Why mindfulness might NOT be all it’s cracked up to be: Review finds no proof trendy, A-list loved programme boosts happiness
Why mindfulness may NOT be all it’s cracked up to be: Review finds no evidence that trendy, beloved A-list shows boost happiness
Trendy mindfulness practices loved by Hollywood A-listers may not actually do anything to boost your happiness, a scientific review finds.
Canadian experts analyzed 57 high-quality studies on five commonly recommended ways to boost happiness, including meditation and mindfulness.
Other methods assessed included exercising, expressing gratitude, being more social and immersing yourself in nature.
While some evidence showed that gratitude and being social worked, experts found that none of the other three tactics passed the scrutiny.
Academics at the University of British Columbia said the supposed benefits of mindfulness courses may actually be due to participants feeling less lonely from participating in classes, rather than an intrinsic mood boost.
Mindfulness may not be the mental health revolution, it’s cracked to be with a scientific assessment of the evidence finding evidence that increases happiness is weak (stock image)
Mindfulness is a popular form of meditation among A-listers like Emma Watson, Katy Perry, Angelina Jolie, Oprah Winfrey, and Novak Djokovic.
It uses controlled breathing exercises alongside guided imagery to supposedly relax the mind and body and reduce stress.
While it’s often touted as an easy way to improve your mental well-being, the authors who conducted the review found that these benefits are likely oversold.
Write in the journal Nature human behaviorthey claimed that many of the supposed benefits seen in experiments could be explained by other factors.
They used an example of a weekly mindfulness program conducted over two years for the elderly in Sri Lanka, India, Nepal and Myanmar.
The participants involved had nearly three times the life satisfaction of those who didn’t, a result the review authors called “unbelievably great.” Instead, they said it could be due to reduced loneliness that the weekly classes brought to the elderly.
Another study of more than 200 Canadian university students had similar problems.
“The current review reveals that some of the most commonly recommended strategies for increasing happiness rest on a weak base of evidence,” researchers said.
Similar problems were found in studies related to exercise and happiness, despite a period of physical activity often being recommended to improve mood.
They found that most studies only compared exercise to control groups where people performed activities, such as watching footage of people exercising or watching documentaries.
The researchers added: “It is not clear whether exercising is better than watching a popular series on Netflix.”
The review’s authors said that while practices such as mindfulness would not directly harm any patient, they should still be tested and supported.
“It’s important to recognize that some happiness strategies, such as meditation programs, require a lot of time and energy, which are limited for many people,” they said.
Harry Potter star Emma Watson (pictured here at Wimbledon earlier this month) and Hollywood star and Angelina Jolie, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, mindfulness advocates
Talk show host Oprah Winfrey said she believes mindfulness helps people “be present” for those they love (pictured here at the ESSENCE Festival Of Culture in June), while Katy Perry has suggested she would have given up on the music industry without the tech
Tennis player Novak Djokovic has said that as an athlete, he used mindfulness as part of the mental training regimen
And if these strategies are portrayed as strongly supported by scientific evidence, individuals may become discouraged if the strategies fail to improve their own well-being.
“More generally, the credibility of the science can also be hampered if these strategies are recommended with an exuberance that exceeds the existing empirical evidence.”