Does being mindful make you kinder? Basic research into what we know (and what we still don’t know).

Do mindful people feel better in their own bodies? Does being mindful make you kinder? Researchers are delving into these questions and discovering the benefits of mindfulness.

People come to practice mindfulness for many reasons. Maybe they need help with stress or they need a way to help them sleep better. There are many questions such as: What does research say about mindfulness and physical health? Does it really matter how often you meditate? Does being mindful really make you kinder, or is that mostly just what people say?

While research is numerous and ongoing, and of course not every question can be answered unambiguously, we can look at some of the research gathered from Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, Center for common sense at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Center of attention at UMass Medical School and the American Mindfulness Research Association to help explore some of these questions in more depth.

Feel good in your own skin

Do mindful people feel better about their bodies? Researchers asked 115 college students about their levels of mindfulness, body awareness, shame, and general health. Women who reported greater awareness and who tended to be non-judgmental and non-reactive—key mindfulness skills—had less body shame, were more in tune with their bodies, and were healthier overall. The researchers say it’s not yet clear whether mindfulness increases body satisfaction or vice versa.

Building muscle for meditation

Compared to adults who listened to guided meditation or a podcast for 13 minutes daily, researchers found that meditators benefited more. For example, after eight weeks, the meditators felt less restlessness and reported fewer negative mood states. And their results on a set of computerized tests showed that they developed better attention and memory skills than podcast listeners.

The brain networks that work to keep us in the present moment and remember information are like mental muscles: they need exercise to keep them energized and functioning well, and meditation can provide that workout. The study also found that people in the meditation group had better control over their emotions, which was associated with fewer negative moods.

But before you think this is a quick fix, think again. When the researchers tested whether these benefits could be found after four weeks, they came up empty-handed. Most of the success was evident after only eight weeks of constant practice. As with physical muscle training, it takes time, patience and repetition for changes to take effect.

Does mindfulness make you kinder to yourself and others?

Self-compassion can make aging easier. A research review showed that adults over 65 who practice self-compassion tend to be less anxious and depressed and experience greater well-being than those who do not. (Tip: It might not hurt to start exercising while you’re young.)

Careful climax

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota examined nearly 1,800 women between the ages of 40 and 65 to see if people with a more mindful personality might experience fewer problems with menopause. In fact, people with higher mindfulness scores were less stressed and had fewer symptoms such as mood swings, hot flashes, insomnia, and fatigue — encouraging results for the millions of women going through this midlife period.

A memorable ripple

Does being mindful make you kinder? That’s the question the researchers asked, looking at 31 studies of mindfulness and prosocial behavior. They found that mindful people and those who have received some kind of mindfulness training tend to be more compassionate and helpful. Nonjudgmentalism, empathy, a positive outlook on life, and the ability to regulate emotions also increased behaviors that benefited others.

There were a few catches. Adults tend to be more prosocial than teenagers, and people who rated themselves higher in caring were more helpful to familiar people than to strangers.

However, this was not the case for those who attended formal mindfulness training. They were as kind to strangers as they were to acquaintances. One big surprise was that people who received mindfulness training and those who received compassion-focused training were equally prosocial, debunking the myth that the benefits of mindfulness are limited to individuals. In other words, just being considerate can be enough to increase your kindness quotient.