10 Minute Mindfulness Book Review

Many people live their daily lives without being aware of their surroundings, actions or behaviors. Days are often filled with waking up late, rushing out the door to work, packing the kids’ lunches and frantically starting the day. The book 10-Minute Mindfulness: 71 Simple Habits for Living in the Present Moment discusses the importance of mindfulness, or deliberate focus, on at least one task starting for ten minutes daily and offers easy example activities, (Scott & Davenport, 2017). By practicing mindfulness, one can quiet the mind, feel less stressed and more aware of external surroundings as well as internal physical and emotional needs. This review will cover why I chose this book, two topics of interest and current supporting research.

Scott and Barrie Davenport after reading the introduction and synopsis of the book. I identified with the description of the average rushed and unappreciated day that is filled with stress and dysfunction. “When you’re so pumped full of adrenaline and anxiety, your body and mind become addicted to drama, negativity and distractions of daily life,” (Scott & Davenport, 2017). I felt like this book had been written specifically for me, like the authors knew my daily routine. Additionally, I have found that due to my anxiety and depression, I often become a sweaty ball of negative stress and need to learn to quiet my mind, focus on something outside of my head for at least a short while and re-learn how to enjoy the simple pleasures that are right in front of

One study titled Mindfulness Interventions with Youth: A Meta-Analysis found that practicing mindfulness “is a well-validated intervention for symptoms of depression and anxiety disorders in adults, with meta-analyses showing moderate effect sizes,” (Goldberg, Hoyt, Miller & Zoogman, 2015). This supports the claims made in 10-Minute Mindfulness: 71 Simple Habits for Living in the Present Moment that “as a byproduct of your efforts [in mindfulness], you will make vast improvements in reducing your anxiety, minimizing stress, and becoming mentally and physically healthier,” (Scott & Davenport, 2017). A separate article titled Effects of Mindfulness on Psychological Health: A Review of Empirical Studies further validates the author’s claims that “mindfulness has been associated with higher levels of satisfaction, agreeableness, conscientiousness, vitality, self-esteem, empathy” and so much more, (Keng, Robins & Smoski, 2013). Evidence-based research strongly corroborates the positive effects that practicing mindfulness has on both the body and