NeuroScience News: Nearly Half of Americans Prioritize Mental Health With Daily ‘Mindful Moments’

"According to a new 2022 Healthy Now survey commissioned by Parade Media and Cleveland Clinic, 46% of Americans have been able to maintain or improve their mental/emotional health by taking multiple 5- to 10-minute breaks throughout the day for activities that relieve stress, depression, and/or anxiety.

“Everyone’s familiar with the concept of the ‘mental health day,” but our survey suggests that just a few minutes of time set aside each day to relax and recharge can make a real difference,” says Lisa Delaney, Parade Media’s SVP/Chief Content Officer.

Those with strong mental health also believe getting adequate sleep (87%), movement (76%), and socializing with others (71%) are beneficial to their mental/emotional health.

Survey respondents who rarely or never engage in activities that support their mental health cite being too busy (34%) and being a caregiver for a loved one (36%) as barriers. Nearly one-quarter (24%) of these respondents say they simply don’t know how to support their mental health.

Top activities of mentally/emotionally healthy revealed

Significant percentages of Americans said they grappled with anxiety (45%), sadness and depression (36%), and anger (34%) at least once a week in the last month.

Crucially, the survey revealed many Americans who rated their mental health as low are not engaging in well-researched activities proven to improve mental health. Less than half exercise regularly (37%) or spend time outside (37%), compared to 52% and 46% of those who rate their mental health as high.

Almost half of mothers (43%) rate their mental health as average or low, compared to 26% of fathers who said the same. Similarly, 17% of mothers report their mental health as “excellent,” compared to 33% of fathers who said the same.

The survey also uncovered these additional results:

• Sex is rejuvenating for men; not so much for women. Men are more likely to find having sex as refreshing after a long day (54%) than women (36%).
• Working can have a positive impact on your mental health. Despite the demands of balancing working outside the home and parenting, working parents report higher levels of mental/emotional health than nonworking parents.
• …but working does take an emotional toll. Despite being happier, working parents also report higher levels of exhaustion (65%) and anger (42%) on an at least weekly basis, compared to nonworking parents, 52% and 31%, respectively.
• Investing in employees’ mental health pays off. Roughly half (53%) of those with strong mental health said their employer considers mental health days part of PTO, compared to 32% of those with low mental health."

Read the full article here!

Reflection;

What do you do to practice mindfulness?

#Mentalhealth #Statistics #Mindfulness