6 Science-Based Benefits of Meditation

Meditation is increasing in popularity as more people discover its benefits.

Meditation is a process of training your mind to focus and redirect your thoughts. You can use it to increase awareness of yourself and your surroundings. Many people on the other hand consider it a way to reduce stress and develop concentration.

Some use the practice to develop other beneficial habits and feelings, such as positive mood, self-discipline, healthy sleep patterns, and even increased pain tolerance.

This article examines 6 health benefits of meditation.

1. Meditation reduces stress

One study of over 3,500 adults found that meditation helped reduce stress (1).

Usually, mental and physical stress cause elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This produces many of the harmful effects of stress such as the release of inflammation-promoting chemicals called cytokines.

These effects can disrupt sleep, promote depression and anxiety, raise blood pressure, and contribute to fatigue.

Research shows that meditation can also improve symptoms of stress-related conditions, including irritable bowel syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, and fibromyalgia.

2. Meditation controls anxiety

Less stress translates into less anxiety.

Meditation reduces symptoms of anxiety disorders, such as phobias, social anxiety, paranoid thoughts, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, and panic attacks (2).

Another study shows that regular meditation keeps anxiety levels lower in the long term.

Look more: How not to take things personally

3. Meditation Increases emotional health

Some forms of meditation can also lead to improved self-image and a more positive outlook on life.

Inflammatory chemicals called cytokines, which are released in response to stress, can affect mood, leading to depression. A review of several studies shows that meditation can reduce depression by reducing these inflammatory chemicals (3).

Another study compared the electrical activity between the brains of people who practiced meditation and the brains of others who did not.

Those who meditate show measurable changes in activity in areas related to positive thinking and optimism.

4 Improves self-awareness

Some forms of meditation can help you develop a stronger understanding of yourself, helping you develop into your best self.

For example, some forms of meditation teach you to recognize thoughts that may be harmful or self-defeating. The idea is that by becoming more aware of your thinking habits, you can shift them into more constructive patterns.

A study of 21 women battling breast cancer found that when they participated in a tai chi program, their self-esteem improved more than those who participated in social support sessions (4).

Also, meditation experience can create more creative problem solving.

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5 Extends attention span

Focused attention meditation is like lifting weights for your attention. It helps to increase the strength and endurance of concentration.

One such study looked at the effects of an eight-week mindfulness meditation course and found that it improved participants' ability to reorient and sustain their attention (5).

A similar study shows that HR employees who regularly practice mindfulness meditation stay focused on a task for longer.

These workers also remembered details of their tasks better than their peers who did not practice meditation.

Even meditating for a short period can benefit you. Four days of meditation practice may be enough to increase attention span.

6 May reduce age-related memory loss

Improvements in attention and clarity of thought can help keep your mind young.

Kirtan Kriya is a method of meditation that combines a mantra or chant with repetitive finger movement to focus thoughts. It improves participants' ability to perform memory tasks in multiple studies of age-related memory loss (6).

In addition to normal age-related memory loss, meditation may at least partially improve memory in dementia patients.

These are just a few of the benefits of meditation on our health. It can also help us fight addictions, help us sleep well, control pain and lower our blood pressure. And the best thing is that we can meditate anywhere.

See for yourself! – Collection of author's guided meditations - Milena Goleva