Mindfulness And Emotional Well-Being

A new study from the University of Utah shows that individuals who describe themselves as being more mindful have more stable emotions and perceive themselves to have better control over their mood and behaviour throughout the day. Higher mindful people also describe less cognitive and physiological activation before bedtime, suggesting that greater emotional stability during the day might even translate into better sleep. The study results will be presented later this month at the annual meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society.

Prior studies of mindfulness - paying attention in a particular way, on purpose in the present moment and non-judgemental - have typically been conducted with participants trained in mindfulness, for example meditation or other interventions. In contrast, this study examines naturally-occurring traits of mindfulness. Using a novel method for data collection, the participants wore a monitor that measured cardiac functioning and were prompted periodically throughout the day to rate their emotional state and mental functioning. Examining these processes during normal daily living builds on prior mindfulness research conducted in laboratory-controlled settings.

"This study gives us a better understanding of how mindfulness affects stress responses throughout the day," says Holly Rau, a graduate student involved with this research. "People who reported higher levels of mindfulness described better control over their emotions and behaviours during the day. In addition, higher mindfulness was associated with lower activation at bedtime, which could have benefits for sleep quality and future ability to manage stress."

What is Mindfulness

Courses for mindfulness

Through a deeper insight into the physiological and psychological aspects of stress, the 8 week course helps to create a tool kit for the individual to help maintain positive mental wellbeing.

The Yoga for the Mind course translates yogic and mindfulness practice in a scientific and therapeutic way for the maximum benefit to the mind and body. The yoga practice is specifically designed to rebalance the nervous system and to teach you how to regulate mood and emotions. You’ll be taught which postures are useful for energising and which are useful for bringing calm to your system. Additionally through the poses you will learn how to coexist equally with both comfortable and uncomfortable physical sensations through relaxation and working with the breath. By learning how to be with the variety of sensations in the body you simultaneously develop the ability to be with challenging emotions in a more grounded and gentle way.

sourced from medical news read more on mindfulness & emtion

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