Researchers from the Universities of Bath and Southampton have discovered that just 10 minutes of daily mindfulness can dramatically improve mental health and promote healthier lifestyles. Delivered through a free app, this practice has been shown to reduce depression and anxiety while boosting overall well-being.
A recent study published in the British Journal of Health Psychology has unveiled that a mere 10 minutes of mindfulness practice each day can substantially improve mental well-being. Conducted by researchers from the Universities of Bath and Southampton, this pioneering research highlights the mental health benefits of mindfulness, particularly in reducing depression and anxiety, and fostering healthier lifestyle choices, including better exercise, eating and sleep habits.
The study enlisted 1,247 adults spanning 91 countries, employing the Medito app to deliver daily 10-minute mindfulness sessions. Medito is a free mobile application dedicated to promoting mindfulness practices without the recurring costs of popular subscription-based services.
The participants, many of whom had no prior mindfulness experience, were randomly assigned to engage in a month-long mindfulness regimen or to a control group that listened to excerpts from Alice in Wonderland.
Daily mindfulness exercises incorporated relaxation techniques, body scans, breath-focused attention, intention setting and self-reflection. The participants’ mental health was assessed before and after the 30-day period through surveys and the results were significant.
Depression levels dropped by 19.2% more in the mindfulness group than in the control group. Well-being improved by 6.9% more. Anxiety decreased by 12.6% more. Positive attitudes toward health enhanced by 7.1%. And intentions to maintain healthful behaviors increased by 6.5%.
Excitingly, the benefits persisted well after the 30-day mindfulness course, with follow-ups indicating sustained improvements in mental health, sleep quality and overall well-being.
The participants echoed these benefits in their feedback, such as: “A clear mind. Feeling like everything’s under control and I’ll be able to do what I set my mind to.”
“This study highlights that even short, daily practices of mindfulness can offer benefits, making it a simple yet powerful tool for enhancing mental health,” lead researcher Masha Remskar, a postgraduate research student of psychologist at the University of Bath and an expert in behavior change and mindfulness, said in a news release. “It’s exciting to see the benefits of mindfulness extending beyond depression, well-being and anxiety and into other health behaviors such as sleeping better and building stronger intentions to live a healthy lifestyle. Mindfulness builds the psychological skills you need to build healthy habits.”
“The research underscores how digital technology – in this case, a freely available app – can help people integrate behavioral and psychological techniques into their lives, in a way that suits them,” added co-author Ben Ainsworth, who led the Digital Intervention Group at the University of Southampton,
Co-author Max Western from the University of Bath expressed enthusiasm over the study’s implications, adding, “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 behaviors. It is even more encouraging that these benefits were sustained after the mindfulness course ended, suggesting this practice can help build sustainable habits.”
This groundbreaking research not only underscores the potential of brief mindfulness practices to enhance mental health but also opens new avenues for promoting holistic, healthier lifestyles.