10 Science-Backed Benefits Of Meditation

Meditation is a method of training your brain to focus on one thing and redirect all your thoughts to the subject you are thinking about. Over the past few decades, the popularity of meditation has grown significantly among people of all ages.

While stress and anxiety are natural and essential responses in certain circumstances, having them frequently can jeopardize your well-being.

However, meditation offers a solution. Continue reading to discover the meaning of meditation and the various health advantages it offers.

Meditation is a practice that involves focusing your attention on the present moment, your breath, and your thoughts in order to enhance awareness, promote well-being, and reduce stress and anxiety. It can be done in various ways and in any location where you can be mindful of your body and surroundings. Different individuals may have different types of meditation practices, such as breathing-based meditation, mindfulness exercises, visualization in nature, mantra repetition, or spiritual meditation. You can choose to meditate alone, in a group, or with the guidance of a coach or therapist.

According to Sarah Meyer Tapia, a meditation coach and associate director of Health & Human Performance at Stanford University, there is no right or wrong way to meditate. Any activity can become meditative if we are fully present and aware of what we are doing in that moment.

Meyer Tapia suggests that instead of feeling like meditation is something we have to make time for, we should take as little or as much time as our mental energy allows to shift our focus away from distractions. If establishing a meditation practice seems challenging, she recommends reflecting on when and where you feel peace, comfort, joy, clarity, creativity, or focus in your life. It could be during activities like taking a shower, going for a walk, or spending time with a pet.

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Rather than searching for the outcomes we desire from meditation, Meyer Tapia encourages us to recognize and appreciate the moments in our lives where those qualities already exist. Almost all of us have some window of opportunity for experiencing these positive states, she says.

Health Benefits of Meditation, According to Science

Mediation can improve your quality of life thanks to its many psychological and physical benefits. Here are 10 science-backed benefits of mediation:

Stress Reduction

Mindfulness-based interventions, such as meditation, have been shown to improve mental health, specifically in the area of stress, according to a study in the Clinical Psychology Review^[1]. When faced with a difficult or stressful moment, our bodies create cortisol, the steroid hormone responsible for regulating stress and our natural fight-or-flight response, among many other functions. Chronic stress can cause sustained and elevated levels of cortisol, which can lead to other negative effects on your health, including cardiovascular and immune systems and gut health. Meditation, which focuses on calming the mind and regulating emotion, can help to reduce chronic stress in the body and lower the risk of its side effects.

Anxiety Management

Mediation can help counter the effects of anxiety—often noted as overwhelming feelings of fear, worry and tension—by slowing down racing thoughts and regulating breathing, which calms the nervous system. Physical symptoms of anxiety can include sweating, dizziness or a rapid heart rate, caused by overthinking past or future outcomes. People with anxiety who regularly practiced meditation over the course of three years saw positive, long-term impacts on their mental health, according to a study in General Hospital Psychiatry

Depression Management (Benefits of meditation)

Meditation can also help reduce the symptoms of depression through mindfulness and emotional regulation. One study observing individuals on a three-month-long yoga and meditation retreat found that participants showed significant improvements in depression after the retreat, as well as enhanced stress resilience and wellbeing

Lowers Blood Pressure

Hypertension—also known as high blood pressure—is estimated to affect one billion people worldwide and about half the people in the U.S Meditation has been noted to potentially provide promising results in decreasing high blood pressure, especially when paired with healthy lifestyle habits like a balanced diet and exercise. However, while evidence has been found to support the use of meditation for lowering blood pressure, additional research is needed to see the specific impacts across varying types of meditation.

Strengthens Immune System Health (Benefits of meditation)

Meditation has also been found to be an effective behavioral treatment for various conditions associated with a weakened immune system. Consistent meditation has been shown to reduce the body’s stress response, resulting in less inflammation and decreased risk of conditions such as chronic pain, fatigue and heart disease.

Improves Memory

While meditation is best known to help ease stress and anxiety, it can also improve your brain structure. When you practice meditation, your brain is able to produce more gray matter, researchers found in one study. Gray matter is crucial for healthy brain cognition, as it protects the hippocampus, the part of our brain connected to memory. It’s also crucial for basic human functions, including our ability to control movement and emotions. The same study found that meditating for 30 minutes a day for eight weeks can increase how much gray matter your body produces.

Regulates Mood (Benefits of meditation)

When practiced over time, meditation has the ability to change how you emotionally react to situations. Elements of meditation, which generally include mindfulness and controlled breathing, can lead to less impulsive reactions. This means instead of reacting from a heightened emotional state such as anger or panic, people who practice regular meditation may gain the ability to more successfully regulate their mood.

Increases Self-Awareness

Meditation increases self-awareness by creating a habit of focusing on the present, allowing you to notice your thoughts as they come up, says Meyer-Tapia. Research shows that practicing meditation can help develop self-awareness, as well as improve impulse control and a person’s relationship with themselves and others.

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Helps With Addiction Management

Meditation’s ability to increase a sense of calm, presence and reduced stress can help people with substance use disorders manage triggers or even avoid relapse. Meditation has also been shown to encourage a maintenance in abstinence for those suffering from substance use disorder, and curb inclinations or cravings for a substance as a way to deal with other mental health outcomes like anxiety or stress.

Improves Sleep (Benefits of meditation)

Research suggests meditation can improve a person’s ability to sleep and quality of sleep. “When most of us are struggling to sleep, it’s because our minds are ruminating over the day, or worrying about tomorrow,” says Meyer Tapia. While further research is needed to confirm the effectiveness of meditation as a long-term sleep aid, its effects have been shown to help with insomnia, as well as day-time sleep related issues, such as fatigue.

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