“If you want sustainable effects, you have to keep practicing regularly.” “Mindfulness is not something that you can just train properly in one or two weeks,” she says. Hülsheger also notes that due to the short-term nature of the participants’ training, the positive effects probably would not persist over time. Meanwhile, those who were placed on a waitlist for the meditation training showed no significant improvements in sleep quality or mindfulness. “But it is possible that sleep quality is more sensitive to meditation and that you see the positive effects of the mindfulness training earlier.” “It is likely you would have to train more intensely or for longer periods of time before you see any effects on psychological detachment,” says Hülsheger. The Greater Good Science Center is hosting a conference on "Mindfulness & Well-Being at Work" on November 13-14 in Berkeley, California. The results indicate that over the course of the two-week period, meditators experienced steady improvements in sleep quality, sleep duration, and mindfulness, but did not demonstrate significant enhancements in their ability to psychologically detach from work. In addition, participants completed a series of questions in the morning, at the end of work, and at bedtime to track their sleep quality, amount of mindfulness at work, and their ability to psychologically detach from work-related thoughts after coming home. Over the course of two workweeks, the participants were asked to meditate using different combinations of these exercises for 10 minutes each day before and after work, according to a predefined schedule. They also received instructions and audio of guided meditations for four specific mindfulness practices: a three-minute “mindful breathing” exercise (which focuses attention on the breath), the body scan (moving focus across different areas of the body), mindfully focusing on an everyday task (such as preparing breakfast or taking a shower), and loving kindness meditation (sending feelings of love and compassion to themselves and others). In the study, participants with no formal meditation training were given reading materials that introduced them to the basic tenets of mindfulness-the moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations. “We were interested in knowing whether a low-dose training could be helpful because it is easier for people to do as compared to an eight-week program,” says Hülsheger. While meditation programs such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) have been shown to be effective in treating anxiety, insomnia, and other psychological disorders, the trainings are often rigorous, requiring daily meditation and group sessions over a period of eight weeks-a tall order for many people wrestling with a busy work schedule. From the GGSC to your bookshelf: 30 science-backed tools for well-being.
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