Meditating is a way to reduce the pressure, stress, and worries that we face on a daily basis. When we meditate, we provide ourselves with a space to restore our inner nature and calm.
In recent times, mental health is gaining much importance as another of the necessary pillars -along with physical health- to have greater well-being and quality of life. Many gestures are in our hands to take care of our mental health; one is to practice meditation.
Benefits of meditation
According to term paper writer service studies have shown that meditation has many physical and mental benefits. We tell you which are the most striking ones:
1. It reduces stress and anxiety levels because they help to have a calmer mind, allowing you to face the day more relaxedly. According to research conducted by the University of California, cortisol levels (stress hormones) are lower in people who practice meditation.
2. Relaxes muscle tension. During meditation, the body must be 100% focused on your emotional state, so the muscles tend to relax and gradually decrease the accumulated tension.
3. It helps to cultivate concentration. It increases the ability to decide what to concentrate on and the time in which you can perform a task without being distracted.
4. Improves memory, regular practice allows you to remember more things and helps your brain stay young. In fact, scientific studies show that the use of meditation is effective in treating memory problems and preventing diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.
5. It helps elevate your mood. Meditating makes you feel more positive about life, about your daily life, accepting and facing what comes as part of the cycle of personal growth.
6. Enhances your creativity: A study conducted by researchers at the University of Leiden, in the Netherlands, revealed that meditation increases creativity, since the practices of relaxation, peace, concentration and calm are able to promote both creative and divergent thinking.
7. Facilitates and improves the quality of sleep: Spending some time meditating before going to sleep will make you fall asleep faster, rest better, and that will make you wake up the next day with more energy.
8. Positively affects the immune system. A Harvard University study indicates that meditation weakens genes related to causing inflammation in the body and may also stimulate genes related to DNA stability.
9. It may help lower blood pressure. Meditation helps relax the nerves that work in coordination with the heart, thus protecting it from possible threats.
10. Facilitates better digestion: by inducing calmness, you can also improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and thus balance the microbiota (intestinal bacteria), which will allow you to better absorb nutrients.
11. Helps with pain perception. Meditation is especially effective in changing the way we perceive and respond to pain.
Tips for getting started with meditation
If you have never tried setting aside time for meditation or tried it on occasion and felt bored or frustrated, don’t despair. It is a practice that takes time and dedication, but the positive effects begin to show in the short term:
- Choose comfortable clothes that you feel comfortable in.
- Find a quiet place and a time of day when you feel relaxed, without distractions.
- Posture is important. The most common is sitting on the meditation mat or cushion, with shoulders and arms relaxed. However, there are other times when it is better to lie down or choose a place where you can rest your back.
- Be patient, with the intense pace of life we lead, stopping for a few minutes is always difficult. Improvements in this area are seen gradually.
- Look for videos or audios to help you. It is always easier to start a guided meditation than on your own.
- Focus on an object: one way to promote concentration and mental serenity is to focus on an object. This can be the swaying of your breath, your own physical sensations or an image seen before.
- Make meditating a part of your daily routine little by little.
It doesn’t matter when you start meditating or if it is a short time, what matters is that you are consistent, that you listen to your body and mind, and that you take time to feel better and more relaxed.
