How Mindfulness Activities Help Reduce Stress
Mindfulness Activities for Regulation
The benefits of mindfulness activities for stress reduction and regulation of our nervous system.
Did you know that the somatosensory cortex is our part of the brain that is involved in involved how we process emotion? This includes how we recognise emotion, generate emotion and regulate our emotions.
The somatosensory neocortex of the brain has a disproportionate number of nerve endings to the hands, face, and feet. These are areas of the skin that has higher density receptors. By using our hands in movement and activities as well as feeling into our hands mindfully we can activate the somatosensory cortex. This is important because mindfulness activities that use the body to enhance sensory, breath and movement awareness can enhance our overall self-awareness and improve our wellbeing by re-organizing the somatosensory cortex.
How can mindfulness activities help us with stress and self regulation?
Mindfulness activities can help us to focus our attention, especially when we are feeling stressed or overwhelmed by a strong emotion. The more we develop and cultivate mindfulness (a bit like a muscle) the easier it is for us to experience states of peace and calm. When we are mindful we can choose how we want to respond to challenging situations, rather than becoming reactive in the moment.Being mindful allows us to activate a part in our brain called the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). The MPFC is part of the frontal lobes which is the part of the brain that is responsible for planning, reason, logic, problem solving and controlling your emotions.
When this part of our brain is online and activated (as in the case of mindfulness practices and activities) it down regulates a part in our brain called the amygdala.
The Amygdala is often referred to as the ‘smoke detector’ and is located in the limbic or emotional part of our brain. Our Amygdala is designed to scan for danger and threat and when we experience something that our amygdala detects as a threat, whether it be something that is a trigger from our past or a stressful event, the amygdala sounds the alarm, takes our frontal lobes ‘offline’ and we move into what’s commonly known as fight, flight or freeze.
Mindfulness activities are a great resource in being able to help turn our frontal lobes back, down regulate the amygdala by activating the MPFC thus lowering our stress response and getting us to think more clearly, rationally and logically.
What are some of the benefits of doing mindfulness activities?
There is a huge body of research and study that speaks to the benefit of mindfulness can be stimulated in many ways, one of which is through activities that allow us to become more present and focused. Brain imaging research shows that practicing mindfulness can alter brain structure in a way that can improve our reaction to stress. Link to research: Davidson, R. and Lutz, A. Buddha’s brain: neuroplasticity and meditation. IEEE Signal Process Magazine, 2008, 25(1), pp. 174–176.
Meditation promotes mental balance by controlling the “monkey mind” (Luders, Cherbuin, & Kurth, 2015). Monkey Mind is a term for the brain activity known as the “Default Mode Network” (DMN). The DMN is responsible for what we think when we do not attend to anything specific. It causes the mind to wander and engage in non-specific targeted information that distracts us. Reduced DMN activity in the brain is the reason why meditators can remain more present-oriented and focused all the time.
Mindfulness activities can also help to stimulate our parasympathetic nervous system by activating our vagus nerve (see polyvagal theory for more information) and increasing our ‘vagal tone’. Having higher vagal tone means that your body can relax faster after stress. Researchers have also discovered, the more you increase your vagal tone, the more your physical and mental health will improve, and vice versa
“The vagal response reduces stress. It reduces our heart rate and blood pressure. It changes the function of certain parts of the brain, stimulates digestion, all those things that happen when we are relaxed.” — Dr. Mladen Golubic, MD, Medical Director of the Cleveland Clinic.
Another study in 2006 showed how mindfulness art therapy for women with cancer helped them to signifyingly decrease the symptoms of physical and emotional distress during their treatment. Art therapy has also been shown to help people cope with depression, anxiety, addiction and trauma. Link to research: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16288447/
How does doing an activity with your hands create mindfulness?
I’ve popped a few examples with activities using the hands that can support us in creating indfulness. More broadly using the body overall eg hands, feet, touch, rocking, swinging, humming, singing etc in mindful ways to support wellbeing.
One example of this is research suggests that spending as little as 30 minutes a day with your bare feet connected to the earth could help improve your health and wellbeing. Link to research https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4378297/)
Mindfulness activities with our hands can help induce our relaxation response. Bilateral (two sided) co-ordinated hand movements fire neurons all over our brain. When we use both hands at once to make different movements we also stimulate a range of different brain functions.
