Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.
Skip to main content
Home

Header Top Menu

  • Careers
  • Investors
  • News
    • Press Release Archive
    • Press Statements
    • Podcasts
      • The Antigen Podcast
      • Get Science Podcast
      • Diverse Perspectives Podcast
      • menopause: unmuted
      • Hemcast
    • Contact Media Relations
    • Press Kits & Downloads
      • Company Press Kit
      • Pfizer Oncology Press Kit
      • PSA Narrative
      • RA NarRAtive
      • Rare Disease Gene Therapy Press Kit
      • ATTR-Amyloidosis Press Kit
      • UC Narrative
      • Eczema Inside Out Press Kit
  • Partners
    • Discovery to Pre-candidate
      • Focus Areas
        • Therapeutic Areas
          • Internal Medicine
          • Inflammation and Immunology
          • Oncology
          • Rare Disease
          • Vaccines
        • Therapeutic Modalities and Technology Platforms
          • Drug Safety
          • Gene Therapy
          • Target Sciences
          • Precision Medicine
          • Medicinal Sciences
            • Biologics Product & Process Development
            • Biotherapeutics Discovery
            • Medicine Design
            • Small Molecule Product & Process Development
        • Emerging Science
          • DNA Damage Response
          • Microsatellite Repeat Expansions
          • Senescence
      • Partnering Models
    • Candidate Through Commercialization
      • Focus Areas
        • Internal Medicine
        • Inflammation and Immunology
        • Oncology
        • Rare Disease
        • Vaccines
        • Hospital
    • Pfizer CentreOne
    • Pfizer Ventures
      • Our portfolio

Healthcare Professionals

  • Healthcare Professionals

Connect with Us

  • Connect with Us
    • Email
    • FAQ
    • Privacy Policy (NEW)
    • YouTube
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram
  • Your Health

    • Healthy Living
      • Brain & Nervous System
      • Cardiovascular Health
      • Cold & Flu
      • Digestive Health
      • Healthier Aging
      • Living Tobacco Free
      • Men’s Health
      • Mental Health
      • Nutrition & Fitness
      • Pediatric Health
      • Respiratory Health
      • Skin Health
      • Vaccines & Prevention
      • Women’s Health

    • Disease & Condition
      • Cancer
      • Cardiovascular Diseases & Conditions
      • Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders
      • Immune System Diseases & Conditions
      • Infections & Infectious Diseases
      • Neurological Diseases & Conditions
      • Menopause
      • Rare Disease
      • Vaccine-Related Conditions
      • Skin Diseases & Conditions
      • Atopic Dermatitis

    • Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

    • Managing your health
      • Caregiving
      • Evaluating Health Information
      • Tracking Your Health
      • Your Medicines
      • Health Literacy

    • Wellness
    Hot Topics

    Maintaining Emotional Well-Being During COVID-19

    Emotional Well-Being Tips for People Living with Chronic Inflammatory Conditions During COVID-19
  • Our Science

    • Driven to Discover the cure

    • Focus Areas
      • Internal Medicine
      • Inflammation & Immunology
      • Oncology
      • Rare Disease
      • Vaccines
      • Anti Infectives

    • Product Pipeline

    • Clinical Trials
      • Guide to Clinical Trials
      • Find a Trial
      • Expanded Access & Compassionate Use
      • Clinical Trials in Children
      • Partnering with Pfizer
      • Trial Data & Results
      • Research Integrity & Transparency
      • Diversity in Clinical Trials

    • R&D Platforms
      • Biosimilars
      • Gene Therapy
      • Medicinal Sciences
      • Precision Medicine
      • Maternal Immunization

    • Collaboration
      • Partner with Pfizer

    • Research sites

    • Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Scientific Resources
    HOT TOPICS

    MRNA VS. CONVENTIONAL VACCINES

    What Makes an RNA Vaccine Different From a Conventional Vaccine?
  • Our People

    • Meet The Experts
      • Scientists
      • Internal Medicine – Metabolic Disease
      • Inflammation & Immunology
      • Oncology
      • Rare Disease
      • Vaccines
      • Medical Professionals

    • The Journey

    • Leadership
      • Executives
      • Board Members
      • Company Fact Sheet

    • Diverse Perspectives
      • Diversity & Inclusion
      • Supplier Diversity
    HOT TOPICS

