If your way of dealing with stress involves ranting to coworkers or
face-planting in a bag of chips, we've got a simpler, healthier idea for
you: Spend less than half an hour practicing mindful meditation. A new
study published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology is the
first to show the positive effects of this increasingly popular type of
meditation. It's a more focused, in-the-present way to meditate that's
about inhaling and exhaling slowly so you can sense your muscles relax
and feel tension being swept from your brain.
For the study,
researchers divided 66 college students into two groups. One group
practiced mindful meditation 25 minutes per day for three days. The
other group underwent a type of cognitive training for three days. All
participants were subject to a stress challenge test and had
measurements taken of biological and psychological stress markers. The
findings: Study authors discovered lower levels of self-reported
psychological stress in the group that practiced mindful meditation;
these subjects also appeared to be better at coping with stress compared
to the second group. In the study, the researchers wrote that being
mindful may have made the subjects more engaged and active, which
buffered their perceptions of stress.
MORE: Where to Meditate for Mindfulness
It's an intriguing yet preliminary
study that needs deeper follow-up, the researchers say. But it offers
some evidence that mindful meditation isn't just a passing trend—it
might be a genius and easy way to get a handle on things when you feel
overwhelmed and frazzled. Not sure where to start? Follow these simple tips to be master at meditation.
MORE: How to Be More Mindful
