{"id":15990,"date":"2017-03-15T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-03-15T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mindful.org\/?p=15990"},"modified":"2026-03-31T15:30:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T15:30:35","slug":"present-moment-awareness-buffers-effects-daily-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mindful.org\/present-moment-awareness-buffers-effects-daily-stress\/","title":"Present-Moment Awareness Buffers the Effects of Daily Stress","content":{"rendered":"\n

Daily stressors like disagreements with others, being stuck in traffic, or losing your keys can negatively impact your health and well-being. New research published in the Journal of Research in Personality<\/em><\/a> shows that present-moment awareness, a key feature of mindfulness, increases stress resilience and effective coping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Present-moment awareness involves monitoring and attending to current experience rather than predicting future events or dwelling on the past. Studies show that an individual\u2019s disposition toward remaining in the present moment is linked to numerous health benefits including lower levels of perceived stress<\/a>, anxiety and depression, improved mood<\/a>, and a sense of improved well-being<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How we cope with stressors can also determine their impact. Strategies like ignoring<\/a> or denying<\/a> them (what experts call avoidance coping<\/a>), or distracting ourselves<\/a>, which may be effective short-term, can also undermine our health and happiness in the long run<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the study a team of Australian researchers examined the effects of present moment-awareness in a sample of 143, well-educated university students and staff (76.3% female) who were part of an online mindfulness training course. The researchers surveyed the study participants with a focus on three stress response variables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three factors that determine people’s stress-response:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n