Stress/Anxiety/Emotional Health/Self-Attention/Attention Span/Memory/Kindness/Addiction/Sleep/Pain/Blood Pressure/Accessibility/Takeaway
Meditation is often seen as a way to reduce stress and anxiety, but it can also improve your mood, promote healthy sleep patterns, and enhance cognitive abilities.
Meditation is the practice of training your mind to focus and redirect your thoughts.
The popularity of meditation is on the rise as more people discover its many health benefits.
It can help you learn more about yourself and your environment. Many see it as a way to manage stress and increase focus.
This practice is also used to cultivate other beneficial habits and emotions like a positive mood and outlook, willpower, healthy sleep patterns, and even increased pain tolerance.
This article explores 12 health benefits of meditation.
1. Reduce Stress
Stress reduction is one of the most common reasons people turn to meditation.
Over time, physiological indicators of stress, like increased cortisol and heart rate, can impact everything from sleep to blood pressure.
A 2017 review of 45 studies showed various forms of meditation can help lower these physiological markers of stress.
Other research suggests meditation can also improve symptoms of conditions affected by stress, including:
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Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
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Fibromyalgia
2. Controls Anxiety
Meditation can reduce stress levels, which in turn leads to less anxiety.
A 2014 meta-analysis involving nearly 1,300 adults found that meditation might decrease anxiety, particularly in individuals with the highest levels of anxiety.
Another study showed that eight weeks of mindfulness meditation reduced anxiety symptoms in people with generalised anxiety disorder, increased positive self-statements, and improved stress reactivity and coping.
Meditation can also help manage work-related anxiety. One study found that employees who used a mindfulness meditation app for eight weeks reported improved feelings of relaxation and reduced stress and strain compared to a control group.
3. Supports Emotional Health
Some forms of meditation can lead to an improved self-image and a more positive outlook on life.
For example, one review involving over 3,500 adults found that mindfulness meditation improved symptoms of depression.
A 2015 study showed that participants who engaged in meditation exercises had fewer negative thoughts when exposed to negative images compared to a control group.
4. Enhances Self-Awareness
Some types of meditation help increase your understanding of yourself, aiding in becoming your best self.
For instance, self-inquiry meditation aims to enhance your understanding of yourself and how you relate to those around you.
Other forms teach you to recognise harmful or self-defeating thoughts, steering them towards more constructive patterns.
In a 2019 study, 153 adults who used a mindfulness meditation app for two weeks reported reduced feelings of loneliness and increased social contact compared to a control group.
5. Lengthens Attention Span
Focused-attention meditation is akin to weightlifting for your attention span, increasing both its strength and endurance.
One study found that individuals who listened to a meditation tape experienced improved attention and accuracy while completing tasks, compared to those in a control group.
Another study showed that regular meditation practitioners performed better on visual tasks and had a longer attention span than those without meditation experience.
Even meditating for a short period each day can be beneficial. One study found that just 13 minutes of daily meditation increased attention and memory after eight weeks.
6. May Reduce Age-Related Memory Loss
Improvements in attention and clarity of thought might keep your mind younger.
Kirtan Kriya, a meditation technique that combines a mantra or chant with repetitive finger movements to focus the mind, has shown in older studies to improve performance on neuropsychological tests in people with age-related memory loss.
A 2014 review found preliminary evidence that several meditation styles can increase attention, memory, and mental quickness in older volunteers.
7. Can Generate Kindness
Some meditation practices can increase positive feelings and actions towards oneself and others.
Metta meditation, also known as loving-kindness meditation, starts with developing kind thoughts and feelings towards oneself. Through practice, people learn to extend this kindness and forgiveness externally, first to friends, then acquaintances, and finally to adversaries.
A meta-analysis of 22 studies on this form of meditation confirmed its ability to increase people’s compassion for themselves and others. These benefits seem to accumulate over time with regular practice.
8. May Help with Addiction
The mental discipline developed through meditation may help break dependencies by increasing willpower and awareness of triggers for addictive behaviours.
A 2018 study involving 60 people in treatment for alcohol use disorder linked practicing transcendental meditation with lower levels of stress, psychological distress, alcohol cravings, and alcohol use after three months.
Meditation might also aid in managing food cravings. An older review of 14 studies found that mindfulness meditation helped participants reduce emotional and binge eating.
9. Improves Sleep
A 2014 study compared mindfulness-based meditation programs and found that meditators stayed asleep longer and had improved insomnia severity compared to those in an unmedicated control condition.
Mastering meditation might help you manage or redirect the racing or runaway thoughts that often lead to insomnia. Additionally, it can relax your body, release tension, and ease you into a peaceful state conducive to sleep.
10. Helps Manage Pain
Some research suggests that regular meditation might be beneficial for controlling pain.
For instance, a 2017 review of 38 studies concluded that mindfulness meditation could reduce pain, improve quality of life, and decrease symptoms of depression in individuals with chronic pain.
A large 2014 meta-analysis involving nearly 3,500 participants linked meditation with reduced pain.
11. Can Lower Blood Pressure
Meditation can also improve physical health by reducing strain on the heart.
Over time, high blood pressure makes the heart work harder to pump blood, leading to poor heart function. It also contributes to atherosclerosis, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes.
A 2015 meta-analysis of 12 studies with nearly 1,000 participants found that meditation helped reduce blood pressure, particularly among older participants and those with higher baseline blood pressure.
Meditation seems to control blood pressure by relaxing nerve signals that coordinate heart function, blood vessel tension, and the “fight-or-flight” response that increases alertness in stressful situations.
12. Accessible Anywhere
Meditation doesn’t require specialised equipment or space; you can practice with just a few minutes each day.
If you’re interested in starting, choose a form of meditation based on what you aim to achieve:
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Focused-Attention Meditation: Concentrates on a single object, thought, sound, or visualization, aiming to eliminate distractions. This might focus on breathing, a mantra, or a calming sound.
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Open-Monitoring Meditation: Encourages a broadened awareness of all aspects of your environment, train of thought, and sense of self. It might involve becoming aware of suppressed thoughts, feelings, or impulses.
If your work or home environment doesn’t allow for quiet time, consider joining a class for a supportive community. Alternatively, set your alarm a few minutes early to benefit from morning quiet, helping to form a consistent habit and start the day positively.
The Bottom Line
Meditation is something everyone can do to boost their mental and emotional health without needing special equipment or expensive memberships. Trying out a style of meditation that suits your goals can significantly enhance your quality of life, even if you only have a few minutes each day to practice.
