Digital mindfulness can enhance mental wellbeing
Engaging in daily mindfulness practices online is enough to improve mental health and motivate healthy lifestyle choices, according to a new study.
Mindfulness is already frequently used in the UK to deal with difficult situations and boost moods. In fact, 16% of British adults learnt how to practise mindfulness in 2021 to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, found research from the National Institutes of Health. Traditional forms of mindfulness, like courses and therapy, are often time-consuming and intense – but new research shows that you no longer have to give up copious hours to reap the rewards.
The benefits of mindfulness can be achieved through a more accessible, digital approach, found researchers from the Universities of Bath and Southampton. They discovered that using an online mindfulness app, like Medito, for just 10 minutes daily can lead to reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety, increased overall wellbeing, and healthier lifestyle choices.
Over 1,000 adults were involved in the study, which lasted for 30 days. Participants were randomly split into two groups: one which engaged in mindful practices - like body scans and breathing exercises - and one which focused on active control exercises, such as listening to an audiobook. Those in the mindfulness group reported noticeable improvements to their overall wellbeing compared to those in the active control group.
What’s more – the benefits reported by the mindfulness groups were long lasting. Two months after the experiment, the researchers followed up with their participants and found that the mindfulness group demonstrated healthier lifestyle behaviours, with increased motivation to eat healthy and exercise. Additionally, they reported better sleep and felt a reduction in symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Why does this matter?
This study shows that you don’t have to invest time, money and effort if you want to incorporate mindful practices into your life. Dr Ben Ainsworth, co-author of the study, said: 'the research underscores how digital technology – in this case, a freely available app – can help people integrate behavioural and psychological techniques into their lives, in a way that suits them.'
Max Western, co-author of the study, shares this view. 'It is exciting to see that such a light-touch, affordable, intervention that has the potential to reach a large global audience can have an impact on healthy lifestyle behaviours,' he said, 'it is even more encouraging that these benefits were sustained after the mindfulness course ended.'
Mindfulness exercises to try
According to Mind UK:
Mindful eating. This involves paying attention to the taste, sight and textures of what you eat.
Mindful moving, walking or running. While exercising, try focusing on the feeling of your body moving.
Body scan. This is where you move your attention slowly through different parts of your body.
Mindful meditation. This involves sitting quietly to focus on your breathing, thoughts, sensations in your body or things you can sense around you.
Read now: How to build self-compassion and confidence
More ways to build good mental health...
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