5 Impactful benefits of meditation

Meditation refers to a set of practices that focus on enhancing attention and increasing your sense of awareness.

It has been around for hundreds of years and is practised in many different cultures and religions.

Meditation offers a multitude of physical and mental health benefits, ranging from enhanced immunity to reduced stress levels.

Although there are many different forms of meditation, they can be broadly categorised into two primary types: concentrative meditation and contemplative meditation.

Concentrative meditation aims to achieve stillness of the body and mind. It involves the practitioner focusing their attention on an object of concentration.

Contemplative meditation involves focusing all your attention on a certain question.

This practice aims to seek answers to your questions with the aid of inspiring insights from your inner wisdom.

In this article, we will discuss 5 reasons why you need to include meditation in your life.

1. Lower Stress Levels

Meditation promotes calmness, increases inner harmony and improves overall mental wellbeing by facilitating deep thinking and self-reflection.

An increase in stress causes our body to increase the release of the stress hormone cortisol.

A high level of cortisol is associated with fatigue, headaches, accumulated abdominal fat, anxiety, increased blood pressure and sleep disruption.

Mindful meditation reduces stress levels by forcing the mind into a deep state of relaxation and tranquillity, enhancing emotional health.

Mediation also allows the body to repair itself and it protects the body from damage caused by physical stress.

Concentrative meditation works best for lowering stress levels. By directing all of your attention to the present moment, you can stop yourself from thinking about the stressful aspects of life.

It clears your crowded mind and makes you feel at ease.

Meditation eliminates all the worries, stress-causing scenarios and jumbled thoughts from your mind and allows you to listen to your inner voice.

Research has shown that meditation can also provide relief against stress-related conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder and irritable bowel syndrome.

2. Improves Attention Span

Meditation has many psychological benefits. One such benefit is that it lengthens attention span.

Concentrative meditation increases the strength and endurance of your attention.

A recent study tested the effect of meditation on attention, and it revealed that participants who listened to a meditation tape while performing a task were more attentive and accurate, compared to the participants in the other control group.

Another observational study showed that people who meditate have a longer attention span than those who do not meditate.

According to researchers, even thirteen minutes of daily meditation can have far-reaching effects when it comes to lengthening attention span.

To add to the list of benefits, meditation can even alter the patterns in the brain that cause a lack of attention, overthinking and excessive worrying.

If you want to focus on relevant information and filter out distractions, include concentrative meditation in your life.

3. Helps Reduce Age-Related Memory Deficit

Just as our bodies get old, so do our minds!

Meditation promotes clarity of thinking and increased attention span, which can keep our minds healthy and fit as we age.

Kirtan Kriya is a meditation technique that has shown memory improvements for those suffering from age-related memory loss.

According to the findings of another study, meditation can increase mental responsiveness in older adults.

Research also shows that meditation may help improve memory in patients who have dementia.

Although more research is required to fully understand the memory-improving potential of meditation in patients with dementia, it offers hope to those looking to prevent this condition.

4. Improves Sleep

Sleep disorders are very common worldwide, with 70 million people affected in America alone.

Studies have shown that people who meditate tend to sleep much better at night, as compared to those who do not practice meditation.

Your meditation skills might help you clear your crowded and distracted mind, which can often contribute to insomnia.

Meditation is also shown to increase the levels of melatonin in the body, helping to fight sleep disorders and help you to sleep.

Moreover, meditation puts the mind at ease, releases tension, relaxes the body and puts your mind into a state of deep peace. This makes it more likely for you to fall asleep.

However, in order to reap the sleep benefits of meditation, it is important to be consistent with your meditation.

The quality of meditation is much more important than its quantity. Meditating for five minutes every day for a week is much better than meditating for one hour once a week.

It’s important to remember that building up your mediation skills requires practice and time. Be patient with yourself.

5. Decreases Blood Pressure

Meditation also has numerous physical health benefits.

Meditation reduces strain on the heart, improving heart health. High blood pressure forces the heart to work hard to pump the blood around the body, which leads to poor heart health.

High blood pressure can also narrow the arteries, increasing the risk of a heart stroke.

An analysis of the findings of twelve studies concluded that meditation helps lower blood pressure in the body.

Meditation has also been shown to increase the amount of nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide acts as a vasodilator, improving the flow of oxygen and blood.

The production of nitric acid also helps to relax blood vessels, regulating blood pressure and improving overall heart functionality.

This makes meditation ideal for people who suffer from high blood pressure.

Some final thoughts on meditation

Meditation is a simple practice that is inexpensive and accessible to all.

There are lots of different styles of meditation, meaning you can explore and experiment to find the technique that is best suited to your meditation goals.

You can also practice the meditation that best suits your needs at the moment. Try including meditation in your daily routine, and you will see your life changing for good.

Happy meditating!