In times of stress, it is always good to take a break and become aware of the "here and now." It is about achieving mindfulness or mindfulness.
This kind of care, an essential part of Buddhist and Hindu traditions, has become the main way to combat stress and improve our quality of life.
Research suggests that mindfulness meditation may have health and performance benefits:
1) Improves immune function.
2) Lowers blood pressure.
3) Improves cognitive function.
However How is it that a single practice can have such wide benefits?
A new article published in the latest edition of the Association for Psychological Science try to justify these positive effects.
The aim of this work, according to author Britta Hölzel, from Harvard Medical School, is to "Unveil the conceptual and mechanistic complexity of attention".
Hölzel and his co-authors point out that attention is not just a single skill. Rather, it is a mental practice that encompasses various mechanisms.
The authors specifically identify the four key components of care:
1) The regulation of attention.
2) Body awareness.
3) Emotional regulation.
4) The sense of self.
Although these components are theoretically distinct, they are closely related.
If you achieve adequate regulation of attention, for example, you gain a greater awareness of your physiological state. This increase in body awareness, in turn, helps us better recognize the emotions we are experiencing. All this together helps us to have a greater awareness of ourselves.
However, to achieve this level of care it is necessary a lot of practice in meditation.
The authors of this study continue to investigate to be able to use "Mindfulness meditation as a versatile tool to facilitate change, both in psychotherapy and in everyday life."