Why Does Mindfulness Reduce Calm Stress, Improve Your Mood, and Promote Better Health?

Mindfulness reduces stress and improves health. This is a robust scientific finding supported by many recent scientific experimental research. If you want to benefit from this, you can start being mindful right now. 

          1.  Pay attention on purpose to your thoughts and feelings. You don't have to close your eyes but that may help. You can also add some soothing music. 

          2.  In addition to paying attention to your thoughts and feelings you can also purposely slow and deepen your breathing.

          3.  In paying attention on purpose (called monitoring) you will also purposely ACCEPT Your thoughts and feelings even if you don't agree or like them.

          Recently published scientific research highlighted this acceptance component of mindfulness. Using a dismantling technique in a randomized and controlled test of three different groups, Chin et al. (2019) identified acceptance as a "key ingredient" responsible for mindfulness mediated mental and physical health benefits.

           I wish you a mindful day,

Dr. Jim


References

Chin, B., Lindsay, E. K., Greco, C. M., Brown, K. W., Smyth, J. M., Wright, A. G. C., & Creswell, J. D. (2019). Psychological mechanisms driving stress resilience in mindfulness training: A randomized controlled trial. Health Psychology. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/hea0000763 
Lindsay, E. K., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Mechanisms of mindfulness training: Monitor and Acceptance Theory (MAT). Clinical Psychology Review, 51, 48-59.












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