Coffee and Mindfulness

What is Mindfulness?

Balancing professional advancement, hobbies, sports, family, and household. Constantly rushing from one appointment to the next. Every minute is planned. The to-do list is the director of your modern life. At the breakfast table, you're already thinking about today's appointments; at work, you're dreaming of a vacation; and at dinner, you're quickly checking your work emails to be up-to-date for tomorrow. Your thoughts are often everywhere but where they should be: Mindfully in the moment.
The ability to think about the past, present, and future, understand connections, control your actions accordingly, and adjust behaviors is what makes you human. However, it also leads you to drift mentally, live in the past, or give too much importance to the uncertain future. The result: You only notice what's happening around you on the periphery, go through your day on autopilot, and get stuck in a spiral of anxiety and stress. Practicing mindfulness can help direct your focus and concentration on the present, bringing calm to your mind.

Mindfulness and MBSR

Mindfulness, or in English, "Mindfulness," is not just a trend but is also gaining more attention in the medical field. Based on Buddhist meditation practices, it focuses entirely on the moment, encouraging you to consciously perceive your body, thoughts, feelings, and the environment, helping you cope with the stress, pressure, and distractions of the modern world. When you are mindful, you are present, focusing only on what is happening now. While mindfulness originates from Buddhism, mindfulness training is a secular, scientifically recognized practice separate from religion.
The term mindfulness was coined by American molecular biologist Jon Kabat-Zinn, who developed an eight-week meditation program for stress reduction in the late 1970s. The program, called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), is typically done in groups and remains an acknowledged method for training mindfulness and implementing it sustainably in daily life. MBSR-based mindfulness courses have become established in the scientific fields of psychosomatics, psychotherapy, and clinical psychology.
The fundamental principles of the mindfulness exercises practiced in MBSR include:

• Adopting an accepting attitude, training acceptance
• Practicing openness and childlike curiosity
• Viewing the journey as the goal, having no expectations
• Observing situations without judging them
• Trusting and being patient with the process
• Letting go of the past, future, and disturbing thoughts

Mindfulness meditation reduces anxiety and other negative emotions, positively impacts cognition, improves attentiveness, learning abilities, and interpersonal relationships. Brain research results also show that the brain structures and processes of experienced meditators differ significantly from those of non-meditators in response to stimuli. Regular meditation improves mood, enhances coping with negative feelings, and increases concentration.

Stress, Anxiety, Hectic Pace, and Their Consequences

64% of people in Germany feel stressed at least sometimes, with 26% experiencing frequent stress. This was shown in a stress study by Techniker Krankenkasse published in December 2021. Since 2013, perceived stress has significantly increased. The pandemic, especially during COVID-19, had a strong impact on this. More than half of those surveyed said life had become more stressful since the pandemic. The most significant stressors include work, school, studies, high personal expectations, illness of loved ones, conflicts in relationships and family, and constant availability through smartphones and social media.
Stress, or the stress response, is an evolutionary survival mechanism that prepares you for fight, flight, or freezing in perceived dangerous situations. The stress hormones adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol sharpen your senses, improve your reaction time, and allow physical peak performance. Short-term stress can be a helpful assistant in challenging situations. However, when stress persists over a long period, the continuous flooding of stress hormones can endanger your health and lead to mood swings, irritability, concentration problems, insomnia, lack of motivation, high blood pressure, digestive issues, migraines, and even infections and cancer. In short, prolonged stress that cannot be alleviated makes you ill.

Coffee and the Effect of Caffeine

In 2020, per capita coffee consumption in Germany was 168 liters. Coffee is, therefore, the favorite drink of Germans. In addition to its enjoyment and scientifically proven health benefits, the stimulating effect of caffeine in coffee is likely one of the main reasons why many people drink it. Caffeine works by blocking adenosine, a neurotransmitter that causes fatigue. By blocking adenosine receptors, this effect is interrupted. Furthermore, the levels of other stimulating hormones, such as dopamine and noradrenaline, increase. As a result, you feel awake and alert.
In moderation, caffeine is a useful daily companion. However, excessive caffeine intake can lead to unpleasant side effects, including restlessness, reduced concentration, nervousness, sleep disturbances, tremors, nausea, and vomiting. This combination of daily stress and high caffeine intake, along with a lack of mindfulness, can create a negative spiral that leaves you feeling exhausted and stressed. A combination of mindfulness exercises and incorporating decaffeinated coffee into your coffee routine can help you break out of this negative cycle.

How to Integrate Mindfulness into Your Daily Life

Mindfulness can be integrated into your daily life in small steps. For example, what if you consciously enjoy your cup of coffee sip by sip without looking at a screen or savoring your breakfast spoon by spoon without reading the newspaper? Small daily mindfulness exercises help you live more in the present moment, perceive your body, thoughts, and environment more consciously, and reduce stress and anxiety. Short mindfulness practices that only take a few minutes can already have a lasting effect. But remember: Starting a mindful life takes time and patience. The results of your mindfulness practice may not be immediately noticeable, and setbacks are part of the process. The goal of each exercise is to focus on yourself and the here and now.
Try incorporating the following exercises into your daily routine:

• Stay lying in bed for a moment after waking up. Look at the ceiling. What do you see? Listen. What do you hear? How does the blanket feel and the bed you're lying on?
• Drink a decaffeinated or caffeinated coffee. How does your coffee smell? How does it look? How does it feel in your mouth? What can you taste?
• During conversation: Listen attentively. Engage with the person with interest, empathy, and attention. Mirror what you hear. Try to summarize the main points and restate them. Appreciate the other person's opinion before sharing your own.
• At work: Take a pause. Sit down. Feel how sitting feels. Breathe in and out consciously. Feel how air fills your lungs and leaves them again. Pay attention to the sounds around you. Focus on your breath. Try to clear your mind. If thoughts come, don't judge them, let them pass without attaching value.
• Before bed: Ban smartphones and TV from your evening routine. Reflect on your day. If you feel like it, meditate.

Very Important: Be kind to yourself. Especially at the beginning, thoughts will keep rushing into your mind. Don't judge them. Let them go and continue with your exercise.

Image source: dmitry-zelinskiy-gOErbMaVUk0-unsplash