Mindfulness—an awareness of the moment—can help you in many areas of life. When you’re aware of your experiences on a moment-by-moment basis, you can direct your focus away from negative thoughts like worry and self-doubt and be present in a calmer way. Research has found that mindfulness has helped people manage physical and mental health concerns that range from diabetes to stress to anxiety and depression.
Mindfulness has a variety of physical and mental health benefits, including helping you sleep better, improving well-being, even helping ease chronic pain.
Recent studies have suggested that regularly practicing mindfulness meditation creates physical changes to the brain. For example, doctors have long known that as we get older – we experience shrinkage in a specific region of the prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain associated with working memory and certain types of decision-making. That’s why it’s harder to remember certain things as we get older – we have less “gray matter” there.
According to a study by researchers at Harvard Medical School and published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, after eight weeks of regular mindfulness meditation, 50-year-olds had the same amount of gray matter as 25-year-olds. Research has also found that participants in mindfulness programs showed changes in the amygdala—a part of the brain that affects fear, stress, and anxiety – which correlated with lower stress levels.
How mindfulness can help you
The more you practice mindfulness, the more you may gain from it. Experts generally recommend that you start by practicing mindfulness for five minutes per day, gradually working up to 15 to 20 minutes a day. This will give your mind time to “settle” into being fully present in the moment.
Practicing mindfulness can help:
- Have more satisfying relationships. Several studies have found the ability to be mindful can predict satisfaction in relationships, perhaps because greater self-awareness helps people communicate thoughts or feelings to others
- Manage a health condition. Doctors may recommend mindfulness meditation, along with other treatments, for health concerns including diabetes, chronic pain, eating disorders, and some types of heart disease
- Manage feelings of stress and anxiety. Therapists sometimes use mindfulness in combination with other treatments to help people cope with unwanted thoughts that interfere with work, relationships, or the ability to enjoy life
For more information, please contact:
Lesley MacKinnon
Manager, Safety
Lesley.Mackinnon@BethanySeniors.com
Or
Site OHS Committee Chair or RepresentativeLifeWorks supports employee health and well-being.
Bethany employees have access to a wide range of resources such as:
- LifeWorks Blog
- Webinars and Events
- 24/7 Specialist Counselling
Link:
Bethanycaresociety.lifeworks.com
username: bcs
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Phone: 1-877-207-8833
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Other helpful links:
Alberta Health Services COVID19
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- Simply take a moment to contemplate and reflect.
- Pause to consider what you are going to say before speaking. Take a two- or three-ring pause before picking up the phone to think about your intention.
- Deliberately give your full attention to whatever it is you are doing. When you’re with your family and friends, focus on being fully present with them. When you’re at work, direct your focus and attention there.
- Try not to dwell in the past or think about the future.
- Slowly stretch each part of your body. Be aware of your breathing as you stretch
- If you’re making a cup of tea, just make a cup of tea. If you’re spending time with your child, just be with your child.
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