103 Days to Better Health: Meditation – How To Meditate and Its Health Benefits

103 DAYS TO BETTER HEALTH
sponsored by Psipher Wellness Group

CLICK HERE TO WATCH: Deepak Chopra Meditation Guide

12 SCIENCE-BASED BENEFITS OF MEDITATION

1. Reduces Stress
In an eight-week study, a meditation style called “mindfulness meditation” reduced the inflammation response caused by stress (2).

2. Controls Anxiety
Meditation may also help control job-related anxiety in high-pressure work environments. One study found that a meditation program reduced anxiety in a group of nurses (13).

3. Promotes Emotional Health
Some forms of meditation can also lead to an improved self-image and more positive outlook on life.

4. Enhances Self-Awareness
For example, self-inquiry meditation explicitly aims to help you develop a greater understanding of yourself and how you relate to those around you

5. Lengthens Attention Span
Focused-attention meditation is like weight lifting for your attention span. It helps increase the strength and endurance of your attention.

6. May Reduce Age-Related Memory Loss
Improvements in attention and clarity of thinking may help keep your mind young.

7. Can Generate Kindness
Metta, a type of meditation also known as loving-kindness meditation, begins with developing kind thoughts and feelings toward yourself.

8. May Help Fight Addictions
The mental discipline you can develop through meditation may help you break dependencies by increasing your self-control and awareness of triggers for addictive behaviors (34).

9. Improves Sleep
Becoming skilled in meditation may help you control or redirect the racing or “runaway” thoughts that often lead to insomnia.

10. Helps Control Pain
The meditating patients showed increased activity in the brain centers known to control pain. They also reported less sensitivity to pain (40).

11. Can Decrease Blood Pressure
A study of 996 volunteers found that when they meditated by concentrating on a “silent mantra” — a repeated, non-vocalized word — reduced blood pressure by about five points, on average.

12. You Can Meditate Anywhere
People practice many different forms of meditation, most of which don’t require specialized equipment or space. You can practice with just a few minutes daily.

Read the full story (source): https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/12-benefits-of-meditation#section11