If you find dishwashing rather tedious or boring, think again. A study published in the journal, Mindfulness, suggests that washing the dishes mindfully may be a reliever for overtired minds, the Wall Street Journal recently reported.
Ann Lukits who wrote the article on WSJ defined mindfulness as both "a peaceful cognitive state and a popular form of therapeutic meditation that calms the mind and body by focusing attention on an object or activity, such as breathing." According to her, the study also suggests that mindful meditation is an exercise in itself, but opportunities for informal practice may be provided by the routine of daily activities or chores.
Grace Elkus, in her article for Real Simple, further describes that mindfulness is associated with improved well-being, reduced levels of stress and immune system boosts.
Through the researches conducted in Florida State University in Tallahassee, it was found that by doing the task mindfully, like focusing on the scent of the soap or touching and feeling the dishes, mental stimulation is increased and nervousness is reduced significantly. Likewise, the researchers said that mindful dishwashing enhanced the sense of time that is slowing down pleasurably and that greater psychological well-being is connected to modified time perception.
There were 51 students, in their early 20s, who were recruited as subjects for this study. Over half of them read a passage composed of 230 words which stressed the sensory experience of washing the dishes. The rest acted as controls and read a passage with the same length, this time about proper dishwashing techniques. These students gave their verbal and written interpretations of the text they read, then each of them was asked to wash 18 clean dishes.
Among the aspects evaluated before and after the dishwashing exercise were positive and negative, personality characteristics, mindful condition and psychological fitness. The results generated a decrease in nervousness by 27 percent among those who did mindful dishwashing and an increase in mental inspiration by 25 percent. According to the researchers, these two changes were statistically significant and showed "a substantial experiental shift." There was no change noted among the controls, described the researchers.
