1. Mindfulness
What’s it all about?

2. How can you be more mindful?
The Challenge
The Science
The Solution
Stress, work and life challenges can get to the best of us.
Research shows that meditation is linked to a host of benefits from happiness to health.
Meditate to feel calmer, happier, healthier, more productive and more in charge.

3. Let’s find out more Why should I meditate?
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4. It boosts your HEALTH Increases immune function(See here and here)
In a study conducted in 2003 researchers measured brain electrical activity before and immediately after, and then 4 months after an 8‐week training program in mindfulness meditation.
Results showed that meditation improved the immune system after just a short meditation program and had lasting effects.
These findings suggest that meditation may change brain and immune function in positive ways and underscore the need for additional research.
Decrease pain and improves your ability to cope with pain (see here).
Decreases levels of stress and anxiety (See here and here and here).

5. It boosts your HAPPINESS
Increases positive emotion (here and here)
Barbara Fredrickson studied loving-kindness meditation
Results showed that this meditation practice produced increases over time in daily experiences of positive emotions, which, in turn, produced increases in a wide range of personal resources (e.g., increased mindfulness, purpose in life, social support, decreased illness symptoms).
In turn, these increments in personal resources predicted increased life satisfaction and reduced depressive symptoms.

6. Decreases depression (see here)
Decreases anxiety (see here and here and here)
A study conducted by Albert et al., (2006) found the results supported the safety and potential efficacy of meditative practices for treating certain illnesses, particularly in nonpsychotic mood and anxiety disorders
Decreases stress (see here and here)
The stress inherent in health care negatively impacts health care professionals, leading to increased depression, decreased job satisfaction, and psychological distress.
In an attempt to address this, Shapiro et al., (2005) examined the effects of a short-term stress management program, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), on health care professionals.
Results from this prospective randomized controlled pilot study suggest that an 8-week MBSR intervention may be effective for reducing stress and increasing quality of life and self-compassion in health care professionals.

7. It boosts your SOCIAL LIFE
Increases connection and emotional intelligence (see here and here).
Even just a few minutes of loving-kindness meditation increased feelings of social connection and positivity toward novel individuals on both explicit and implicit levels.
These results suggest that this easily implemented technique may help to increase positive social emotions and decrease social isolation.
Makes you more compassionate (see here and here and here).
Makes you feel less lonely (see here).

8. It boosts your SELF CONTROL
Improves your ability to regulate your emotions (see here).
Have you ever flown off the handle or not been able to quiet your mind? Mindfulness can help.
Improves your ability to introspect (examine one’s own thoughts and feelings) (see here and for why this is crucial see this post).

9. It changes your brain (for the better)
Increases grey matter (see here).
detected significantly larger gray matter volumes in meditators in the right orbito-frontal cortex.
meditators showed significantly larger volumes of the right hippocampus.
Both orbito-frontal and hippocampal regions have been implicated in emotional regulation and response control. Thus, larger volumes in these regions might account for meditators' singular abilities and habits to cultivate positive emotions, retain emotional stability, and engage in mindful behaviour.
Increases volume in areas related to emotion regulation, positive emotions and self control (see here andhere).
Increases cortical thickness in areas related to paying attention (see here).

10. Boosts your PRODUCTIVITY
Increases your focus and attention (see here and here and here and here) Improves your ability to multitask (see here) Improves your memory (see here) Improves your ability to be creative and think outside the box (see research by J. Schooler)

11. Myths about meditation
Having an empty mind – nope, when you start meditating, you’ll find it’s quite the opposite. Sitting in the lotus position – nope, you can sit on the couch (just don’t lie down, you’ll fall asleep). Sitting for an hour a day – nope, small doses work just fine. Chanting in a language I don’t understand – nope, not unless that floats your boat. Buddhist, Hindu or religious – nope, not unless you make it so. Weird – whats so weird about sitting and breathing? Soldiers are doing it, how weird can it be?

12. HEADSPACE

13. Let’s try it!

14. Your Task
Conduct some of your own research into meditation and find one that you would like to try for yourself. There are lots of great websites out there and APPS that you can use. In the Mindfulness folder on the student shared drive write a brief review of your findings and post links to good websites and apps that you would recommend to others. Use the links on this presentation to help you.