A Minimum Effective Dose of Meditation
All you need is a few breaths.
I meditate every single day without fail. I bet that most people think they can’t do that. They’re too busy, it’s too hard, they’ll forget. But the thing is, meditation doesn’t need to be hard. Or time-consuming. And if you do it at the same time each day, you won’t forget.
This is where the minimum effective dose (MED) comes in — the lowest dose/amount/time that allows you to gain benefits. I like MEDs. MED of exercise. MED of journaling. Any way I can shorten something and make it easier, while still gaining optimal benefits from it.
And the MED of meditation is a great way to add a meditation practice into your day and to increase levels of mindfulness, without a huge time commitment. This simple practice allows you to check in with yourself — to see how your body is feeling, to notice any areas of tension, to see where your thoughts are and what your mood is —in as little as a minute or two.
The minimum effective dose of meditation
For meditation, the MED can be as simple and as short as breathing through 3 breath cycles.
Breathe in, breathe out (x3)
As soon as you wake up, lie still and flat on your back, and breathe through three breath cycles. Pay attention to how your breath feels. Pay attention to how your body is feeling. Pay attention to where your thoughts are. Don’t label anything as good or bad, don’t cling to anything. Just notice and let go.
This practice has been hugely beneficial to me. Often, I would find myself waking up with a racing heart and a body full of anxiety. But taking the time to pause and check in can make a huge difference. Just acknowledging how I’m feeling and the thoughts I’m having reduces their power and I’m able to enter the day in a calmer state of mind. This practice has become non-negotiable for me — it makes a huge difference for the rest of my day.
“This practice provides a calm refuge for the mind and body to recharge, giving you the mental strength and focus you need to step into the day.”
— Laurie Cameron, author of The Mindful Day
We can experience shifts in our physiological activity in as little as 40 seconds. We don’t need to spend hours on a meditation cushion. Consistency is more important than duration. If you can commit to more than a few minutes each day, then that’s great, and you’ll probably experience even more benefits. Generally, I’ll do a 5–15 minute meditation each morning and sometimes another 10–15 minute session before bed. But sometimes, all I’ll do is my 3 breath cycles. And this is all it takes to notice a difference in how I carry myself through the day.
Alice Boyes Ph.D. outlines 6 different mindfulness exercises you can do that take less than one minute:
- Two mindful bites
- Feel what one breath feels like
- Take a mindful moment to give your brain a break instead of checking your email
- Feeling air on exposed skin
- Scan your body
- Do one action mindfully
This again highlights that mindfulness and meditation don’t need to be complicated nor time-consuming. Just taking one minute to notice, to breathe, to widen your awareness, can have powerful benefits for your wellbeing.
Conclusion
Meditation doesn’t need to be a lengthy endeavor. In fact, we can experience the benefits of meditation in as little as a minute or two.
Simply breathing through 3 breath cycles before the day starts, or at any point throughout the day, will allow you to check in with yourself — with your body, your mind, your thoughts. While an incredibly simple practice, it will reap huge rewards if done consistently.
We all have one minute in our day. Use this minute to breathe. To notice. To accept.