Good things take time—but new research suggests mindfulness can make the wait easier

Phys · Aug 03, 2026 · 856 words · By Amy Errmann

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What to know about Good things take time—but new research suggests mindfulness can make the wait easier

The article discusses research suggesting that mindfulness meditation can reduce the perceived cost of waiting for rewards by slowing the subjective passage of time. Through several studies, the authors argue that mindfulness helps individuals choose larger, delayed rewards over smaller, immediate ones by altering their sensitivity to time.

Propaganda risk 10%

Claims checked 9

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center80%

Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Good things take time—but new research suggests mindfulness can make the wait easier Swati Mestri Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Chief Editor Ask someone if they'd rather take $5 today or $10 next week and they'll know which option is better.

Why it matters

Yet that idea of "today" can have a magnetic pull.

Common ground

It's precisely the reason many shoppers purchase things they can't afford yet through "buy now, pay later" schemes — and often regret it afterward.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Good things take time—but new research suggests mindfulness can make the wait easier?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Other researchers similarly found that even a brief meditation session measurably slowed people's sense of time passing?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-08-good-mindfulness-easier.html

analyticsAnalysis

10%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 95%

Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 9 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 5

check_circle Corroborated 2

verified Verified By Reference 2

info

Claim 1: “Other researchers similarly found that even a brief meditation session measurably slowed people's sense of time passing.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim is found verbatim in one web search result ('Good things take time...'), but there are no other independent sources provided to corroborate this specific finding.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Other researchers similarly found that even a brief meditation session measurably slowed people's sense of time passing. As the present feels more expansive, people also tend to feel they have more ti…
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-good-mindfulness-easier.html

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web search NEUTRAL — Mental meditation rewires your brain for focus and calm within weeks. Learn proven techniques that strengthen the prefrontal cortex and reduce anxiety.
https://neurolaunch.com/mental-meditation/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Коллекция чашка «цвет-ок» и подставка для чашек Sense of beauty × Ох! Керамика «Оранжевый» + «Закат».
https://senseofbeauty.store/

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Claim 2: “In one study, people attending a mindful walking class chose between a $5 gift card immediately and a $10 gift card one week later. Before the class, only 36% chose to wait. After the mindful walk, 69% selected the larger, later reward.”

CORROBORATED

The specific statistics (36% to 69%) and the nature of the mindful walking study are reported by both 'The Conversation' and a web search result ('Good things take time...').

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The inch (symbol: in or ″) is a unit of length in the British Imperial and the United States customary systems of measurement. It is equal to ⁠1/36⁠ yard or ⁠1/12⁠ of a foot. Derived from the Roman un…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inch

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Spider-Man, a superhero character created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko for comic books published by Marvel Comics, has appeared in film since CBS's 1977 television film pilot, for the program The Amazi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man_in_film

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — IN, In or in may refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In

+ 4 more evidence sources

info

Claim 3: “When we extended the waiting period from three months to six months, delayed choices fell in the control group but remained steady among mindful participants.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim about the waiting period extension from three to six months is found in 'The Conversation', but no other independent source corroborates this specific result.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago · Synonyms for INCREASING: expanding, accelerating, augmenting, boosting, multiplying, raising, extending, enhancing; Antonyms of INCREASING: reducing, decreasing, diminishing, lowering, le…
https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/increasing

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — INCREASING definition: 1. present participle of increase 2. to (make something) become larger in amount or size: . Learn more.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/increasi…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Find 44 different ways to say INCREASING, along with antonyms, related words, and example sentences at Thesaurus.com.
https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/increasing

+ 1 more evidence source

info

Claim 4: “mindfulness — deliberately paying attention to the present, including breathing, bodily sensations, sounds and thoughts — appears to slow the subjective passage of time.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While general definitions of mindfulness are provided, the specific claim that it 'slows the subjective passage of time' is not explicitly confirmed by the general Wikipedia or Mindful.org definitions provided; however, it is implied by the context of the other claims. No independent scientific source in the evidence confirms this specific effect.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Mindfulness is a secularized form of meditation, the product of a mutual syncretism between eastern spiritual traditions influenced by western esotericism and religion, and western traditions and psyc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness

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web search NEUTRAL — May 15, 2025 · Our Mindful.org editorial team specializes in mindfulness, meditation, and mindful living content for Mindful magazine and Mindful.org. We research, write, and curate evidence-based ins…
https://www.mindful.org/what-is-mindfulness/

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web search NEUTRAL — Jul 30, 2026 · Mindfulness is a way of paying attention to the present moment on purpose and without judgment. It's a way of training your mind to be more aware and less reactive.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/what-is-mindfulness.html

verified

Claim 5: “Amy Errmann et al, Slowing time, shaping the future: The effect of mindfulness on intertemporal choice, International Journal of Research in Marketing (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.ijresmar.2025.10.006”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided Wikipedia evidence for this claim is about 'Nudge theory' and does not mention the specific paper by Amy Errmann et al. or the International Journal of Research in Marketing.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nudge theory is a concept in behavioral economics, decision making, behavioral policy, social psychology, consumer behavior, and related behavioral sciences that proposes adaptive designs of the decis…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nudge_theory

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Claim 6: “mindfulness made no difference when we increased the size of the future reward.”

CORROBORATED

The claim that mindfulness made no difference when increasing the size of the future reward is reported by both 'The Conversation' and the web search result ('Good things take time...').

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Yet mindfulness made no difference when we increased the size of the future reward. In other words, it changed people's sensitivity to time, but not to the size of the reward.
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-good-mindfulness-easier.html

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Getting Started with Mindfulness You have questions about mindfulness and meditation.Mindful has the answers. Prefer to learn by doing? Try a free.
https://www.mindful.org/meditation/mindfulness-getting-start…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — So if mindfulness truly does, as I believe, involve a kind, open, curious attitude toward yourself, it builds the self-compassion that helps foster compassion toward others. That’s why I tell my stude…
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/does_mindfulne…

+ 1 more evidence source

info

Claim 7: “In another study, people who watched the mindfulness video were more likely to choose US$30 in four months over US$20 immediately.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim regarding the $30 in four months vs $20 immediately is found in one web search result ('Good things take time...'), but not corroborated by other independent sources.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Participation or participant may refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participation

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In India, a Depository Participant (DP) is described as an Agent of the depository. They are the intermediaries between the depository and the investors. The relationship between the DPs and the depos…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depository_participant

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A.N.T. Farm is a Disney Channel original series that follows Chyna Parks (China Anne McClain) and her two best friends, Olive Doyle (Sierra McCormick) and Fletcher Quimby (Jake Short), who are in the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_A.N.T._Farm_episodes

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 8: “A 2024 study found that once children's backgrounds were considered, how long they waited had little power to predict adult outcomes.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence consists of general Wikipedia entries about the year 2024 and elections, but contains no mention of a study regarding the marshmallow test or adult outcomes.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 2024 (MMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2024th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 24th year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A general election was held in the United Kingdom on 4 July 2024 to elect all 650 members of the House of Commons. The opposition Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, won a landslide victory over the go…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_United_Kingdom_general_el…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — IEEE 802.11be-2024 or 802.11be, dubbed Extremely High Throughput (EHT), is a wireless networking standard in the IEEE 802.11 set of protocols which is designated Wi-Fi 7 by the Wi-Fi Alliance. It is b…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi_7

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 9: “Customers watched either a short mindful-eating video or an ordinary food video before choosing between a smaller coupon immediately and a larger coupon two weeks later. After the mindfulness video, 78% waited for the larger coupon, compared with 51% in the other group.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific percentages (78% vs 51%) and the mindful-eating video study are found in one web search result ('Good things take time...'), but no other independent source confirms these exact figures.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — IN, In or in may refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United S…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killed_in_action

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.