    Meet our new Chief Patient Officer, Dr. Dara Richardson-Heron

    dr_richardson_300x170.jpg

    Working Together to Empower Women

    VizagWomen_300x170.jpg

    • Hot Topics
  • Our Purpose

    • Commitment to Global Health
      • Expanding Access
      • Strengthening Health Systems
      • Providing Disaster & Humanitarian Relief
      • Unleashing the Power of Our Colleagues
      • Highlighting Individual Voices

    • Protecting People and the Environment
      • Pfizer's Green Journey
      • Product Stewardship
      • EHS Governance
      • EHS Supply Chain
      • Key Performance Indicators
      • Health & Safety
      • Human Rights

    • Positions on Health Policies
      • Ready for Cures
      • How does Pfizer price medicines?
      • Value of Medicines
      • Policy Positions
      • Creating Cures Through Facility Investments

    • Transparency
      • Working with Health Care Professionals
      • Transparency in Grants
      • Code of Conduct
      • Corporate Compliance
      • Sales and Marketing Compliance

    • Independent Grants
      • Competitive Grants Program
      • Independent Medical Education
      • Investigator Sponsored Research
      • Quality Improvement
      • COVID-19 Vaccine Grants

    • Contributions & Partnerships
      • Healthcare Charitable Contributions
      • Lobbying & Political Contributions
    HOT TOPICS

    Pfizer Women’s Resource Group

    Media Name: IWD_Pull_up_Banner_300x170.jpg

    • Hot Topics
  • Our Products

    • Product listing

    • How drugs are made
      • Branded vs. Generic
      • Biologics & Biosimilars
      • Commitment to Quality

    • Distributors
      • Pfizer Distributors
      • Greenstone Distributors

    • Medicine Safety
      • Reporting Adverse Events
      • Making Good Treatment Choices
      • Partnering With Patients
      • Health Literacy
      • Medicine Safety Tips for Patients
      • Counterfeiting
      • Unused Medicines

    • Safety Data Sheets

    • Medical Information Contacts

    • Pfizer Global Supply
    HOT TOPICS

    Universal vs. Single Payer Healthcare

    Media Name: universal_healthcare300x170.jpg
  • Careers

    • Working Here
      • Mission & Purpose
      • Culture
      • Diversity & Inclusion
      • Career Growth & Colleague Development
      • Compensation & Benefits
      • Ensuring Corporate Responsibility
    • Search Jobs
    • Student & Early Career
      • Postdoctoral Program
      • US Summer Student Worker Program
      • Opportunities for Veterans
    • Pfizer365.com
    • Our Hiring & Recruiting Process
      • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Tips for Interviewing at Pfizer
    • Connect With Us
  • Investors

    • Investors Overview
      • Why Invest / Our Story
      • Prospective Investors
      • Fact Sheet
    • Events & Presentations
    • Financials
      • Quarterly Reports
      • Annual Reports
      • SEC Filings
      • Interactive Data Filings
    • Investor News
    • Stock Information
      • Historical Price Lookup
      • Investment Calculator
      • Historical Stock Chart & Data
      • Dividend & Split History
      • Stock FAQs
    • Governance
      • Board Committees and Charters
      • The Pfizer Board Policies
      • Corporate Governance FAQs
      • Contact Our Directors
    • Shareholder Services
      • Stock FAQs
      • Advisory Information
      • Cost Basis Calculator
  • News

    • Contact Media Relations
    • Podcasts
    • Press Kits & Downloads
    • Press Release Archive
    • Press Statements
  • Partners
  • Footer links

    • Footer Aside Section1
      • CAREER-SEEKERS
      • INVESTORS
      • News & Media
      • Partners
    • Footer Aside Section 2
      • Healthcare Professionals
      • Business To Business
      • Change Region
      • Sitemap
    • Footer Aside Section3
      • Twitter
      • Facebook
      • Linkedin
      • Instagram
      • Youtube
    • Footer Aside Section4
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy

4 Ways Mindfulness Could Improve Your Health

4 Ways Mindfulness Could Improve Your Health
YOUR HEALTH/ 4 Ways Mindfulness Could Improve Your Health
December 17, 2017

Kate Silver - This article originally published on Get Old.

The word "mindfulness"—that is, being aware and consciously present—is making its way into conversations everywhere lately.

