Mindfulness is an evidence-based intervention and scientific studies have shown that practising mindfulness, even for just a few weeks, can bring a variety of physical, psychological, and social benefits including:
- relieves stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia
- increases our ability to cope with difficult situations as we learn to respond rather than react to emotionally stimulating events
- boosts the immune system’s ability to fight off illness
- helps us become aware of and manage our emotions more effectively
- lowers heart rate and blood pressure
- re-wires our brains in areas linked to learning, memory, emotion regulation and empathy
- increases our sense of wellbeing
- helps us become aware of our negative habits and helps us develop more positive ones
- enhances creativity
- reduces feelings of loneliness
- boosts attention span and focus
- improves our relationships
Key research:
- Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits. A meta-analysis https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15256293/
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1745691611419671
- Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3004979/
- Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on Emotion Regulation in Social Anxiety Disorder https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4203918/
- Stepping out of history: Mindfulness improves insight problem solving https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22483682/
- The Effect of Mindfulness-Based Therapy on Anxiety and Depression: A Meta-Analytic Review https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2848393/
- The Effects of Mindfulness Meditation Training on Multitasking in a High-Stress Information environment https://faculty.washington.edu/wobbrock/pubs/gi-12.02.pdf
- Social influences on neuroplasticity: Stress and interventions to promote well-being https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3491815/
- Mindfulness-based stress reduction for stress management in healthy people: a review and meta-analysis https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19432513/
- Meditation, mindfulness and executive control: the importance of emotional acceptance and brain-based performance monitoring https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22507824/
