Mindfulness meditation can improve your life with just 3 minutes of practice per day. The document outlines the benefits of mindfulness meditation such as lower stress, increased focus, better sleep, and protection against depression. While studies show 20 minutes per day can produce brain changes, any amount of meditation is better than none. The document recommends starting a meditation practice, even if it's just 3 minutes daily, to feel less stressed with noticeable results.

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How
Mindfulness
Meditation
Can Improve
Your Life

2. How Mindfulness Meditation Can Improve Your Life
in Just 3 Minutes a Day
Setting up a life-altering meditation practice is easier than you think.
BY JESSICA STILLMAN
Contributor, Inc.com@EntryLevelRebel
You'd have to be living under a rock not to have been recommended
mindfulness meditation by someone in the past few years. Big name
entrepreneurs swear by it, whole conferences are dedicated to it, and
prominent dissenters have even pushed back against the mindfulness craze
(so you know it's really reached peak buzz).
But just because you've heard about mindfulness meditation, doesn't mean
you don't still have questions.
Is it just the latest wellness fad or are there real benefits? Do I need to have a
particular (probably wacky) set of spiritual beliefs? And probably most
prominent in the minds of busy entrepreneurs -- do I even have time to
meditate? (Spoiler alert: you almost certainly do.) Here are the answers in
brief, with links for further reading if you're still curious.
What is mindfulness meditation exactly?
In short, mindfulness is simply paying attention to the here and now. No
particular spiritual belief or special equipment is needed. All that's required
is a set of lungs to breathe and a mind to observe them -- and the whirl of
your thoughts --without judgment. It's really that simple, but if you want
more details, here are a couple of different psychologists offering detailed
step-by-step guides.
What are the benefits?
Where do I start? Mindfulness meditation has been touted as the cure for just
about everything that ails you. Experts say it can help lower stress levels,
increase focus, protect against depression, improve sleep, and help you
maintain a healthy weight. It's even been offered as a means to finally get
your inbox under control and increase your profits (yes, seriously).
All this might sound a little too good to be true, but most of these claims are
backed by serious studies done by sober-minded scientists. No wonder so
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3. many prominent people, from Richard Branson and Marc Benioff to Oprah
Winfrey and Arianna Huffington, swear by mindfulness meditation.
How long do I need to meditate for each day?
How long do you have? Scientific studies have shown measurable brain
changes with a commitment of around 20 minutes a day. But as meditation
training site Wildmind points out, "any amount of meditation is better than
none."
"Just do it," Wildmind advises. "If you can only manage 20 minutes a day,
do 20 minutes. If you can only manage 10, do that. If three minutes is all
you have, then spending three minutes is much, much better than not doing
so." And you don't have to sit cross-legged on a pillow in a silent room
either. Meditation can be slipped seamlessly into even the busiest of days,
meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg insists.
"You don't have to leave the world behind, you don't have to do endless
retreats, and you don't have to sit six hours a day," she told Inc.com. "It's so
accessible." In fact, you can sneak in a stealthy moment of mindfulness by
simply giving yourself a few seconds to consciously breathe before picking
up the phone or by pausing to fully focus on that steaming cup of tea you're
enjoying.
How do I get started?
While keeping up a mindfulness meditation practice is probably easier than
you think, getting started isn't incredibly difficult either. There's a huge
number of meditation tools and resources available, from weeklong retreats
to user-friendly apps.
And, as with daily practice, a little bit of effort goes a long way. One recent
study out of Carnegie Mellon University found that newcomers to
meditation reported feeling less stressed -- even when put in a high-pressure
situation -- after just three 25-minute training sessions. That means you
could probably make yourself more focused and resilient in less time than it
would take to get through a Hollywood blockbuster.
Do you have three minutes a day to dedicate
to achieving a calmer, clearer mind?
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