Sometimes you need to step back, stay quiet, clear your mind, and relax. However, there are many other benefits of meditation. BOXROX have compiled a list of 7 benefits of meditation so you can set your goals clearly.
Although it is generally accepted that meditation can help your general wellbeing, there are benefits of meditation towards sports performance. Click here to find out more.
For How Long Should You Meditate?
“For as long as you can” is the easiest and fastest way to answer the question. However, most people do not have a lot of spare time to meditate – plus, it is not like you can just sit down and meditate straight away as there are some preparations needed.
Online there are varying answers to how long you should meditate, but you should do it consistently to be able to see results. A minimum of 5 minutes should be the goal. Research showed that practising 12 minutes of meditation tends to work well with most people. On the other end, up to 40 minutes can also give you some benefits of meditation.
Source: Matteo Di Iorio / UnsplashHow Often Should You Meditate?
This question is also incredibly important. If you meditate for 2 hours, but only once every few months, the benefits of meditation will not appear. Frequency is as important as consistency.
Just like working out your muscles, you need to be consistent and practice regularly to reap its benefits.
Some researches show that people practising meditation every day start seeing results in 4-8 weeks.
1. Reduce Stress, Anxiety, and Depression
When performed on a regular basis, meditation will help to alleviate stress and anxiety levels, a staple in today’s modern society. According to a Harvard research, meditation will also help people who suffer from depression.
2. It’s Good For Your Heart
A research published in the US National Library of Medicine concluded that one of the benefits of meditation is intrinsically connected with the prevention of cardiovascular diseases by impacting your blood pressure and your heart muscle.
3. Increase Your Concentration Skill
Today the society seems to need more of everything, and also faster, which can be a daunting experience. By focusing on yourself and clearing your mind, you will practice and strengthen your ability to concentrate on tasks that matter.
Read More: 5 Significant Benefits of Morning Meditation
4. Better Sleep
People who do not get enough sleep are depriving their bodies of the most essential component of surviving. If your body does not get the rest it needs, you will not be able to retain the information you got through the day and also will not have the energy to continue at the same pace the next day.
This can be terrible if you are trying to get fitter, as your body needs proper sleep to build muscle.
When meditating on a regular basis, you will find it easier to relax and thus will get to sleep faster and more profoundly.
5. Boosts Your Immune System
Not only do you get to sleep better, but mindful meditation will also help you fight off viruses and bacteria more efficiently by increasing your immune system. That is what research from 2003 found.
“We also found significant increases in antibody titers to influenza vaccine among subjects in the meditation compared with those in the wait-list control group.”
6. Alleviate PMS
Another research showed that one of the benefits of meditation is to relieve headaches, cramps, hot flashes and water retention – symptoms of premenstrual syndrome.
7. Reduces Binge Eating
Binge eating became a problem for some people during the pandemic. Meditation can help with that.
A 2013 research published in Eating Behaviors concluded that mindfulness meditation “effectively decreases binge eating and emotional eating in a population engaging in this behaviour.”
Read More: 5 Valuable Reasons Why You Should Consider Meditation
Image Sources
- Benefits of Meditation: Matteo Di Iorio / Unsplash
- katerina-jerabkova-6CLBoiWuzSU-unsplash: Katerina Jerabkova / Unsplash