What Is Mindfulness And How Does It Help In Studies?
In recent times, we have been hearing a lot about mindfulness. Although this technique has been with us for more than 2,500 years, it is gaining popularity now. Mindfulness is a routine where you tune your mind to concentrate fully on whatever is happening around you, the space you are in, and the tasks you are performing. What happens often is that we veer from tasks we are doing and try to focus on multiple things at a time and soon there is a lot on our minds.
It also plagues youngsters where they start worrying about their exams, the future, things they are supposed to do, so on and so forth. This only leads to overthinking and anxiety. But, mindfulness can help out youngsters and even adults with overthinking and anxiety by pulling us back into the present and helping us only concentrate on that very task at hand.
How to practice mindfulness?
- First, take a seat. You can choose to take a seat where it is calm and quiet.
- You can set a time limit, where you choose 5 or 10 minutes
- Now, concentrate on your breathing where you feel the breath go in and out.
- Then, try to make a note of five things you see, five things you hear, and three things you can touch.
- Finally, concentrate on breathing till the time is up.
How can students use mindfulness for studying better?
Now that you know what mindfulness is and how it can be practised. See how it can help your children.
Breathing
Practising mindful breathing is always necessary when it comes to dealing with stress. It can occur during a lesson or while your child is studying. Taking just one minute to practice mindfulness can offer clarity and calm them down. If merely breathing doesn’t help your child, they can close their eyes and visit the happy place. We all have a happy place, which brings us joy. It can be playing video games or relaxing on the couch watching TV. Thinking about our happy place while breathing mindfully can help students discard any stress, and ensure they can concentrate better on their studies.
Meditation
Every day before studying, your child can practice mindfulness meditation, where they do the ‘checks’ while breathing. Five things they can hear, five things they can see, and three things they can touch. They will ground them and help them focus better. This technique can be used multiple times whenever the child feels the focus is deteriorating.
Mindful Studying
Mindful studying is a method, where your child first follows the above-mentioned methods then sets a timer for the study session. Your child can always start slow. The first-timer can be set for 15 minutes where he studies without any distractions and then a five minutes break to let him relax. Now, let’s say, you have planned a 2-hour study session for your child, you can follow the same structure where your child studies for 15-20 minutes and then a break. This is very helpful in avoiding distractions and helps your child grasp more as they are in a distraction-free environment.
Help get rid of the pain
The body scan is a technique where you slowly mentally visit each part of the body from head to toe to understand if there is any discomfort or pain. After a day at school or after studying, doing the scan can help your child check if there is any pain or muscle soreness and also help appreciate parts that are not in any pain.
Mindfulness is a wonderful technique that can help us relax and rejuvenate our minds. Tell your children to try it out. For more insightful content, you can visit www.chrysalishigh.com/blogs