Meditation has become a part of my life for the past 4 years. This has brought a myriad of benefits.

Mediation is a practice of training your mind to focus and redirect your thoughts. Its aim is to help you become more present.

Here are some of the key benefits meditation can bring and has brought me.

Reduces Stress and Anxiety

One study concluded that meditation programs can result in a small to moderate reduction in psychological stress.

Why is stress bad? Of course, we all notice the negative way this affects our mood and daily activites. However, stress also increases the level of the hormone cortisol released. This can produce many harmful affects, such as the release of inflammatory chemicals such as cytokines.

These effects can disrupt sleep, promote depression and anxiety, increase blood pressure, and contribute to fatigue and cloudy thinking.

An 8 week study concluded that practicing mindfulness resulted in a significantly smaller post-stress inflammatory response, compared to the control group.

Also, a meta-analysis including nearly 1,300 adults found that meditation may decrease anxiety. Notably, this effect was strongest in those with the highest levels of anxiety.

For me personally, this time of year is considered ‘busy season’, where I am generally working longer and more stressful hours. Because of this, my anxiety is generally higher as well. However, I have noticed that taking regular breaks throughout the day and practicing mindfulness has really improved my psychological state. Thanfully, this has become a lot easier post-COVID, as I have spent most of the time working from home.

One study even suggested that short guided meditations delivered via apps practiced multiple times a week can improve work stress and well-being.

Improves Sleep

We all know how important sleep is to our well being. Poor sleep can overshadow any healthy habits we may perform throughout the day. At least for me, I feel like sleep is almost the foundation of how I feel and perform throughout the day. If I have a lack of sleep or the quality of sleep is poor, its likely that this will translate to a day where I perform poorly.

Since practicing meditation and becoming more mindful, I have noticed that the quality of my sleep has improved. I tend not to overthink things late at night and can fall asleep a lot easier too.

In fact, one study actually suggested that practicing mindfulness meditation improved sleep quality.

Lengthens Attention Span

I have always had a bad habit of doing a bit of work then going on my phone every 10 mins. I’m not saying that this habit has completely gone away, as I still sometimes find myself getting distracted.

However, mediation has definitely improved my attention span and ability to do longer periods of work. This is backed by a study that investigated the effects of a brief, 10 minute meditation session on attention in novice meditators, compared to a control activity. It was concluded that people who listened to a meditation tape experienced improve attention and accuracy while completing a task, compared with those in a control group.

Helps Emotional Well Being

The ability to control our emotions is so important. There are so many things that happen to us in a day that don’t go to plan. Imagine if you got angry and frustrated at each one? You are essentially letting your day run you, instead of you running the day.

Overall, practicing meditation has helped me obtain a more positive outlook on life. Yes, sometimes things that don’t go my way do bother me. I do get angry at times, but I am much more aware of my emotions and don’t let them completely ruin my day.

This is backed by studies; for example, one review of treatments given to more than 3,500 adults found that mindfulness meditation improved symptoms of depression.

Similarly, a review of 18 studies showed that people receiving meditation therapies experienced reduced symptoms of depression, compared with those in a control group.

Promotes life Satisfaction

This is probably the main benefit and takes all of the benefits mentioned above and more. Reduced stress, anxiety and more awareness can better equip us for any problems we may face on a day-to-day basis. Combine these with better sleep and improved lifestyle habits, you are bound to have a higher satisfaction in life.

Whilst we can’t always control our health, whether that be emotionally, mentally or physically, we can always take measures to improve the quality of our life and well-being.

Why not start taking control?