NEW YORK — Savoring is the process of bringing mindful attention and awareness to the positive things in life, said Dr Patrick Harrison, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Making a habit of savoring small moments and major life events alike can yield mental health benefits, including increasing resilience and reducing stress. Here’s how to do it.

Pause to notice details and sensations. Try to fix a moment in your mind by labeling it, said Dr Fred Bryant, a professor of social psychology at Loyola University Chicago.

Psychologists call this “encoding.” Tune into your senses and ask yourself: What positive sensations do I feel? Why is this moment important? What do I see or hear?

“You can’t freeze a moment,” Dr Bryant said. “But you can do the next best thing, which is to build a powerful memory of it.”

Dr Harrison made an effort to label his experience when he recently became a father. While his wife was in labor, a nurse volunteered to hang up a string of twinkly lights in the hospital room.

“It was the middle of the night, and I noted how peaceful it was, and took in the soft glow of the lights, the warmth of my wife’s hand as I held it, how grateful I was to be with her in the room,” Dr Harrison said.

STEP OUT FOR A MINUTE. When Dr Bryant realises that he’s immersed in something that he should savor, like a birthday celebration, he will get up and leave. He takes a moment to view the sight of his loved ones from a distance, then goes back in.

Pulling back, even briefly, gives him instant perspective and deepens his appreciation.

SHARE GOOD NEWS. If you receive happy news, Dr Harrison said, contact a loved one and relish it together. This form of savoring is known as capitalising, and it can help prolong positive feelings.

PRACTICE ‘MENTAL TIME TRAVEL’. Savoring isn’t limited to experiences that are happening right now. You can also try something called “mental time travel,” Dr Bryant said, by focusing on the future or the past.

Dr Bryant amps up his appreciation for the present by imagining himself in the future, pining for his current life.

He has a 7-year-old granddaughter, and sometimes he’ll pretend that she is all grown up, has moved away, “and that I would give anything, just for one more day with her,” he said.

Then he opens his eyes and tells himself that his wish is granted.

“I’m seeing her later today,” he said.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.