How to Become More Emotionally Stable Using Mindfulness

Don’t you wish you were the kind of person who stopped to smell the roses? You might think; who has the time?! However, not only is slowing down good for your emotional wellbeing, it’s also an important tool in mental health. Research has shown that mindfulness, or the practice of consciously and non-judgmentally observing the present moment, is linked to better wellness, with naturally mindful people reporting being more emotionally stable during the day and more relaxed at night.

 

For a University of Utah study, 38 people aged 20-45 completed a questionnaire that measured how naturally mindful they were, including their ability to notice their surroundings and act consciously. According to Paula Williams, PhD, associate professor of psychology at the University of Utah and co-author of the study, ‘People who are more mindful are able to stay somewhat separate from shifts in their body and their emotional state. They’re more observant, as opposed to reactive.’ So, if mindfulness puts you in control of your body and emotions, how do you introduce it into your daily life?

 

Susan Evans, PhD, professor of psychology in clinical psychiatry at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Centre, advises starting your mornings with 30 minutes of sitting quietly and focusing on your breath. ‘When your mind wanders, come back to your breath,’ she says, as this allows your mind and body to transition from a resting state to an active state more effectively. When you get to the office, don’t be afraid to get up and leave your desk when you need a minute to clear your head. ‘We get caught up in a lot of thoughts about the future, the past,’ Evans explains. ‘This is an opportunity to kind of break out of that.’ Step outside and observe what’s going on around you, like what the clouds are doing.

 

When it’s time for your lunch break, actually take a break to eat lunch. It can be tempting to grab a sandwich and carry on typing with one hand, but Evans notes that stopping to eat will help you to enjoy your lunch more, slow down, and—as an extra perk—eat less of it. Really try to zone in on the texture and taste of your meal. Finally, when you’re having a conversation, try to be present in it. Mindful listening helps you to get out of your own head, and you may even build stronger relationships.

Categories: body, emotionally stable, evans, listening, Lunch Break, mindful, mindfulness, naturally mindful, nbsp, people

Eat Out and Eat Less: Study Shows Mindfulness Cuts Calories

Taking care of your diet wellness is not without its challenges when you just stick to the confines of your own house, but you might as well say goodbye to your wellbeing once you start eating out. Between the supersizes and the high-calorie dishes, restaurants are often a factor involved in weight gain, even if you just eat out once or twice a week. According to Gayle Timmerman, PhD, a nursing professor at The University of Texas at Austin who studies eating patterns, ‘The restaurant is a high-risk food environment; there’s a pretty good chance if you eat out frequently you’re likely to gain weight over time.’ Luckily, Timmerman’s new study looks at how mindful eating can help you eat out, guilt-free.

The study, published in the Journal of Nutrition and Education Behaviour, included 35 middle-aged women who ate out at least three times per week and ranged in body size from slim to morbidly obese. These women were divvied up into a control group, and another group that followed a mindful eating programme. This involved a series of dining techniques that focused on close attention to the enjoyment of eating and feelings of hunger and fullness. Even though the women in the mindfulness group didn’t change their eating out or ordering in habits – and were doing so nearly six times a week, on average – they’d lost an average of 3.75 pounds and were eating about 300 fewer calories per day.

However, the mindful eating benefits didn’t just apply to dinners out or takeaways; these habits also translated into healthier home behaviours. ‘Once you’ve learned mindful eating skills, you tend to use them whether you are eating at your own kitchen table or at a five-star restaurant,’ comments Susan Albers, Psy.D., a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic and the author of Eating Mindfully. ‘In general, we’ve lost the art of savouring food. We can eat an entire plate of food and not taste one bite. Mindful eating skills teach you how to eat less but enjoy it more.’ She adds that mindful eating involves ‘breaking those autopilot habits that we have around eating.’ So, how do you do it?

1. Think again before you order: When you go to the same restaurants all the time, you can end up falling into a rut of ordering the same dishes. You can also say yes without thinking when a waiter suggests an appetiser, so try to approach each dinner out with new eyes and ears.

2. Make each calorie count: What do you really love to eat? Wouldn’t you rather save your calorie budget and spend it on an eating experience that’s worth it? Timmerman asks, ‘Does that cheese on the burger really make it for you? If not, that’s about a hundred calories.’

3. Get saucy on the side: Whatever you can say “on the side” to – gravy, salad dressing, butter — do it. ‘Then you have control of how much…you really need or want on there,’ notes Timmerman.

4. Think about a doggy bag before you eat: When the plate appears in front of you, don’t tuck in straightaway without thinking. Take a moment and ask yourself how hungry you are on a scale of one to 10, and how that number relates to the food on your plate. If you’re only a “six” on the scale of one to ravenous, work out how much of your dinner will fill that gap, and plan to take the rest home in a doggy bag.

5. Really pay attention: Timmerman urges, ‘When you’re eating, really be aware of…the sight and the texture and the taste of food. We go out to eat because it’s enjoyable, it’s pleasurable, it tastes good—all of that. If you’re really paying attention, maybe you don’t have to eat the whole basket of fries; you can eat just a handful.’

Categories: doggy bag, eating, eating skills, Food, Habits, mindful, Mindful Eating, Research, timmerman, Tips