A (too) busy life? This is what mindfulness can do for you

byTommyVTE

986 followers

5 years ago

Many people in their maze of work, hobbies, friends, relationships, sport and the household do not get enough of rest. Scientists discovered a way to give your body and mind just as much rest within ten minutes as with three quarters of an hour of extra sleep.

Performance pressure, evidence and sky-high expectations have been among the social ills of the moment for a few years now. Everything has to be better, more, higher, more successful, more exciting and faster. If possible. To get through the (busy) days fresh and fruity, sufficient rest, moments for yourself and a good night's rest are indispensable.

The irony is just: we often do not have.

Yes, we all know that the effects of sleep on our general health are quite large. Sleep is the means for numerous ailments and complaints.

Not-to-match. Or is it?

Research shows that there are several ways to restore your body and mind during busy times. According to the researchers, practicing mindfulness every day for ten minutes has the same effect as 44 minutes of extra sleep per night.

To experience these benefits, however, you must be able to find the right balance.

Mindfulness as a wonder agent?

In addition to less pain, more joy of life and better sex, there is also a positive consequence that mindfulness can bring about: more peace. Or, better said, a better recovery of your body, which you normally only achieve through sleep.

In order to reach this conclusion, scientists carried out two studies. In doing so, they looked at the amount of sleep, the stress levels and mindfulness routines of people with above average life. They discovered that people with the least fatigue complaints were also the people who had a lack of sleep on the one hand and took the time to practice mindfulness on the other hand.

What is striking about the results is that the positive effects of mindfulness were not experienced by people in the research group who did sleep well enough. In that case, practicing mindfulness made little difference.

In addition, the scientists make a comment on the results: mindfulness is in no way a full substitute for sleep. What matters is finding the perfect balance between rest thanks to sleep and rest thanks to mindfulness.

Mindfulness building in moments

A good night's sleep is the basis, but a little more mindfulness can not hurt anyone. So try to figure out what the incorporation of mindful moments in your day does for the peace (or chaos) in your head.

How you can best fill in your mindful moment depends entirely on your needs. Are you someone who benefits from traditional meditation? Do you prefer a block or are there certain breathing techniques that you empty your head? Test out what feels best for you and what you experience most peace with. Then make that a daily part of your day.

Just by blocking ten minutes every day in your diary.

For myself I have my 10 minutes after lunch that I sit and relax close my eyes and listen to some relaxing music. I have either in the morning or afternoon a time for myself by myself with coffee or tea. These moments of doing nothing, no electronic screens to look at, just time to relax gives me my energy back

What are you doing for yourself?