The word "mindfulness"—that is, being aware and consciously present—is making its way into conversations everywhere lately.Medical schools and law schools are training up-and-coming doctors to use mindfulness to manage stress, the military is teaching troops how to lower stress levels through mindfulness and meditation, grammar and high school teachers are incorporating mindfulness into curricula and the list goes on.

While the practice, which sprung from Buddhist philosophy, sounds new-agey, it's a concept with health benefits backed by science. Across the country, mindfulness specialists are teaching people the ropes of meditation to improve focus (UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center offers free guided meditations here).

First, some examples of what mindfulness isn't. Think about the last time you drove from your house to the office, only to realize, once you got there, you hardly remember any part of the drive. Or that lunch you ate so quickly you didn't even taste it. Or that time when your spouse was telling you a story, but you were too busy thinking about what to make for dinner to listen. Mindfulness means being fully present in each of those moments—being aware of how we think, how we feel and what's happening inside of us and around us.

Mindfulness made its way into the realm of psychology in the 1970s, when Jon Kabat-Zinn developed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (see a quick video on mindfulness). MBSR is now used to help treat anxiety, depression, fatigue, pain and other health challenges (see the U Mass site for areas it targets). The idea of mindfulness is to focus on the present moment—i.e. being aware and present—rather than looking to the past or future. That can involve concentrating on the way you breathe, the way you stand, the food you're eating or other areas. Ellen Lager, PhD, a professor of psychology at Harvard University and founder of the Langer Mindfulness Institute, summed up mindfulness like this in the Harvard Business Review: "It is the very simple process of noticing new things, which puts us in the present and makes us more sensitive to context and perspective. It is the essence of engagement."

Here are some reasons to think about incorporating mindfulness into your life today:

MINDFULNESS MAY HELP IMPROVE MEMORY.

A study by the psychology department at the University of Cincinnati, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, found that adolescents who were trained in mindfulness meditation showed improved memory scores, even in the short term.

MEDITATION—A PART OF MBSR—MAY ACTUALLY CHANGE THE COMPOSITION OF YOUR BRAIN.

A study published in Psychiatry Research analyzed the brains of 16 participants new to meditation as they underwent training in a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program. The results showed actual changes to the brain that could be related to improved memory, controlling emotions, awareness and more.

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION MAY IMPROVE WELLBEING.

Researchers with the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) analyzed 47 clinical trials with more than 3,500 participants and found that mindfulness meditation programs may help reduce stress and anxiety, depression and pain.

IT MAY IMPROVE YOUR MOOD.

Researchers at University of Rochester Medical Center found that medical practitioners who were engaged in mindful practices showed a decrease in negative moods. In the same study, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers found that those medical professionals communicated with more empathy.

Want to learn more about how to be mindful? Here's a three-minute breathing exercise video by Jefferson University Hospitals to get started.

Related Hot Topics
Media Name: 6.2_Mindfulness_meditation_&_CBT_300x170.jpg
Get to know Mindfulness meditation and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Media Name: GettyImages-514412195_Relaxation_Techniques_300x170.jpg
De-Stress With Relaxation Exercises
Tags
Mindfulness
Show
Hide

Footer menu

  • Your Health
    • Healthy Living
    • Disease Conditions
    • Manage Your Health
  • Our Science
    • Therapeutic Areas
    • Product Pipeline
    • Clinical Trials
    • R&D Platforms
    • Collaboration
    • Research SItes
  • Our People
    • Meet the Experts
    • The Journey
    • Leadership
    • Diverse Perspectives
  • Our Purpose
    • Commitment To Global Health
    • Positions on Health Policies
    • Transparency
    • Contributions & Partnerships
  • Our Products
    • Product Listing
    • How Drugs are Made
    • Distributors
    • Global Product Information Contacts

Footer aside

  • Footer Aside Section1
    • CAREER-SEEKERS
    • INVESTORS
    • News & Media
    • Partners
  • Footer Aside Section 2
    • Healthcare Professionals
    • Business To Business
    • Change Region
    • Sitemap
  • Footer Aside Section3
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • Linkedin
    • Instagram
    • Youtube
  • Footer Aside Section4
    • Contact Us
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
Pfizer Logo Footer

Copyright © 2002-2021 Pfizer Inc. All rights reserved. This information—including product information—is intended only for residents of the United States.
The products discussed herein may have different labeling in different countries.