Finding Inner Peace: The Practice of Mindful Eating

How Screen-Free Meals Can Enhance Your Well-being

Many patients talk about their desire to find more inner peace. These can be people whose lives are filled with opportunities to live in the present, but as soon as they leave the yoga studio, the philosophy class, the therapy session, or the sports class, they quickly lose focus on themselves.

And they are not alone. One of the prominent words of 2020 is "mindfulness." The term describes how we relate to something—usually an action, thought, or emotional state—with intention, presence, and without judgment. This year, we found ourselves at an ideal point to explore our ability to focus and be present: our stress increased, but many ways we used to regulate ourselves disappeared. Many felt that this combination turned them inward, seeking peace within themselves, leading them to mindfulness. The term has been part of American discourse for decades, and mindfulness practice helps thousands of people cope with various difficulties such as chronic pain, diseases, sleep problems, and, of course, depression and anxiety.

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This is one reason I started researching different methods of practicing mindfulness (and its derivatives), and together with my clients, we try to find the practice that suits each person. Some connect to yoga, some to guided meditations from YouTube, others to apps, some to home neurofeedback devices (which record brain activity), and others to breathing exercises.

Yet, some find dedicated mindfulness practice too challenging or cannot commit long enough for the habit to take root. For them, I began sharing one of the most challenging mindfulness exercises for me personally—screen-free eating. It's amusing to see the expression of someone hearing this challenge for the first time. What scares us so much about eating without our phone? What might we encounter on the plate? And what disturbing thoughts might overwhelm us?

The Importance of Screen-Free Eating

Studies show that using a phone during a meal leads to less enjoyment. Eating with screens is a terrible habit, especially when people eat together, each immersed in their own screen. The enjoyment of the food decreases, and diners feel less emotionally and socially involved.

Before the coronavirus, some U.S. restaurants offered guests a small decorative box to store their phones during the meal. Restaurateurs noted that even those who accepted the challenge often broke as soon as their companion left to use the bathroom.

The optimistic part is that both using the phone and not using it have a contagious effect. When you use your phone while eating, you encourage those around you to do the same. But when you resist the temptation, you can create an upward spiral where others also manage to be without their phones for longer periods.

Regardless of our impact on others, even eating alone, we miss a lot if we're engrossed in our phones instead of the food. Eating with a screen makes us eat in a way that isn't good for us. Practicing mindfulness in eating can lead to weight loss. Conscious eating, where we focus on our food with intention and experience eating moment by moment, without judgment, increases our sensory awareness of food and how we experience it. This approach helps distinguish between real hunger and emotional hunger and can moderate emotional stress without food. It also allows the brain to process feelings of satiety more effectively.

How to Practice Mindful Eating

To get a clear picture of conscious eating, try the raisin eating exercise. Look at the raisin, feel its weight, examine its surface, smell it, notice your reaction to the smell, roll it between your fingers, listen to the sound it makes, notice its stickiness, recognize your feelings towards it, place it between your lips, roll it in your mouth, notice the saliva accumulating, bite it, chew slowly until it becomes liquid, and after swallowing, close your eyes for a few moments to examine the exercise's effect.

If this preparation is too much, start the next time you sit down to eat. Eat when you're hungry but before you're starving. Put the food on a plate or in a bowl, not from the box. Set the table and sit in front of the food. Reflect on where your food came from. This moment connects you with nature and the society you live in, from the farmers to the cultural traditions that influenced the dish. Eat more slowly (one of the hardest practices for me). Use all your senses. Chew thoroughly. These can be done alone or with company, adding moments of eating in silence.

Even if you don't plan to do any of these consciously, many will arise once you start eating without a screen.

My New Year's Resolution

My New Year's resolution is to put my phone away at most meals. If not at every meal, then at least every time I drink something hot. If not in all of them, then at least once a day. There is no danger in that. I'm sure that the longings will only increase the passion between us.