Ask your boss: Can we have a “daydreaming workstation”?
- New experiments in the field of neuroscience are increasing our understanding of what mindfulness actually means.
- As technology starts to close in on us, employers could be urged to build more mindful work environments.
- Workspaces can be designed to allow both open-plan collaborative areas and secluded workstations that support daydreaming.
Today, approximately 347.3 billion emails are sent daily worldwide. This translates to about 240 million emails per minute. The pace of work is intense. And, that’s on top of our adoption of new technology generally.
As technology starts to close in on us, David Cox, Chief Medical Officer of Headspace, believes that by 2030 employers will work towards building a more mindful work environment that promotes technology-free days and redesigned workspaces to allow both open-plan collaborative spaces and secluded workstations that support daydreaming.
Mindfulness is also being explored through new technology and exploratory techniques in brain science. With new experiments being initiated in the field of neurosciences, we may be able to truly understand what mindfulness means. New science should tell us how much quiet and calm is required to become happier and healthier in an increasingly stressed-out world.
Researchers at the University of Arizona have utilized low-intensity transcranial- focused ultrasound (TFUS) to non-invasively target the brain’s default mode network, particularly the posterior cingulate cortex. This area is associated with activities like daydreaming and self-referential thinking. By modulating this region, TFUS has been shown to reduce mind-wandering and enhance mindfulness, offering a novel approach to improving present-moment awareness.
Companies are also developing wearable devices that monitor brain activity to enhance focus and mindfulness. For instance, Neurable’s MW75 Neuro headphones use electroencephalography (EEG) sensors to track attention levels, providing real-time feedback to help users maintain concentration and manage mental fatigue. Such technologies aim to integrate mindfulness practices into daily routines through biofeedback mechanisms.
It makes sense that employers are seeking new ways to reduce distractibility and increase focus for their employees. With so much noise coming at us from our technology, leveraging mindfulness and meditation are valuable skills.
A large body of research has established the efficacy of these mindfulness-based interventions in reducing symptoms of a number of disorders, including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, eating disorders and chronic pain, as well as improving well-being and quality of life.
A 2015 study demonstrated that significant increases in the density of grey matter occurred with meditation. Since that early study, neuroscientists have looked deeper into the impacts of meditation on the structure of the brain.
One area of the brain, found deep inside the forebrain behind the frontal lobe, happens to be associated with self-regulation, directed attention and behavior. It is responsible for your “edit” switch, so you don’t blurt out awkward comments, and it can help you manage impulsivity and unchecked aggression.
In the 2015 article Mindfulness can literally change your brain, authors Christina Congleton, Britta Hölzel and Sara Lazar describe how those with impaired connections between the frontal lobe and other brain regions perform poorly on tests of mental flexibility: they hold onto ineffective problem-solving strategies rather than adapting their behavior. Meditators, on the other hand, demonstrate superior performance on tests of self-regulation, resisting distractions and making correct answers more often than non-meditators. This area of the brain is also associated with learning from past experience to support optimal decision-making.
Another area of the brain that meditation can positively alter is the hippocampus region. This is a seahorse-shaped area buried inside the temple on each side of the brain and is part of the limbic system, a set of inner structures associated with emotion and memory.
It is covered in receptors for the stress hormone cortisol, and studies have shown that it can be damaged by chronic stress, contributing to a harmful spiral in the body. Indeed, people with stress-related disorders like depression and PTSD tend to have a smaller hippocampus.
Mindfulness will no longer be just a recommendation in the future of our workplaces; it will be a necessity to lead with mindfulness.
When we meditate we increase our dopamine and other healthy hormones that can act as a prophylactic measure to the harm that comes with the stress hormone cortisol. Neuroscientists have also shown that practicing mindfulness affects brain areas related to perception, body awareness, pain tolerance, emotion regulation, introspection, complex thinking and sense of self.
Mindfulness will no longer be just a recommendation in the future of our workplaces; it will be a necessity to lead with mindfulness. To ensure higher levels of self-regulation and effective decision-making capabilities, and to protect ourselves from toxic stress, we will need to be the “poster child” for healthiness inside our organizations. This is actually becoming a common well-being practice for some companies today.
Take Lululemon, for example — they offer meditation classes throughout the workday so employees can take time to regroup, centre their thoughts and come back to the rest of their day refreshed and ready to innovate and create.
Maybe this would be a good time to see what kind of spaces you have available in your office to include mindfulness as part of your employee well-being experience.
