{"id":56120,"date":"2022-05-27T07:08:45","date_gmt":"2022-05-27T12:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/?p=56120"},"modified":"2024-04-06T06:27:51","modified_gmt":"2024-04-06T06:27:51","slug":"5-mindfulness-exercises-you-can-do-in-under-5-minutes","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/5-mindfulness-exercises-you-can-do-in-under-5-minutes\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Mindfulness Exercises You Can Do In Under 5 Minutes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Your one-stop shop for finding focus and calm \u2014 anytime, anywhere.<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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Mindfulness is not some new trend \u2014 it\u2019s a practice that is innate. If you need to concentrate \u2014 on a deadline, a putt, a conversation \u2014 you are practicing mindfulness. Any time you tune into your thoughts to focus on the here and now, that\u2019s just what you\u2019re doing. And doing it has some major benefits for everything from anxiety to, well, accomplishing that goal you had in mind.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say it\u2019s easy. Nearly half of us spend the bulk of our waking hours thinking about something other than what we\u2019re actually doing, according to\u00a0Harvard researchers<\/a>. When your brain is used to juggling five things at once, it can feel foreign to shut off all those competing thoughts and simply live in the moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe practice is in some ways even more difficult for us as parents,\u201d adds Emily Horn, a certified mindfulness coach in Asheville, NC. \u201cMany days we would\u00a0love<\/i>\u00a0to find those silent moments with no distractions. Keep at it though. If five minutes of mindfulness feels pie in the sky, adjust it to one to two daily minutes. If you forget one day and remember the next, perhaps by the end of the week you\u2019ll meet your overall goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth the effort. Mindfulness has been shown to have powerful effects in numerous studies, like one in the journal\u00a0Pain Medicine<\/i><\/a>\u00a0that found mindfulness exercises were able to lower sensations of pain in people with chronic health conditions.\u00a0Other research<\/a>\u00a0from scientists at Duke University found that mindfulness improves people\u2019s mental health by lessening emotional reactivity in stressful situations and helping people better regulate their behavior.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the last decade, mindfulness has been researched extensively,\u201d says Horn. \u201cResearch shows it supports better sleep, less stress, and an increase in calm moments.\u201d Plus, she adds, \u201cHow many times have you heard your kid say something or do something and you see [negative aspects of] yourself? With mindfulness, you have more understanding and heart space to work with all the stuff you\u2019d rather not hand down to your kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mindfulness is for anyone, really, but it\u2019s especially applicable to those living a maxed-out existence: The more stress you\u2019ve got, the more you need mindfulness.<\/p>\n

To start, forget about finding the \u201cperfect\u201d moment to practice mindful behavior, says Horn. \u201cYou can sit in the car and meditate,\u201d she says. \u201cYou can stand in the checkout line at the grocery store and remember that your body is breathing. You can watch the kid play soccer and feel the air on your skin.\u201d All qualify as mindful experiences.<\/p>\n

For more specific strategies to build mindfulness, check out these five exercises, suggested by Horn and adapted from The<\/a> American Institute of Stress<\/a><\/strong>. They take five minutes or less and can transport your headspace from frazzled to calm.<\/p>\n

Play \u201cThere Is\u201d<\/b><\/h3>\n

This is a mindfulness exercise for the whole family, says Horn. You can play it sitting around after dinner or in the car on a family trip. The goal is to put parents and kids in touch with their feeling by simply saying out loud wheat they\u2019re doing and feeling (i.e., what \u201cthere is\u201d) without judgment. \u201cStart with, \u2018There is seeing. There is hearing. There is breathing,\u2019\u201d says Horn. Then describe each other: \u201cYou might say, \u2018There is Daddy being Daddy, there is Mommy being Mommy\u2014there is people being happy, sad, mad, and silly.\u2019\u201d The idea is to capture what you are experiencing at a basic level, Horn explains. \u201cIt\u2019s simple and it settles us,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

Take a Sensory Walk<\/b><\/h3>\n

Head into the woods or around your neighborhood for a few minutes. Rather than letting your mind wander, pick one or two things to focus your thoughts on. For instance:<\/p>\n