If stress can age us prematurely—as discussed in a previous post—what are ways that we can manage stress more effectively? Mindfulness is one technique for dealing with stress that I have found very effective. Using mindfulness you try to focus on the present moment, not worrying about the past or the future. You become more aware of your thoughts and emotions. You can then step back from them and not react emotionally. Instead, you have a moment to pause and then use your “wise mind” to come up with the best solution. The concept of the wise mind is to not be driven by emotions, nor being completely logical and detached from your emotions. Your emotions are an important part of you, but being driven by your emotions can get you into trouble. Acknowledging your emotional wants and needs but allowing your rational mind to evaluate and make decisions leads you to your wise mind.

Mindfulness puts you in the “being” mode of mind, which is associated with relaxation. Your “doing” mode of mind is associated with action and the stress response. You don’t need to “do” anything, just be aware and sensitive to your body and what you are feeling. Stay focused on being aware of the present moment and simply notice feelings and thoughts as they come and go. As your emotional intelligence rises, you are less likely to get into conflict. You are better able to focus. You have a greater sense of well-being, and this reduces the stress response. You can switch your attitude about the stress: rather than just seeing the negative consequences of feeling stressed, mindfulness offers you the space to think differently about the stress itself. Observing how the increased pressure helps energize you has a positive effect on your body and mind.

Mindfulness practice reduces activity in the part of your brain called the amygdala. This primal region of the brain is associated with fear and emotion. The amygdala is central to switching on your stress response. Brain imaging techniques are revealing that practicing mindfulness can profoundly change the way different regions of the brain communicate with each other—and therefore how we think—permanently. One study showed that after an eight-week course of mindfulness practice, the amygdala appears to shrink. As the amygdala shrinks, the pre-frontal cortex—associated with higher order brain functions such as awareness, concentration and decision-making—becomes thicker. The connectivity between these regions also changes. The connection between the amygdala and the rest of the brain gets weaker, while the connections between areas associated with attention and concentration get stronger. In other words, our more primal responses to stress seem to be superseded by more thoughtful ones. The disconnection of our mind from its “stress center” seems to give rise to a range of physical as well as mental health benefits.

We could all use a little less stress in our daily lives. Putting mindfulness into practice can help get us there. It could even help us live longer, so why not give it a try?