Mindfulness Challenge How to cut stress while doing chores!
Did you know that a study at Florida State University showed that washing dishes actually can help REDUCE stress? Believe it… it’s true!
Even though we often associate chores with causing stress, the study found that one key element turned a boring household chore into something that actually made people feel BETTER!
It all boiled down to mindfulness: being FULLY PRESENT while doing regular, everyday things. This week our challenge is to tackle one simple household chore each day… and do it while being “fully present” to see if it not only helps you beat stress, but helps you feel better, too.
Student researchers found that people who incorporated mindfulness into dishwashing cut their feelings of nervousness by 27 percent and felt 25 percent more “mentally inspired.”
How to incorporate mindfulness into any task: 🌞 Be fully present. Avoid listening to music, podcasts, TV. 👐🏼 Notice your sensory input: the feeling of water on your hands, the scent of soap, or the water beads up on your hands. Feel, Smell, Taste, See, and Hear everything going on around you… and experience it as if it’s the first time you’ve ever done the dishes before. (if you’re rolling your eyes right now- then this is even more reason for you to give this a try this week 😂) 🧘🏻When you notice your attention wandering, bring it back to the task. Are you in? Let us know in the comments! REFERENCE: https://news.fsu.edu/news/health-medicine/2015/09/30/chore-stress-reliever-study-suggests-washing-dishes-decreases-stress