Snap That
Mindfulness
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is a way of paying attention. It means staying aware of what is taking place right now, instead of getting caught up thinking about the past or the future. It is sometimes called ‘being in the present moment’.
Mindlessness - the other side of the coin
In our busy lives it is easy to be distracted. There is so much competing for our attention all the time that it becomes easy to get carried away in our own heads.
You could be stressing over things that have already happened or be wrapped up planning or thinking about what you have to do later on that day or week. Either way, when your mind is racing a million miles an hour, you are on auto pilot and don’t notice what is happening around you.
That’s mindlessness.
It's a pretty common feeling. The only problem is that living in the past or the future means we are living in a fantasy world, rather than the real thing.
There are two important parts to mindfulness:
Intentionally focusing on what is happening to you and around you right now.
This means being aware of what is going on in your environment - the sights, smells, sounds and tastes. And also noticing what is going on for you personally- paying attention to what you are thinking and feeling.
Being ok with what you notice
This means not needing to question, judge or analyse what is happening.
When you’re mindful, you’re noticing and being open–minded about whatever is going on.
What are the benefits?
Practicing mindfulness gives you a clearer head and trains your brain to slow down. Not only are you calmer and more able to process what is happening around you, but you also get to fully experience all the things that happen in day to day life.
Mindfulness actually shifts the way your brain and nervous system functions- in a good way! Most of the time our bodies are activated by the sympathetic nervous system. This system is like a warning system which activates your body for action (see the stressed out “fight or flight” yellow stickman in the diagram). The sympathetic nervous system is crucial to a person functioning - it mobilises your organs, and gives you energy to spring into action, making it super useful. However, in this state, your body uses up more energy and is constantly in a stressed and alert state. This means that when you over-use your sympathetic nervous system, the ongoing stress can cause you to burnout.
This is important!
Mindfulness is not a way to make problems disappear but it can help you deal with problems with a clear head. Sometimes thoughts run around in your head because there is something you need to deal with or something you need help with. If this is the case, talking to someone you trust, or even just writing it down to get it out of your head, is really important.
If you don't feel that there is someone you know who you can talk to, please call one of the free services listed on our help page.
But when you practice mindfulness the parasympathetic nervous system takes over. This system relaxes your body, uses less energy and puts the body into a ‘regenerative phase’ so that your body can heal, rest and restore (aka “rest and digest”- the little red man in the diagram). So mindfulness training takes you from the freaked out yellow stick man to the chilled out red stick man. This gives you a calmer mind and also means more time for your body to process and cope with whatever is going down around you.
Lots of scientific studies show that this shift in nervous system activation has many other benefits to your health, happiness and wellbeing. See ‘Where’s the Proof?’ for details on these studies and what they found.
Where's the proof?
A range of different studies have shown that mindfulness is good for your health, happiness and wellbeing. These studies compare people who have done mindfulness training to those that haven't. Any difference between the two groups is evidence of the effects of mindfulness (see the Mindfulness Experiment box for an example).
Mindfulness experiment
In the US in 2003, one experiment looked at a group who did mindfulness training for 8 weeks and compared them to a group that didn’t do any activities involving mindfulness (control group).
The group who meditated showed changes in their brain activity! There was greater activation in the areas of their brain associated with feeling good (the left prefrontal cortex!). There was also reduced activation in the areas associated with stress and worrying. Strangely, they even had stronger immune systems.
This means that even an 8 week period of mindfulness training can give the benefits of increased happiness, less anxiety and a stronger immune system!
Davidson, kabat-Zinn, Schumacher, Rosenkranz, Muller, Santorelli, Urbanowski, Harrington, Bonus, Sheridan (2003) Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychomatic Medicine, 65: 564- 70
First of all, there is evidence that mindfulness helps you feel better. Studies show that mindfulness increases the amount of positive emotions you feel (and lowers the negative ones), increases your physical health,1,2 lowers levels of depression and anxiety, and even helps you manage stress more effectively. Most importantly though, mindfulness has been shown to increase how happy you feel about your life.1,7
Mindfulness has also shown to be really good for your brain function. A range of studies have shown that increasing mindfulness results in better memory skills, attention and concentration, increases how easily we learn new things and improved academic performance and creative thinking.1,5 Strangely enough, increasing a person’s level of mindfulness even improves how well you get along with the people in your life.1,6 Overall these studies show that there are real benefits to learning mindfulness.
