How Meditation Can Improve Your Life
Unlock your mind’s full potential with meditation: improve sleep, boost focus, and enhance well-being. Start transforming your life today!
Until the last decade or so, many people wrote off meditation as just another spiritual fad for devout Buddhists or health-obsessed yogis.
However, in recent times, stacks of scientific research and a cult following from influential celebrities have seen the credibility of meditation soar (and with good reason!).
From preserving the aging brain to helping us to control stress, we’re only just beginning to uncover all the benefits this chilling method can offer.
Still not convinced? We’ve rounded up a list of seven ways meditation can improve your life.
The Health Benefits Of Meditation
Meditating for even just 10 minutes a day can bring massive health benefits, including:
1. Reduce stress
One of the major reasons that more and more people are turning to meditation is to deal with the pressures of a constantly connected 21st-century lifestyle.
In fact, recent studies have found that the amount of stress-related absences from work around the world is on the rise. Whether this is due to family problems, increased workloads, or lack of job security, it costs businesses a fortune and dramatically impacts the lives of those affected.
Fortunately, studies have found that practicing mindfulness meditation can be a highly effective way to reduce the occurrence of unproductive worries and generalized anxiety. This reduction, in turn, leads to greater productivity, a better quality of sleep, and overall mood improvement.
Worried you’re too highly strung for meditation? Never fear — mindfulness meditation isn’t all about sitting cross-legged on a mat anymore. Even people with short attention spans can mindfulness meditate!
2. Improve Overall Health
Believe it or not, stress can be linked in some way to up to 70% of illnesses, from gastrointestinal distress to psoriasis.
Even more frighteningly, links can be made between stress and early-onset Alzheimer’s and heart disease.
Before you get too wound up about these scary statistics, you should know that meditation can help to keep stress under control and stave off many of these conditions.
A recent study conducted by UCLA actually found that long-term meditators had better-preserved brains than their non-meditating counterparts as they aged, suggesting that we can lessen the risk of developing degenerative brain disease using meditation.
So, next time you feel your blood pressure rising, don’t be afraid to take a few deep breaths and slip into a more tranquil state.
3. Appreciate Life More
We live in such a fast-paced world that it’s all too easy to forget to stop and smell the roses. A fantastic part of mindfulness meditation is the way that it encourages us to appreciate the things and people around us.
Failure to appreciate family, friends, and even the basic luxury of being able to afford a home and food can leave us irritable and depressed.
When we practice mindfulness, we stop comparing our car to our neighbor’s and start to feel grateful for all the good things in our lives.
This mindset helps to combat depression and anxiety and foster self-love.
4. Improve Concentration
You may think that meditation isn’t for you if you have a hard time concentrating. However, research has shown that undertaking just a few weeks of meditation training significantly improved people’s focus and memory.
While this study examined the effect of meditation on the verbal reasoning section of the Graduate Record Examinations, improved concentration doesn’t just apply to standardized testing. It can also improve job performance and general cognition in every area of your life.
This is particularly helpful for parents or children struggling with ADHD.
5. Boost Sleep Quality
Getting a good sleep every night is paramount for our overall health. But what do you do when your mind won’t shut off, and all you can think about is that cringe-worthy moment from fifth grade?
Just 10 minutes of meditation before bed can work wonders for improving your sleep quality, according to this 2018 study.
By reducing racing thoughts and anxiety, meditation can help you let go of the day’s worries and prepare your mind and body for a restful night’s sleep.
The same study has shown that meditation can improve the overall duration and quality of sleep, leading to fewer wake-ups and more restorative rest.
So regular meditation practice can have long-term benefits for your sleep quality.
6. Increase Mindfulness
There are moments when you’re so wrapped up in your thoughts that you forget to enjoy the present moment.
Maybe you’re at a beautiful park, but instead of enjoying the sunshine, you’re stressing about work deadlines. That’s where meditation comes in – it’s like a personal trainer for your mindfulness muscle.
Mindfulness is the practice of being fully present and engaged in the moment, without judgment or distraction. It can help you become more aware of your thoughts and emotions, and develop a greater sense of well-being.
Meditation is one of the most powerful tricks to increase mindfulness. By focusing on your breath or a specific sensation, you can train your mind to stay in the present moment and let go of distracting thoughts.
7. Better Focus And Concentration
We all have those moments when we can’t seem to focus no matter how hard we try. Maybe you’re trying to study for an exam, but your mind keeps drifting off to what you’re going to have for dinner.
By meditating, you can improve your ability to concentrate and stay focused, even in the face of distractions.
But that’s not all – meditation can also enhance your cognitive abilities, such as memory and creativity. By training your mind to stay present and focused, you can strengthen neural connections in the brain that are responsible for these skills.
By meditating daily, even for just a few minutes, you can improve your ability to focus and concentrate and enhance your cognitive abilities.
There Are Even More Benefits
Here is a cute infographic with more benefits of regular meditation:
A Step-By-Step Guide To Start Meditating
Here is a step-by-step guide to help you meditate for the first time (don’t worry, it will get better with practice!):
- Find a comfortable and quiet place to meditate. This could be a chair, a cushion, or a yoga mat on the floor.
- Get yourself into a cozy position, ensuring that your back is straight. If lying down is more comfortable for you, feel free to do so.
- Close your eyes and breathe deeply a few times. Breathe in deeply through your nose, hold it for a few seconds, and breathe out slowly through your mouth.
- Concentrate on your breathing. Notice the feeling of air flowing in and out of your body. If your thoughts begin to wander, simply bring your attention back to your breathing in a calm manner.
- Pay attention to any physical sensation you may be feeling. This could be tension in your muscles, discomfort in your joints, or any other sensations. Try to relax any areas of tension and release any discomfort.
- In case your mind begins to wander, kindly redirect your attention back to your breathing. It may be beneficial to count your breaths until 10, then restart counting.
- As you continue to focus on your breath, try to let go of any thoughts or worries that may be on your mind.
- When you’re prepared to end your meditation session, take some deep breaths and gently open your eyes.
- Sit quietly and observe how you’re feeling. If you feel calm and tranquil, let yourself enjoy that sensation.
- Then slowly get up and your meditation session has ended.
Keep meditation daily and you’ll soon reap all those health benefits listed above.
Expert Tips To Master Your Meditation
Here are some helpful tips for those starting their first meditation session:
The Takeaway
If you constantly find yourself sick, stressed, or struggling to concentrate, consider setting aside at least 10 minutes a day to practice mindfulness meditation.
In a few short weeks, you may find that your entire body has changed, both inside and outside!
