10 Day Headspace Challenge

What Is Meditation?

Meditation dates back to the first century and has been practiced for thousands and thousands of years. It has been shown to improve stress, anxiety, depression, and quality of life (1). A common misconception about meditation is the absence of thoughts. The goal is not to stop thinking; if you did, you would be dead. 

The purpose of meditation is to strengthen the ability to focus on one thing and not let thoughts intervene. Our thoughts are not facts; they are just ideas that pop into the mind. They may persuade us to do certain things, but they don't control us. To become aware of this process, you must train the mind to become less reactive. One of the best ways to do this is by sitting and paying attention to the breath.

“The mindfulness meditation exercises focus on paying attention to bodily sensations, emotions, and thoughts while embracing a non-judgemental, accepting attitude towards whatever arises until it passes away(2).”

Does Meditation Work?

A review of 209 studies found mindful-based therapies to reduce stress, depression, and anxiety (3). Another review of 29 studies found similar results in healthy individuals (4). Plus, meditation has been shown in 18 studies to be useful for weight loss in overweight and obese individuals (5). But in most of these studies, the practice was structured in a classroom setting with a teacher. The eight-week standard mindfulness-based stress reduction protocol is listed below (6):

  • 26 hours of in-class training through 8 weekly group classes (1.5-2.5 hours/class) plus one 6 hr. class during the 6th week

  • Home practice (45 min/day 6 days/wk or 36 hours over 8 wks)

  • Whole group reflection/sharing

The protocol is not easy. It is time-consuming and mentally demanding. The majority of people do not have the time available or the resources to perform an 8-week protocol. So if you can’t meditate 45 minutes per day, what should you do?

Enter Headspace

I have always been stubborn and afraid of change, so I was very reluctant to give meditation a try. In the past, I have struggled with anxiety and tried to do meditation, but I never stuck with it. I lacked the accountability to create a routine. I needed something to hold me accountable. Headspace was the perfect fix. After the ten-day challenge, I was hooked. I bought the year membership and haven’t looked back.

Over the last six years, I have completed over a thousand sessions. I haven’t been perfect with my morning meditation. I have missed some days due to a lack of discipline, but I don’t let that deter me. You are going to make mistakes and miss days. 

At times, meditation will be boring, and you will hate every second of it. But if you can stick with it, you will experience a sense of control like never before. Anecdotally, I have experienced a deeper focus and fewer distractions. I am learning to be less reactive to my emotions. I am not the only one experiencing these benefits. There have been at least four studies that have shown the Headspace app to be an effective tool at reducing perceived stress and mind-wandering. Also, focus and general well-being improved too (7-10).
(7-10).

I understand that starting a new routine can be challenging, especially in the morning. The hardest part of any training is getting started, and meditation is no different. But it is much easier to achieve when you have a goal and someone holding you accountable. So join me and the millions of others on Headspace for your ten-day challenge.

*You can get the app at headspace.com, the Google Play Store, or the Apple App Store. (Seriously, give it a try.)

References

  1. Gotink, R. A., Meijboom, R., Vernooij, M. W., Smits, M., & Hunink, M. G. (2016). 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction induces brain changes similar to traditional long-term meditation practice - A systematic review. Brain and cognition, 108, 32–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2016.07.001

  2. Shapero, B. G., Greenberg, J., Pedrelli, P., de Jong, M., & Desbordes, G. (2018). Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Psychiatry. Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing), 16(1), 32–39. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.focus.20170039

  3. Khoury, B., Lecomte, T., Fortin, G., Masse, M., Therien, P., Bouchard, V., Chapleau, M. A., Paquin, K., & Hofmann, S. G. (2013). Mindfulness-based therapy: a comprehensive meta-analysis. Clinical psychology review, 33(6), 763–771. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2013.05.005

  4. Khoury, B., Sharma, M., Rush, S. E., & Fournier, C. (2015). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for healthy individuals: A meta-analysis. Journal of psychosomatic research, 78(6), 519–528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2015.03.009

  5. Carrière, K., Khoury, B., Günak, M. M., & Knäuper, B. (2018). Mindfulness-based interventions for weight loss: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, 19(2), 164–177. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12623

  6. Vago, D. R., Gupta, R. S., & Lazar, S. W. (2019). Measuring cognitive outcomes in mindfulness-based intervention research: a reflection on confounding factors and methodological limitations. Current opinion in psychology, 28, 143–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.12.015

  7. Kirk, U., Wieghorst, A., Nielsen, C.M., Staiano, W. (2019) On-the-Spot Binaural Beats and Mindfulness Reduces Behavioral Markers of Mind Wandering. J Cogn Enhanc 3, 186–192 https://doi.org/10.1007/s41465-018-0114-z

  8. Bostock, S., Crosswell, A. D., Prather, A. A., & Steptoe, A. (2019). Mindfulness on-the-go: Effects of a mindfulness meditation app on work stress and well-being. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 24(1), 127–138. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000118

  9. Champion, L., Economides, M., Chandler, C. (2018) The efficacy of a brief app-based mindfulness intervention on psychosocial outcomes in healthy adults: A pilot randomized controlled trial. PLOS ONE 13(12): e0209482. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0209482

  10. Yang, E., Schamber, E., Meyer, R., & Gold, J. I. (2018). Happier Healers: Randomized Controlled Trial of Mobile Mindfulness for Stress Management. Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.), 24(5), 505–513. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2015.0301


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