How to Stay Mindful During Uncertain Times

Uncertain times have a particular way of getting under your skin. When you cannot predict what is coming, the mind tends to spin — running scenarios, bracing for the worst, living everywhere except right now. Mindfulness is one of the most practical everyday responses to that spin, and it is a skill anyone can build.

At Elysian Solara, we are interested in the everyday practices that help people feel steady and well. Here is a clear, evidence-informed look at staying mindful when life feels unpredictable.

Why Uncertainty Feels So Hard

Psychologists often describe the brain as a kind of prediction machine — it tends to feel more settled when it can anticipate what happens next. When the future is genuinely unclear, that system has less to hold onto, and worry can fill the gap. Understanding this helps: the discomfort of uncertainty is not a personal failing, it is a very ordinary response to genuine unpredictability.

What Mindfulness Actually Is

Mindfulness is often misunderstood as “emptying your mind” or forcing yourself to feel calm. It is neither. Mindfulness is simply the practice of paying attention to the present moment, on purpose, without harsh judgement — and gently returning your attention there whenever it wanders off into the past or future.

That “returning” is the whole exercise. You are not trying to stop thoughts; you are practising noticing when you have drifted and coming back.

It is worth being straight about what the research does and does not show. A 2014 systematic review and meta-analysis in JAMA Internal Medicine pooled 47 randomised trials involving 3,515 participants and found that mindfulness meditation programmes produced small-to-moderate improvements in anxiety (effect size 0.38 at 8 weeks) and depression (0.30 at 8 weeks), with low-strength evidence for stress and distress. The same review found no evidence that meditation programmes worked better than active treatments such as medication, exercise or other behavioural therapies [1]. So: a genuinely useful everyday skill, with modest measured effects — not a replacement for anything.

Simple Practices to Try

Anchor to your breath

Your breath is always in the present, which makes it a useful anchor. Spend a minute simply feeling each inhale and exhale.

Slow breathing is also one of the better-studied ways to nudge your nervous system. A 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis pooled 223 studies of voluntary slow breathing and found it increased vagally-mediated heart rate variability — a marker of activity in the parasympathetic, “rest and digest” branch of the nervous system — during the breathing itself, immediately after a single session, and after a multi-session programme. Its authors describe slow breathing as a low-tech, low-cost prevention technique with few expected adverse effects [2]. That may be part of why a slower breath so reliably feels calming.

When your mind wanders — and it will — notice, and come back. That is one repetition. Do a few.

Drop into your senses

Naming what you can see, hear, feel, smell and taste pulls you straight out of your head and into the now. Heat is a useful anchor here: the warmth on your skin, the quiet, the scent of timber. A sensory-rich, distraction-free environment makes present-moment awareness feel more effortless. If you want the evidence on heat specifically, we have looked at it in sauna and mental health and sauna and stress reduction.

Do one thing at a time

Multitasking fragments your attention and can feed a sense of overwhelm. Choose to do one thing fully — drink your coffee, take your walk, have your conversation — without a screen competing for your focus. Single-tasking is mindfulness in disguise.

Name what you feel

When a difficult emotion shows up, quietly naming it — “this is worry,” “this is frustration” — can create a small, helpful distance between you and the feeling. You are observing it rather than drowning in it.

Build Mindful Moments Into Your Day

You do not need an hour of meditation. A few small, repeated moments tend to work better than one big effort you struggle to sustain. Anchor a minute of breath-focus to something you already do daily — your morning coffee, a sauna session, the walk to your car. Stacking mindfulness onto existing habits is one of the easiest ways to make it stick.

Focusing on what you can control also helps during uncertain times. You cannot control the wider situation, but you can control your routine, your recovery, how you treat your body, and where you place your attention right now. Our guide to managing anxiety covers the day-to-day fundamentals — sleep, movement and connection — in more detail.

A Note on Getting Support

Mindfulness is a helpful everyday tool, but it is not a treatment and it is not a substitute for professional care. If worry or low mood is persistent and weighing on your daily life, please talk to a doctor or mental health professional. Reaching out is a practical, healthy step, and effective support is available.

The Elysian Solara Take

When the world feels unpredictable, small anchors matter more than ever. A daily ritual — a warm, quiet space to breathe, notice and reset — gives you somewhere steady to return to. The practices above are the part that the evidence actually points to; the room is just a place that makes them easier to keep up.

FAQ: Staying Mindful

What is mindfulness, simply?

Paying attention to the present moment on purpose, without harsh judgement, and gently returning your focus whenever it drifts.

How do I stay grounded during uncertain times?

Anchor your attention to the present — through breath, your senses or single-tasking — and focus on what you can actually control, like your routine and recovery.

Does mindfulness actually work?

The best available evidence suggests it helps modestly. A 2014 meta-analysis of 47 randomised trials found small-to-moderate improvements in anxiety and depression, and no evidence that meditation programmes outperformed active treatments like exercise or medication [1]. It is a useful skill, not a cure.

Can a sauna help with mindfulness?

The warmth, quiet and sensory richness of a sauna make it an easy place to practise present-moment awareness, free from screens and distraction. That is about the setting rather than any treatment effect of heat on mood.

How long should I practise each day?

A few short moments beat one long session you cannot sustain. Even a minute or two, repeated daily, builds the skill.

References

• Goyal M, Singh S, Sibinga EM, Gould NF, Rowland-Seymour A, Sharma R, et al. (2014). Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Internal Medicine. Systematic review and meta-analysis of 47 randomised trials (n=3,515). PMID: 24395196
• Laborde S, Allen MS, Borges U, Dosseville F, Hosang TJ, Iskra M, Mosley E, Salvotti C, Spolverato L, Zammit N, Javelle F (2022). Effects of voluntary slow breathing on heart rate and heart rate variability: A systematic review and a meta-analysis. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. Systematic review and meta-analysis of 223 studies of vagally-mediated heart rate variability. PMID: 35623448

Create Your Daily Anchor

At Elysian Solara, we help Australian homeowners design premium wellness spaces — saunas, ice baths, infrared therapy and recovery technology — built around long-term value and the way you actually want to feel.

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