Mindfulness

What It Means

Mindfulness is the practice of keeping your attention on the present moment, including your breathing, your body, your thoughts and what's around you. Its formal version is called mindfulness meditation. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) describes it as built on greater awareness of the present, using breathing methods, guided imagery and other practices to relax the body and mind and ease stress.

How People Say It

• "I'm trying to be more mindful when I eat."
• "Ten minutes of mindfulness before work helps me."
• "Just notice the thought and come back to your breath."

The Breakdown

Signs your attention is somewhere else

• You reach the end of a page and can't recall what you read.
• You eat a whole meal without tasting it.
• Your mind keeps replaying yesterday or rehearsing tomorrow.

A short self-check. Stop for one minute and notice three things: how you're breathing, where your body touches the chair or floor, and what you can hear. If your mind wandered off, that's normal. Noticing it and coming back is the practice.

A way to start. Buhata's suggestion: sit comfortably, set a timer for five minutes, and rest your attention on your breath going in and out. Each time a thought pulls you away, notice it and return to the breath. NCCIH lists breathing methods and guided imagery among the tools mindfulness uses, so a guided recording works too.

Starting the conversation. If stress, anxiety or poor sleep is what's sending you to mindfulness, mention it to your doctor as well: "I've started meditating because I'm stressed most days. Is there anything else I should be doing?"

Good to Know

NCCIH says current evidence suggests mindfulness meditation may help reduce symptoms of stress, including anxiety and depression, and may help improve sleep. It also says meditation is usually considered low risk, though few studies have looked for harms, and some people report feeling more anxious during relaxation practices. Talk to a doctor or a licensed mental health professional if stress, anxiety or low mood keeps up or gets in the way of daily life. If you're thinking about suicide or are in crisis, call or text 988 (the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline). Call 911 in an emergency.

Related Terms and Categories

• Mindful eating

  Paying full, nonjudging attention to eating, including the food's taste and texture and your hunger and fullness, rather than eating on autopilot.

• 5-4-3-2-1 grounding

  A grounding exercise that brings your attention back to the present by naming 5 things you see, 4 you can touch, 3 you hear, 2 you smell and 1 you taste.

• Box breathing

  A slow breathing pattern of four equal counts: breathe in for four, hold for four, breathe out for four and hold for four, then repeat.

• Self-compassion

  Treating yourself with the kindness you'd offer a friend when you struggle; researcher Kristin Neff describes three parts: self-kindness, common humanity and mindfulness.

Wellbeing and habits