Mindfulness meditation, the practice of paying more attention to the present moment, is more than twice as better at reducing stress than gardening, a new experiment has suggested.

The training has been growing in popularity in recent years, with the NHS recommending it as a way to reduce stress and anxiety.

But an eight week trial by the BBC and the University of Westminster, for the programme Trust Me I’m A Doctor, showed it was better than gardening and yoga at helping people to relax.

For the test, 68 people were recruited, a third of whom met together every Saturday for group gardening and conservation activities, another group tried weekly yoga sessions, while the final group practiced 10 minutes of meditation practice each day.

All were measured for levels of the stress hormone cortisol. A healthy stress response is to have a big burst in the morning called the cortisol awakening response(CAR), and lower levels through the day.

While yoga saw only a slight improvement, gardeners CAR jumped by 20 per cent, while the mindfulness group saw their cortisol awakening response leap by 52 per cent. Those who enjoyed meditation gained an even bigger boost, with CAR rising to 78 per cent.