Doing mindful activities with our hands requires a rhythm and repetition that requires both our physical and cognitive skills, especially if we are creating something. Mindful activities like gardening, knitting, colouring or doing craft with our hands can allow us to focus a certain amount of our awareness outside of ourselves whilst still being present. These activities act a bit like a mediative exercise that allows us to move away from worrying and ruminating about the things that stress us out (without having to sit still and mediate) which has a positive effect on our wellbeing and reduces our feelings of stress and anxiety.
As an example, completing a puzzle can not only help focus and sharpening our mind but it can also be a mindfulness activity. Puzzles, combine focus, attention to detail, and presence of mind whilst also being fun. There is an added bonus of feeling a sense of achievement and reward in seeing the result of the completed puzzle!
One example of using our hands and the impact of mindfulness is seen in a 2007 study by Harvard medical school, mind and body institute that showed that knitting induced a relaxation response that resulted in lowering the heart rate on average by 11 beats per minute. Knit for Peace. Link to research: The health benefits of knitting. https://www.knitforpeace.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/The-Health-Benefits-of-Knitting-Preview.pdf. Accessed December 5, 2018.
Any type of rhythmic Movement can help reduce stress by stimulating the vestibular system. Rythmic movement can include any movement of the body from swinging in a hammock, to rocking, dancing, tai chi, qigong, drumming, quilting, knitting. Vestibular stimulation through swinging has been found to reduce stress, as measured by decreases in blood pressure, respiratory rate and improved sleep quality. Link to research: Kumar, S. S., Rajagopalan, A., & Mukkadan, J. K. (2016). vestibular stimulation for stress management in students. Journal of clinical and diagnostic research, 10(2), CC27–CC31. https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2016/17607.7299
What are the effects on the body after doing mindfulness activities?
Mindful activities can help relax the brain. When thoughts are focused on a simple activity, your brain tends to relax, because again you’re not caught up in the cycle of worry and rumination which causes us to feel more stress. As you are present in the moment not worrying about the future or the what if’s you aren’t disturbed by thoughts or judgements. Both your body and your brain can experience more peace and relaxation.
Mindfulness activities can also allow our bodies and minds to slow down. Again connecting to the present moment, whilst allowing us to focus deeply on the activity at hand, we can turn our attention to breathing, develop a level of awareness to feel into our bodies in a way that doesn’t feel overwhelming and interrupt unhelpful thoughts, allowing us to clear our minds, and be more in the moment. All of which has a soothing and regulating effect on our emotions.
Evidence has also linked practising mindfulness to changes in many parts of the brain. Some research suggests that mindfulness can affect the production of chemicals that change our mood. We also know that connections between different regions of the brain change when we are mindful. Scientists have used MRI scans to see how the brain changes when people practise mindfulness.
How does someone get the most out of doing these activities?
Simple Mindful movements can help you to reset your mind and move stress through the body. I believe adding a mindfulness activity or practice should be something that doesn’t add to your stress and enjoyable. I think it’s also important to know that there is no one ‘best’ mindfulness activity. Every person is unique and it’s important to experiment and see what you enjoy and what works best for you.
Whether it’s a mindful activity with your hands like leggo, crafting, colouring or knitting or a simpler activity like a walk, sitting down in an airport and being mindful or some simple stretches. Whatever you chose to practice, let it be something that you enjoy doing. If adding another thing to your day to day feels challenging you can also work with simply adding more mindful movement into your daily routine.
Any activity can be a mindful activity that allows you bring develop more awareness of yourself and your surroundings. If you want to challenge yourself during as mindful activity you might like to focus on how you can bring in the use of your five senses – what you can see, hear, taste, touch smell. Do what works for you, observe your thoughts and feelings, be curious and drop the without judgment. Notice when you get lost in thoughts, and bring yourself back to the present moment. Doing mindful activities in groups also has the benefit of building relationships & social connection!
What are some of the best ‘go to’ mindfulness activities you’d recommend?
Knitting
Gardening
Learning a musical instrument
Singing
dancing
chanting
Working with clay
Arts & crafts
Journaling
Colouring in
massage
Art therapy
Drumming
Yoga
Tai chi
Trampoline work
Equine grooming
Qigong
Walking/running
Meditation