When we are constantly bombarded with responsibilities, anxieties, daily routines, and problems that arise regularly, while also thinking about all the horrifying things that happen in the world we live in, we need to take any steps we can to de-stress and feel better. That is exactly what meditation is great for, no matter whether you do it daily or once in a while. Thinking of taking up meditation? You definitely will after you read these 5 amazing benefits that you get from it!
Better concentration
Did you know that focus and concentration is something we can work on and improve?
While you are meditating, you are practicing mindfulness, which means that you are training your brain to stay focused on the present moment. This skill stays with you even after you are done with your meditation practice and it helps you process and retain new information, improves decision making and attention span. This is because the habit of meditation increases gray matter in those parts of your brain that are responsible for your concentration, learning, and memory.
Better self-awareness
When you take some time every day to self-reflect and examine your thoughts and feelings, you work on your self-awareness. By doing this consistently, you become more in tune with how you feel and realize why you act the way you do in certain situations. If you are following a guided meditation, these usually include positive affirmations which also help with your self-esteem and make you a more confident person when you interact with the world.
Less stress and anxiety
When we are stressed, our cortisol levels are up. This is quite useful for human beings because cortisol raises our blood pressure, warns us that we are in danger and that we need to get out of that situation fast – it activates the fight-or-flight response in our bodies.
However, many of the situations that cause our stress are not life-threatening to us and we cannot simply run away from them. Therefore, we need to learn how to lower our cortisol levels and work through our stress activators. Meditation calms the body and the brain making cortisol levels drop, which in turn de-stresses and relaxes us. Meditation also helps with combating anxiety and depression as it teaches you how to stay calm even in stressful situations.
Fights addiction
Addictions cannot simply be solved through meditation alone, as they are too complex and require different kinds of treatments, but it certainly does help. Like we already said, meditation helps you be more in tune with your thoughts and feelings, and that includes cravings as well. When you are aware of them, you can manage them more efficiently and not give in to them. More than that, continuous meditation in some cases alters the brain receptors connected to addiction.
Helps with pain
A study has shown that meditation can help in cases of acute or chronic pain. It doesn’t get rid of the pain altogether, but it does help you deal with it better and think about it less. Instead of focusing on the pain, meditation helps you focus on something else and be in the present moment.
