I talk about meditation all the time because it has so many health benefits...but do you know that even with all of the amazing science behind meditation, I still have a hard time ‘fitting it in’!
I talk about meditation all the time because it has so many health benefits...but do you know that even with all of the amazing science behind meditation, I still have a hard time ‘fitting it in’! For me, the results are great; it’s a great way to relieve stress and helps to find peace when things are chaotic, but yet still, I sometimes have to force myself to make time to meditate. I find that if I stop and think of all of the health benefits it will give me in the moment, I am more easily able to make it a part of my day. I’m talking about big health benefits! Like growing new brain synapses! You can actually have a higher functioning brain from meditating, and that’s just the beginning!! So read on because I am excited to help you understand how life-changing the studies are on meditation, so you can start talking yourself into it as often as possible!Meditation has been an effective stress-relieving and overall health building technique for me, for years and I’m so excited to get to share how it can help you live a happy, healthy life. Now is the perfect time to learn more about daily meditation and how it can make your daily life better!
Meditation is a natural type of mind-and-body medicine. When you meditate, you reach a state of deep, focused attention—this lets you clear your mind and reduce all of the thoughts that are causing you stress. I often say, if everyone could just get out of their own head for 10 minutes daily, there would be much less dispute and anger in the world.Some of the benefits of meditation include making you feel calmer and more relaxed, balancing your emotions, coping with illness, anxiety, and depression, and enhancing your overall health and wellness.Daily meditation, where you set a time to meditate every day, helps hold you accountable while you build the habit, and this practice been shown to greatly help reduce high blood pressure, relieve certain psychological disorders, and even help those with chronic pain to reduce their pain naturally.
Did you know there are actually a number of different types of daily meditation? The best thing to do is to try out different forms to see which technique you like best and what works best for you!Here are some of the forms of meditation and what they involve.
Did you notice the best part about all of these strategies for daily meditation? None of them require any tools, so they are completely free—plus, you can start improving SO MANY areas of your health with these techniques right away.
While there are a huge number of benefits to meditation, these five benefits of daily meditation are the most impactful on your overall health.
As we’ve already talked about, meditation centers around focus. But one of the main benefits of meditation is an increased ability to focus—so if you’ve noticed yourself getting distracted at work, meditation could be the perfect solution!Why does focusing so deeply during daily meditation help relieve stress? Focusing your attention lets you filter out the distractions and worries that lead to stress and anxiety. Instead, you’re able to focus on your breathing or your body, which lets you calm down both physically and mentally!
Getting enough sleep is important, but getting better quality sleep means checking out my blog post with 5 impactful ways to hack your sleep!Daily meditation has been proven to actually improve your sleep. A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine showed that people who learned meditation and other focus exercises had less insomnia, fatigue, and depression. [1]Stress is one of the main factors that prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep, so reducing your stress through techniques like daily meditation can make a huge impact!
This might sound kind of strange, but trust me—this is a really cool benefit of daily meditation! According to Headspace, a guided meditation app, people who meditate experience improvements in their relationships. [2]The idea behind this is that meditation actually stimulates the part of your brain that creates empathy. By adding meditation to your routine, you’ll become more compassionate and understanding...basically you become less defensive and more accepting, and your relationships willimprove, which will eliminate stress in the long run, too!
Stress really wreaks havoc on your mind and body. It causes a number of physical symptoms, lowers your immunity, and even ages you! As soon as you start to feel stressed, your body reacts physically by increasing your heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure. Constant stress is even worse: your adrenal glands overproduce the hormone cortisol, which can impact your brain and immune system, leaving you vulnerable to getting sick. Chronic stress also causes headaches, heart disease, anxiety, and depression.Unfortunately, there’s no one way to make sure that you never feel stress again—it’s a natural part of life! Luckily, though, daily meditation can make a huge impact.Meditation works by reversing those physical symptoms of stress we talked about above (your heart rate slows, your breathing slows, and your blood pressure goes back to normal), which then reduces your cortisol and adrenaline that keep you in the fight or flight state, draining your body of energy and bandwidth. Beyond physically relaxing you, meditation relieves stress by helping you connect with your inner self, creativity, focus, and motivation.
Like I said before, meditation is completely free and doesn’t require any outside equipment or special knowledge. All you need is quiet, space, consistency, and a little bit of time to commit each day.First, set a time that you want to spend for meditation every day. This will help you hold yourself accountable and build a habit! Start with a small amount like five or ten minutes. The best way to stay committed is to try and be consistent, so try to meditate at the same time every morning to establish that habit.Next, figure out where you’re going to meditate. Whether it’s outside or in a favorite spot in your home, you’ll eventually build up a special relaxed feeling from being in that space. You can even spruce up the space where you’re going to meditate to add to the relaxing and calming environment. Candles, an essential oil diffuser, or fresh flowers, make beautiful additions to a meditation space! [3]Make sure that your chosen spot is comfortable and peaceful for you. Remember, meditation is all about getting in touch with yourself and focusing your energy so that you can overcome stress, so you have to be comfortable.Daily meditation makes a really big impact on your stress levels and ability to cope with negative emotions. Within only a week of regular daily meditation, you’ll start to notice a change in your mood and stress level. How often does a lifestyle change pay off that quickly?Meditation is so powerful, and while it might feel out of your comfort zone at first, you’ll get into a routine quickly using the tips above. Have you ever tried daily meditation?Scientific Resources[1] Corliss, J. Mindfulness meditation helps fight insomnia, improves sleep. Harvard Health Publishing: Harvard Medical School. (18 February 2015). Retrieved 10 July 2020 from https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/mindfulness-meditation-helps-fight-insomnia-improves-sleep-201502187726[2] Headspace. The benefits of daily meditation. Headspace. (2020). Retrieved 10 July 2020 from https://www.headspace.com/meditation/daily-meditation[3] Harvard Women’s Health Watch. What meditation can do for your mind, mood, and health. Harvard Health Publishing: Harvard Medical School. (July 2014). Retrieved 10 July 2020 from https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/what-meditation-can-do-for-your-mind-mood-and-health-
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