Mindfulness as a path to fostering time affluence and well‐being

Participating in an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program increases both time affluence and subjective well-being compared to a physically exercising control group. The effect of increased mindfulness on well-being is partially explained by a rise in perceived time affluence, suggesting that feeling less time pressure is one mechanism through which mindfulness boosts well-being. This is the first longitudinal study to show that practicing mindfulness can change how much time affluence people experience.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Given that time pressure is a widespread and straining phenomenon in modern societies, strategies to alleviate it are increasingly required. Employing a quasi-experimental longitudinal design with an active control group, the present study examined whether practicing mindfulness may attenuate time pressure and lead to more time affluence. Corroborating and extending findings on positive effects of mindfulness practice, the presented longitudinal study suggests that compared with a physically exercising control group, participation in a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program leads to increases in time affluence and subjective well-being. Further, a mediation analysis revealed that the effect of increased mindfulness on subjective well-being is partially mediated through this increase in time affluence. As the first longitudinal study suggesting a change of time affluence as a result of participation in an MBSR program, this work enriches the research on mindfulness and time affluence and provides important impetus for future research. Moreover, this research provides an explanation for the well-established effects of mindfulness practice on well-being: increased subjective time affluence plays a mediating role. The paper underlines the importance of considering time affluence as an element of well-being in mindfulness and general psychology research alike.