In a new study published in the British Journal of Health Psychology, researchers from the Universities of Bath and Southampton have unveiled how just 10 minutes of daily mindfulness practice can improve wellbeing, ease depression and anxiety, and help people to be more motivated to improve their lifestyle – including healthier exercise, eating and sleeping habits.
The research, which enrolled 1247 adults from 91 countries, demonstrates that brief daily mindfulness sessions, delivered through a free mobile app Medito, can have profound benefits.
Participants, most of whom had no prior mindfulness experience, were randomly allocated to a month-long mindfulness routine or a control condition—listening to excerpts from Alice in Wonderland. Daily mindfulness sessions included relaxation exercises, intention-setting, body scans, breath-focused attention, and self-reflection.
The participants completed surveys on their mental health before starting the 30 days of mindfulness training and upon completing it. The results were striking. After mindfulness training participants using the mindfulness app reported:
- Reduced Depression by 19.2% more than control group.
- Improved Wellbeing by 6.9% more.
- Decreased Anxiety by 12.6% more.
- Attitudes to Health got more Positive by 7.1% over control group.
- Behavioural Intentions to look after Health increased by 6.5% beyond control.
The positive effects of mindfulness were largely maintained after 30 days. In survey follow-ups one month later (Day 61) the mindfulness group showed sustained improvements to their wellbeing, depression, attitudes, and even reporting better sleep quality.
In their feedback, participants highlighted numerous benefits from the mindfulness practice:
“Awareness, self-control, gratitude, I am more patient, and I take more joy from the present moment.”
“Clear mind. Feeling like everything's under control and I'll be able to do what I set my mind to.”
“Completing these meditation sessions has given me a better understanding of the function of my mind. They have helped me to gain a better insight on many things and shown me a different lens through which to look at the world. Words coming to mind: helpful, insightful and motivational.”
Excitingly, this trial was one of the first to show that the wellbeing and mental health benefits of mindfulness could arise from the changes to lifestyle behaviours it encourages. This highlights the potential of mindfulness practice for promoting healthier living, such as exercising regularly, which is what the team are eager to research next.
The study was conducted by psychologist Masha Remskar, an expert in behaviour change, mindfulness and exercise based at the University of Bath. She said:
“This study highlights that even short, daily practices of mindfulness can offer benefits, making it a simple yet powerful tool for enhancing mental health.”
Of the findings linking mindfulness practice to healthier habits, Remskar said:
“It’s exciting to see the benefits of mindfulness extending beyond depression, well-being and anxiety and into other health behaviours such as sleeping better and building stronger intentions to live a healthy lifestyle. Mindfulness builds the psychological skills you need to build healthy habits – we hope to show in future work that once you’ve got those skills you can use them to improve several health behaviours from exercising regularly to stopping smoking.”
Co-author Dr Ben Ainsworth, who leads the Digital Intervention Group at the University of Southampton, added:
“The research underscores how digital technology – in this case, a freely available app – can help people integrate behavioural and psychological techniques into their lives, in a way that suits them. ”
Co-author Dr Max Western from the University of Bath said:
“It is exciting to see that such a light-touch, affordable, intervention that has the potential to reach a large global audience can have an impact on healthy lifestyle behaviours. It is even more encouraging that these benefits were sustained after the mindfulness course ended, suggesting this practice can help build sustainable habits.”
The study was funded by the UKRI Economic and Social Research Council and done in collaboration with the Medito Foundation – – a mindfulness non-profit dedicated to fostering a more mindful world. Medito has developed a mindfulness meditation app as a free alternative to well-known services requiring monthly subscription payments. Participants in the study completed Medito’s “30 Day Challenge,” but the Foundation had no involvement with data collection, analysis, or the scientific publication process.
ENDS
For more information, please contact Rebecca Tanswell at the University of Bath press office: 01225 386319 or email press@bath.ac.uk
Information for editors:
- Mindfulness improves psychological health and supports health behaviour cognitions: Evidence from a pragmatic RCT of a digital mindfulness-based intervention, published in the British Journal of Health Psychology
- This work was funded by the UKRI Economic and Social Research Council
- Psychological wellbeing was measured with the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, a 14-item questionnaire with a higher total implying better psychological wellbeing (range 0-70)
- Symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress were measured with the Depression, Anxiety and Stress short-form questionnaire. Rating its 21 statements gives subscale scores of 0-21 for depression, anxiety and stress, where higher scores indicate more severe symptoms (range 0-21)
- Sleep quality was measured with the question: “How would you rate the quality of your sleep over the past week?”). Participants responded on a slider scale from 0 (“Worst possible sleep”) to 10 (“Best possible sleep”) (range 0-10)
- Motivation for engaging in health behaviours was measured with the Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire (range 0-7)
- Belief in maintaining healthy behaviour was measured with the Barriers Self-Efficacy Scale (range 0-7)
- Behavioural predictors from the Theory of Planned Behaviour, including attitudes and behavioural intentions, were measured with a 12-item TPB questionnaire (range 0-7)
The University of Bath
The University of Bath is one of the UK's leading universities for high-impact research with a reputation for excellence in education, student experience and graduate prospects.
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About the Economic and Social Research Council
The UKRI Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government. We fund world-leading research, data and post-graduate training in the economic, behavioural, social and data sciences to understand people and the world around us. Our work helps raise productivity, address climate change, improve public services and generate a prosperous, inclusive, healthy and secure society. www.ukri.org/esrc
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
Mindfulness improves psychological health and supports health behaviour cognitions: Evidence from a pragmatic RCT of a digital mindfulness-based intervention
Article Publication Date
21-Aug-2024