn’t always possible. So what can you do instead?
It’s simple:

·  Focus on your breathing. Listen to your breath going in and out. Feel your chest rising. Don’t let your mind drift away and bring it back to your breathing if it does.

·  Observe the world around you. Take a moment to look around, focus on something ordinary and really focus on it. Don’t let your mind drag your thoughts elsewhere. 

·  Listen. Listen to whoever it talking to you and truly take in what they are saying. If you’re by yourself, listen to the sounds around you – the rustling wind through the trees, the bird chirping, the wind blowing, the rain falling. Just focus in on it and clear your mind.

These exercises don’t have to be long but over time they will teach you to focus more on your life and your surroundings and you’ll find yourself being truly present for more.

For some more incredible techniques to focus on mindfulness in your everyday life, take a look at the Positive Psychology article here.

Why is Mindfulness Important?

Mindfulness has gained significant importance over the years as it comes up with plenty of scientifically proven health benefits. It plays a vital role in stress reduction, boosting your energy levels, and enhancing overall happiness. Furthermore, studies suggest that mindfulness may also improve the health of your heart and brain and may strengthen the immune system.

This technique is applied all over the world to improve leadership skills and collaboration to decrease healthcare costs. Many companies such as Google, Bank of America and Salesforce have begun providing mindfulness training to assist with overall employee wellness.

So, let’s now discover some of the phenomenal benefits that are associated with mindfulness.

Stress Overload?

We live in a fast-paced society where we often find ourselves looking forward to the weekend, our next holiday or the next big event. As a general group, one of our biggest complaints is stress. Therefore, it is necessary to learn the best techniques to reduce the effect of stress on your body to improve overall health and well-being.

That is where mindfulness becomes important. It plays a vital role in reducing your overall stress levels as well as improving mental and physical health. A study found that focusing on the present by practicing mindfulness reduces levels of cortisol, which is a major stress hormone.

Furthermore, mindfulness meditation enhances positive emotions and reduces the effect of anxiety and depression.

No More Counting Sheep

If you struggle to sleep at night, then mindfulness is a potentially beneficial suggestion for you. It helps to improve the quality of your sleep and assists you in falling asleep faster. Research conducted on adults that were suffering from sleep disturbances suggests that mindfulness helps in improving the quality of your sleep.

Improved sleep quality helps you to focus more on your work and enhances the overall quality of your life.

No More Losing Focus

Practicing mindfulness itself demands a lot of attention and focus. Through consistently training your mind to focus during a mindfulness meditation, this helps you to improve your overall focus while performing daily tasks both personally and professionally.

If you acknowledge that you lack focus in performing your daily tasks, then perhaps try practicing mindfulness to see if it will help you remain more focused on the job at hand.

Get Creative

You might have seen a lot of poets, writers and designers practicing mindfulness. If you have ever wondered why they do so, it's because they have found that it enhances their creativity.

Mindfulness helps you develop new ideas and put them into practice. The main factors that determine your levels of creativity are:

·  Divergent Thinking (Coming up with ideas)

·  Convergent Thinking (Solidifying the ideas into a brilliant concept)

Researchers claim that you can significantly improve both convergent and divergent thinking by practicing mindfulness. Something to consider if you are interested in enhancing your creativity.

Don’t Get Mad, Get Energised

If you are looking for a great activity to help improve your mood and enhance your energy levels, researchers claim that practicing mindfulness can help you to enhance boost your mood and eliminate the effect of stress.

It shows marked improvements in sharpening your memory, which helps to store the information for longer durations. It also boosts your energy levels which assists you to keep your focus and attention throughout your workday.

Don’t Lose Your Cool

If you are someone who recognises that they have a quick temper, then perhaps practicing mindfulness is a good solution for you.

Being quick to anger can become troublesome when it comes to your personal relationships, your working relationships and your overall health. These anger-based reactions can end relationships, affect your work and lead to a lot of guilt, shame and anxiety.

That’s where mindfulness might become a helpful tool to overcome your instinctive response. Practicing mindfulness can help you to control your anger and resolve the conflict in a friendly-manner. By using the techniques, you can bring yourself into the present moment, focus on your feelings as they present themselves and pull yourself out of the angry haze.

It may take some discipline to implement the techniques of mindfulness in your everyday life. Your busy schedule may not always leave time for a meditation session however if you take some time each day to draw yourself back to the present and focus on something that will ground you there, you may find some incredible benefits to your life.