Here‘s More Evidence That Mindfulness Is Worth the Effort
A new study published in the journal Aging & Mental Health suggests that there’s a link between present-moment attention and wellbeing that gets stronger with age.
This can create a sense of wanting to appreciate the present, and in turn, boosts your overall health.
The old saying is that with age comes wisdom, but a new study published in Aging & Mental Health suggests that wisdom might come from increasing your mindfulness as you get older.
Researchers at Flinders University in Australia recruited 623 participants, between 18 and 86 years old, and asked them to complete questionnaires about goals, overall wellbeing, and mindful characteristics—such as paying attention to and accepting the present moment in a non-judgmental way. They also asked about “interoception,” which is a sense of feeling what’s going on in your body, such as being cold or hungry.
They found that there’s a link between present-moment attention and wellbeing that gets stronger with age, which is likely because when people get older, they become more aware of having increasingly limited time. That can create a sense of wanting to appreciate the present, and in turn, boosts overall health and wellbeing.
“This causes us to be less concerned with the future, and more concerned with the here-and-now,” study coauthor Leeann Mahlo, Ph.D.(c), of Flinders University’s School of Psychology, told Bicycling. “This motivation to savor our experiences in the present moment could, in turn, help us derive greater meaning and satisfaction from out daily life experiences as we get older.”
One finding that surprised researchers, she added, is that there is a possible turning point in midlife where this happens, as opposed to occurring only later in life. People in midlife tend to move away from judging experiences as good or bad the way people in young adulthood do, she said.
This adds to previous research that indicates there are significant benefits to starting a mindfulness practice, or even to simply gravitate more often to the present moment, study coauthor Tim Windsor, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology and social work at Flinders University, told Bicycling. For older people, though, this takeaway from this research is that you’re more likely to have this happen naturally instead of intentionally—and that’s a big plus.
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“As a society, we often focus on negative aspects of getting older, but research tells us that aging also comes with gains in aspects of social and emotional functioning,” said Windsor. “Our findings suggest that the ability to engage with life in ways that support mindfulness could represent one of those areas of age-related strength.”
Not happening for you even though you’re in midlife or beyond, or just want to get a jumpstart on that present-moment attention? Mahlo suggests simply starting to become aware of your thoughts and surroundings, and paying attention in open and non-judgmental ways. Begin doing so during everyday activities, such as washing the dishes, eating a meal, or even going for a ride.
“Mindfulness can be instrumental in reducing stress and generating positive emotions, and can help us to respond in flexible, more optimistic ways to challenging circumstances, even in a pandemic,” she said.
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