Read the fine print
Studies show that mindfulness can be helpful for people who are struggling with eating disorders, obsessive thoughts and other mental health issues. If this is you, mindfulness can be a powerful tool to help you get control over the things your mind is telling you, that may be making your life harder. BUT don’t do it alone-having someone guide you through these kinds of battles is really important!
2. Huppert, F.A. (2005). Positive mental health in individuals and populations. In Eds. F.A.Huppert, N.Baylis, & B.Keverne.The Science of Wellbeing. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
3. Alexander, C.N., Langer, E.J., Newman, R.I., Chandler, H.M. & Davies, J.L. (1989). Transcendental meditation, mindfulness, and longevity: An experimental study with the elderly.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 950-964
4. Weinstein, N, Brown, K.W. & Ryan, R.M. (2009). A multi-method examination of the effects of mindfulness on stress attribution, coping and emotional well-being.Journal of Research in Personality, 43, 374-385.
5. Marianette, O. & Passmore, J. (2010). Mindfulness at work: Paying attention to enhance well-being and performance. In Eds: P.A. Linley, S.Harrington & N.Garcia,Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology and Work. NY: Oxford University Press
6. Brown, K.W., Ryan, R.M. & Cresswell, J.M. (2007). Mindfulness: Theoretical foundations and evidence for it's salutary effects. Psychological Inquiry, 18, 211-237.
7. Smith, W.P., Compton, W.C. & West, W.B. (1995). Meditation as an adjunct to a happiness enhancement program.Journal of Clinical Psychology, 51, 269-273
How do you build it?
Increasing your mindfulness is good for your mind and body, but it can be a really difficult thing to master when you first start out. The key to mindfulness is practice. To improve (and to feel the benefits) you have to treat mindfulness training like physical exercise- the more you do it, the better you get and the easier it becomes.
Here at Bite Back we have created two ‘Things to Do’ that can help increase your mindfulness: Snap That and Power Up.
Snap That! on Bite Back
Snap That is all about focusing your awareness on the things around you. Every time you get behind your camera lens to capture a photo you really have to open your eyes to see what is going on around you in the here and now. By focusing your attention like this, you are being more mindful of your outside environment – you might be surprised at the little things you notice.
Power Up on Bite Back
Another way to improve your mindfulness is through Power-Up. Power Up is mindfulness training through concentrated attention. This involves following a series of guided audio tracks to help you slow down and bring your awareness to your body, breath and environment in the present moment.
Power Up can help you chill out, perform at your best, keep your head in check, make the most of your friends, and squeeze the best stuff out of life. There are different track categories on Power Up – they’re called our ‘Big Five’:
- Relax. These tracks will help you stop your mind from buzzing and give you some time out.
- Up your game. Focus more so you can kick ass at life. Got an important game, performing on stage or preparing for an upcoming exam? These tracks will help you channel your concentration so you can be at the top of your game... whatever that is.
- Level Head. Taking some time out for these tracks can help you check in with where you’re at, chill out or pep up if you need to, and get on with the important stuff - even when you’re not feeling great.
- Connect. The tracks in Connect can help you boost your connections with the people in your life and feel more secure with your friends and family.
- Amplify. These tracks can help you get more out of everything and anything. Make your music sound better, food taste sweeter and amp up your experiences.
The more you practice Power Up, the more benefit you will get out of it. Try one of the Power Up challenges; listen to a track every day for either 7, 14 or 21 days to really start feeling the benefits of mindfulness.
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From virtual to actual reality
Mindfulness Training
Power Up is guided mindfulness training but if you want to go further there are a heap of courses, books and websites to get further information and different types of practice. Here's a place to start.
Breathe
You can practice mindfulness without tracks or classes. All you have to do is take a couple of mintues and focus on your breathing. If you get distracted or your mind wanders off, that is OK. Just bring your attention back to your breath. Doing this even for just a couple of minutes a day is a great way to start getting into mindfulness.
Savour
This is when you take the time to really enjoy and appreciate what you are doing; whether it's in the past, right now, or in the future. Whether you are paying attention to what you are eating, a conversation you are having or taking in the beautiful scenery around you, savouring amplifies your experience and you'll notice the little things that you might usually take for granted.
Top 5 tips to help you be more mindful in everyday life.
- As you go through your day, pay attention to every little thing as if you're seeing it for the first time
- Admire beautiful things - trees, flowers the sky, the sound of birds, or something you admire in another person.
- Try taking mental photos of the things you experience
- Savour a past memory: Think back to things in your past that you loved or are proud of. Recreate the details of the memory in your mind - photos, mementoes, a song or even a scent can help you remember.
- Get absorbed in the moment (also check out In the Zone for more info on this).