3-minute mindful meditation for stress relief

How stress affects your heart health

Stress affects us all at some point – from major life events like moving house or relationship breakups to everyday stressors like work or family issues.

Living with heart and circulatory diseases and risk factors, like high blood pressure and high cholesterol, can also be stressful.

And, while stress is our body’s way of protecting us from danger, too much stress can have a negative impact on health, leaving you feeling tired and burnt out, and even suffering from aches and pains.

Stress is bad for your health because when you’re stressed, you’re more likely to turn to unhealthy habits such as smoking, drinking too much alcohol, overeating, choosing food that is high in salt, sugar and saturated fats, and being less physically active.

Over time, these ways of coping with stress can potentially lead to high cholesterol, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.

These risk factor increase your risk of heart and circulatory diseases. and can worsen your condition if you already have one.

In 2017, British Heart Foundation (BHF) part-funded a research review of some of the largest studies into the effects of stress on the heart, involving data from hundreds of thousands of people.

It showed adults who were stressed at work or home had a small increased risk of coronary heart disease and stroke.

It also suggested that stress caused worse outcomes for those who already had heart and circulatory diseases.

In years to come, research could pave the way for new treatments to reduce stress-related heart risks, like a BHF-funded study looking at how stress hormones can affect heart rate and blood pressure.

In the meantime, we know that chronic stress is not good for our health, so how can we reduce it?

How mindful meditation helps

As well as living a healthy lifestyle, including eating a healthy diet and being physically active, one remedy that’s often touted for stress relief is meditation.

Research shows that mindful meditation practices, like body scans and meditative yoga where you focus the mind on being present in the moment, can help lower stress.

According to a 2017 analysis of 250 studies in the Annual Review of Psychology this is because mindful meditation helps people respond less emotionally to stressful events.

It does this through promoting acceptance, which in turn helps build resilience to stress that can help prevent stress-related illnesses like long-term pain.

Mindful meditation may also help boost the immune system by lowering stress-related inflammatory markers in the blood, says the review from Carnegie Mellon University in the United States.

How exactly mindful meditation works to lower stress levels is still not known. But what we do know, is that being less stressed makes it easier for us to make healthier lifestyle choices.

How body scan meditation works

Body scan meditation works by bringing your attention to various parts of your body in turn.

This hyper-awareness forces your brain to be in the moment and not thinking or worrying about other things.

It also helps you to be aware of any aches, pains or tension in your body that you might otherwise not have been aware of.

This is what makes it ‘mindful’.

Follow our 10-step body scan below or listen to our guided body scan.

It only takes a few minutes.

Try the 3-minute mindful body scan meditation for yourself

Find a quiet room (or a space outside), and ask your family, friends or work colleagues not to disturb you.

Close the door, dim the lights, pull the curtains shut, close your eyes, and if you have headphones or similar, put them in.

1. Sit or lie down comfortably in a chair or on the bed. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
2. Focus on your breathing. Notice how the air feels drawing into your body, then let the breath flow out again naturally.
3. Draw your attention to your head and face. Do you feel any tension? Notice how it feels to roll your eyes gently underneath your closed eyelids, relax your eyebrows, cheeks, lips and jaw, letting all tension go.
4. Next move your attention to your neck and shoulders. Are you holding your shoulders high and tight? Relax them down and let go of any tension. With each exhale, feel your muscles relax further.
5. Shift your attention slowly down your arms and into your hands. Relax your arms and let them feel heavy by your sides. Feel the backs of your hands and fingers relaxing against the bed or chair.
6. Bring your awareness to your chest and stomach. Feel your breath fill your chest, deep into your diaphragm. Let the breath flow naturally out of you. Let go of any tension you find.
7. Focus on your back, starting at the upper back, let your attention drift down to your lower back. If you notice any areas of tension, relax the muscles and feel them soften.
8. Finally, draw your attention to your legs and feet, move your attention from your thighs and buttocks, down your calves and into your ankles and toes. Allow them to relax into the surface you’re lying or sitting on, let go of any tension.
9. Take a moment to feel your whole body. Notice the sensation of relaxing against the chair or bed. Allow a sense of calm to wash over you.
10. When you feel ready, gently bring your awareness back to the room. Open your eyes and take a moment to notice how you feel, wiggle your fingers and toes, slowly move your limbs and allow yourself to be present in the moment.

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