8 Benefits of Meditation | Why do we need to Meditate?

Anxiety about the past or future can take a toll on our health - especially now due to what is happening around the world. The added worry means we’re more likely to experience stress and the physical symptoms that come with it.

We all are so used to thinking and pondering about our problems, responsibilities and day-to-day lives, that we find it difficult to focus on a single thought and prevent our minds from wandering.

Meditation involves training yourself to be mindful, i.e., to stay in the present moment and focus on what you’re doing right here, right now. There are many benefits of meditation.

Sneaking some meditation and mindfulness into your everyday life can help you manage the strain on your mind. It’s about training yourself to let thoughts and feelings come and go, without letting them get stuck on repeat. With practice, it can mean higher awareness, fewer distractions, and less stress - helping you take care of both your mind and body.

Let's look at some of the benefits of Meditation -

Decreases Stress

Stress isn’t all in your head. It has many physical effects. Physical or mental stress arises due to many factors like your job, finances, health or relationships. When we are stressed, our body produces a stress home, called cortisol, which is primarily responsible for the negative effects of stress. It increases your blood pressure, disrupts your sleep pattern, increases your anxiety levels and makes you unmotivated and fatigued, thus, bringing your productive life to a crashing halt

Meditation calms your mind, which helps in decreasing the levels of cortisol- a stress hormone. Many psychologists and doctors have recommended meditation as a healing technique if you are suffering from stress and its related effects.

According to the American Heart Association, meditation might even be a helpful part of a heart-healthy lifestyle.

Hence, sitting in silence for 15-20 mins and taking deep breaths can have a huge effect on your body. Repeating a word or phrase as a mantra during transcendental meditation also increases your focus and calms your mind.

Improves your sleep patterns

We've all experienced those non-stop thoughts in the last moments before bedtime. Though losing some hours of sleep is natural now and then, long-term sleep deprivation can be harmful.

Meditating before going to sleep gets rid of the thoughts that have been plaguing us the whole day, which calms and relaxes your brain. A goodnight’s sleep makes your brain more focused and sharper, which increases your energy levels, concentration and problem-solving ability.

A 2015 study showed that meditating for 2 hours once a week significantly improved the sleep patterns even in chronic insomniacs.

So, If you want a natural and effective remedy for sleeping every night like a baby, sleep meditation is your answer.

Builds your self-confidence and Self-esteem

This world is filled with bullies and critics who can significantly decrease your self-confidence levels. This increases your anxiety levels and can even make you depressed in the long run!

Furthermore, constant criticism and discouragement increases the cycle of negative thoughts in your mind and prevents you from improving yourself.

Meditation allows you to collect all your thoughts and focus on the present moment. It encourages you to slow down, allows for deeper self-reflection, increases your ability to examine your thoughts and feelings without judgment, and helps you discover positive attributes about yourself.

Helps you control Pain

Several doctors have recommended meditation as an integral part of the comprehensive pain management plan.

A 2016 study stated that meditation altered our perception of pain and significantly increased our pain tolerating capacity.

Daily meditation for 15 mins helped the patients cope with their chronic pains in a better manner.

Improves your lung and heart health

It is important to breathe right since this is the only way your body can receive oxygen. Meditation involves deep breathing exercises which increases the amount of oxygen reaching your lungs.

This relaxes you further and imbibes a sense of well-being.

Meditation also decreases your respiratory rate as you become more aware of your breaths. This prevents your heart from beating excessively, which improves the strength of the heart muscles. Slow down your system by meditating!

Decreases Anxiety and Depression Levels

A mind is a funny place. Even when you’re not facing a stressful situation, anxiety can sneak up on you and cause a stress response anyway. Meditation has been recommended as an effective therapy for individuals who are struggling with anxiety and depression.

Meditation drives away the negative thoughts from the mind and discourages people from engaging in depressive behaviour.

Meditation trains your mind to focus on the present, which makes it unlikely to ruminate on the negative and anxiety-inducing thoughts, which could fuel depression.

Helps Fight Addiction

Meditation can alter the brain receptors which are associated with alcohol or drug addiction, thus, decreasing the cravings of these abusive substances. You become more aware of your dependence on these substances, which allows you to manage your addictions.

A 2018 study noted that meditation and mindfulness-based intervention training prevented the relapse of people with a substance abuse disorder, as it produced a therapeutic effect which helped them regulate how their brains experienced pleasure.

Increases memory and attention span

Mindfulness Meditation allows you to focus on the present, which can improve your thought processes and mental faculties. It enhances the clarity of your thoughts and improves your memory levels.

Research showed that people who engaged in an 8-week meditation course showed better speed and performance. The results showed that daily meditation heightens your focus and increases your productivity. These people have an easier time recalling events and they can also store information much more efficiently.

Meditation can have many health benefits, right from physical, mental, spiritual and emotional. If you'd like to decrease your stress levels, increase your concentrations, deal with chronic pain, insomnia or addiction, you must give meditation a try and see if it's right for you.

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