Combining Two Free Activities Can Reduce Depression By 40% in Two Months (M)
Reduce depression by combining two activities well-known to make you feel better.
Category: Mindfulness
A Daily Chore That Decreases Stress And Provides Inspiration (M)
When done properly, the chore decreased nervousness by 27 percent and increased mental inspiration by 25 percent.
The Top 10 Most Restful Activities Are Mostly Done Alone (M)
Even extraverts preferred these 10 activities mostly done alone.
A Psychological Technique That Reduces Chronic Pain And Opioid Use (M)
Nine months later 45 percent of participants were no longer misusing opioids.
The Peaceful Trait Linked To Good Mental Health With Age (M)
People high on this trait scored lower on measures of stress, depression and anxiety.
People Who Think Like This Have Less Belly Fat (M)
Way of thinking may also help people over the initial aversion to exercising.
Way of thinking may also help people over the initial aversion to exercising.
People who are naturally more ‘mindful’ are less likely to be obese.
The naturally mindful also have less abdominal fat than those of a more distracted nature.
While being naturally mindful is something that’s part of your personality, it can also be taught.
Dr Eric Loucks, who led the study, said:
“This is everyday mindfulness.
The vast majority of these people are not meditating.”
394 people in the study responded to prompts that probed how mindful they were.
For example, strongly agreeing with both of the statements below suggests low levels of natural mindfulness:
- I find it difficult to stay focused on what’s happening in the present.
- I could be experiencing some emotion and not be conscious of it until some time later.
Mindfulness may stop obesity by making people aware when they are overeating.
It may also help people over the initial aversion to exercising.
Dr Loucks said:
“That’s where the mindfulness may come in.
Being aware of each and every moment and how that’s related to what we do and how we feel.”
Other studies have also shown that greater mindfulness can improve diet and help overcome cravings.
As I wrote in a previous article on food and the mind:
“Eating is so routine that we easily zone out from the experience.
While our minds are wandering, though, our hands are shovelling it in faster and faster.
Studies have shown that people eat more when they are distracted, like when watching TV or talking with friends (Bolhuis et al., 2013).
Unfortunately when not focusing on our food, we tend to eat more and get less enjoyment from it.
This is why one approach that’s used to combat eating disorders and obesity is mindful eating.
This is taking smaller bites and paying more attention to what you are eating.
Not only do people eat less this way, but they also enjoy it more.”
The results of the current study were encouraging but natural mindfulness only had a modest link to weight.
Dr Loucks said:
“Awareness seems to be enough to have a small to medium effect.
Then there is the question of what could we do to increase it.”
The study was published in the journal International Journal of Behavioral Medicine (Loucks et al., 2015).
The Healthiest Way to Deal With Traumatic Memories (M)
Two-thirds of Americans report one or more adverse childhood experiences.
How To Stop Your Mind Wandering To Negative Thoughts (M)
When left to its own devices the mind almost always wanders to negative thoughts and brings us down.
Mindfulness: This Is What Most People Get Wrong (M)
Students of mindfulness are taught to notice and accept their thoughts and feelings, but what does acceptance mean?
Mindfulness Meditation Has Some Distressing Side-Effects (M)
The most common side-effect from meditation is ‘dysregulated arousal’.
