A trick to reduce stress? Spend 20 seconds a day doing this easy practice

Does it matter where people do this practice?

We didn't look at that, but that's a great question.

Why is it helpful for people to touch their stomach and chest while doing the exercise?

There has been so much work on touch and how beneficial it can be for people to receive touch, but it had not been looked at as a standalone intervention for emotional well-being in terms of people offering self-compassionate touch to themselves. I was interested in the synergy between thinking self-compassionate thoughts and doing this embodied form of self-compassionate touch. It offers two potential ways of regulating yourself.

I should also say that we told participants they could choose other forms of touch like stroking yourself on the cheeks or giving yourself a hug. What's most important is that the method of touch supports you in feeling compassionately toward yourself.

I was surprised that the majority of students who participated in the study said they were too busy to do this 20-second practice everyday. What's that about?

I was just joking with a friend about this, and she said that when people are stressed they can get wrapped up in feeling like they can't take 20 seconds to pause. It might be more a mind-set than a reality, but there is more work to be done on how to help people feel like those 20 seconds are going to make a difference in their lives. We wash our hands for 20 seconds. We brush our teeth for two minutes. Why not take 20 seconds to do this?

Do you have any advice on how people can make this practice a habit?

It can be helpful to choose a cue. You can practice after morning coffee in the living room or whenever you're feeling stressed if you can get yourself to do it then. The more specific you are in describing your cue and developing your plan the more likely you are to develop the practice into a habit.

Does this research suggest there is no reason to do a longer practice?

Most of the participants in our study were novice meditators or people who had never meditated before, so we don't know how this would look with people who have a really dedicated meditation practice or are very experienced with meditation. Rigorous research is needed for whether shorter practices have advantages over longer practices, and for whom those advantages may be most pronounced.

Also, just like brushing teeth is not a replacement for going to the dentist, this micropractice should not be a replacement for therapy or more intensive mental health care.