The Power of Meditation and Ways to Eliminate Toxic Lifestyle Habits
Meditation can provide relief in both short-term anxiety relief and long-term resilience and equanimity development; but, to do so effectively requires daily dedication.
Difficult as it might appear at first glance, functional magnetic resonance imaging and cat scans have demonstrated that meditation has an incredible impact on our brains.
1. Reduce Stress
Stress is one of the primary contributors to mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, while meditation has been shown to lower levels of harmful inflammatory chemicals produced in response to stress (cortisol for instance).
Helps soothe the nervous system and ease racing thoughts that lead to symptoms like sweating, dizziness or rapid heart rate. Also improves sleep – essential for regulating circadian rhythms and producing vitamin D which acts as an important regulator of inflammation.
Meditation typically entails focusing on breathing, mantra repetitions or being fully present in the present moment. But even those unable to meditate in its traditional sense – for instance those living with spinal cord or brain injuries – can still gain positive results through other mind-body practices like yoga. Instructor or group support such as mindfulness-based stress reduction training courses may help these individuals to experience success with mind-body practices like this one.
2. Reduce Anxiety
Anxiety is a normal part of human existence, affecting millions of people each year without formal diagnosis. Meditation provides a low-cost, natural solution to help combat it.
Start by finding a comfortable sitting position–either cross-legged on the floor or in a chair–and focus on your breathing, noticing its rise and fall as your abdomen and chest expand. When your mind wanders off track, bring it back to focus with another breath whenever necessary.
Studies have demonstrated the efficacy of mindfulness meditation at alleviating anxiety, with MRI scans showing changes to brain areas controlling worry. Additionally, mindfulness meditation has also been proven to improve attention span which may assist those suffering from attention deficit disorder and other concentration problems, boost creativity and intelligence as well as lower heart rate and blood pressure by decreasing build-up in arteries.
3. Improve Sleep
Meditation can play an essential role in maintaining good health and improving sleep, by lowering heart rate, blood pressure, stress hormone release and neurotransmitter production. Furthermore, it has been found to slow or even reverse changes that occur as we age in the brain.
Recent research demonstrates that those who meditate are better sleepers than non-meditators. A comparison was made between two groups; one who meditated for six weeks and another who attended sleep education classes; at the conclusion of both, meditation group members reported less insomnia, fatigue and depression symptoms than those in non-meditating group.
Meditation may help improve your sleep, but if you are suffering from underlying problems like sleep apnea it is wise to visit a physician for an assessment. If you are having trouble sleeping try listening to a guided meditation app before bedtime – this will calm your mind and reduce anxiety that often prevents people from sleeping soundly.
4. Increase Focus
Meditation helps train your mind to focus on one subject while tuning out distractions. Although this takes practice, each time your attention returns to breathing or mantra repetitions it’s like doing exercises for your brain!
Meditation can also help you manage your emotions and cope with stressful events more effectively. Studies have demonstrated how meditating can reduce pain levels by suppressing the brain’s inflammatory response to capsaicin, thus alleviating discomfort levels.
Meditation can also help manage high blood pressure. Studies have shown that regular practice of meditation can decrease stress on the heart, thus decreasing blood pressure.
5. Reduce Pain
Meditation can reduce inflammation and enhance quality of life, according to research published by Translational Psychiatry. Meditation practice was found to lower levels of the pro-inflammatory chemical IL-6 by increasing functional neural connectivity between the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), an area associated with cognitive control.
Observing Pain
While sitting comfortably or lying on the floor, bring your attention to any area of your body where pain exists. Pay attention to all details related to its sensation – its temperature, color, shape etc. Simply experience what comes your way without trying to change or end it prematurely. Become curious and open-minded towards its journey rather than fighting against it!
A 2019 research study on mindfulness meditation and pain found that experienced meditators had reduced sensitivity to pain as measured by brain scans. This may be related to meditation’s ability to reduce stress levels and thus cortisol production – one of the key inflammatory hormones.
6. Lower Blood Pressure
High blood pressure (or hypertension) is a key risk factor for strokes and heart attacks. Meditation has proven successful at lowering blood pressure when focused on an internal mantra or repeated non-spoken word repetitions.
This technique, known as the Relaxation Response, involves relaxing your muscles while silently repeating a word, phrase, sound or short prayer of your choice over and over. Any time stray thoughts arise, let them pass before gently returning focus back onto what’s being repeated over and over.
Meditation can help you unwind, sleep better and manage stress more effectively; however, it should not replace healthy diet and regular physical activity to maintain a healthy weight. Consult with your physician before beginning to meditate to determine whether this practice may benefit you; if so, make it part of your regular routine.
7. Reduce Inflammation
Chronic inflammation is part of your body’s natural defense mechanism; however, when left unchecked it can become dangerous to your health and lead to serious diseases like Alzheimer’s, IBS and cancer.
Meditation helps the body reduce its inflammatory response by decreasing cortisol levels – an increase of which often correlates with stress-related hormones; meditation therefore serves as an excellent means of alleviating stress.
Carnegie Mellon University researchers conducted a study where participants engaged either in mindfulness meditation training or relaxation techniques. When measuring their blood, the meditating group showed lower levels of interleukin-6 – a biomarker which can indicate unhealthy inflammation levels – four months later than relaxation-only participants; likely due to changes in brain connectivity caused by mindfulness meditation training.
8. Reduce Depression
Meditation not only aids depression relief, but it can also reduce anxiety, improve sleep quality and lower blood pressure. Furthermore, it may lessen symptoms associated with posttraumatic stress disorder while helping people think more clearly.
Meditation has its origins in ancient philosophy and several world religions; however, it doesn’t need to be religious in nature. According to studies conducted on its effects, anyone can learn meditation without needing special equipment or skills. Through meditating, the brain is able to focus and clear away negative thoughts, emotions and memories; simultaneously creating distance from these feelings so they feel as though they don’t “control them anymore”.
Meditation has proven effective for some in overcoming depression, often in combination with talk therapy and medications. Studies have also demonstrated its ability to prevent relapse as effectively as antidepressant medications.
9. Increase Empathy
Meditation helps your brain build its default mode network (DMN), an interlinked collection of brain structures which enable you to take control of both frequency and duration of thoughts.
Meditation helps you become more in tune with your emotions and how they impact those around you. According to research studies, regular meditating increases empathy.
Meditation can also help people process painful memories more effectively. A recent study demonstrated that meditators have lower stress hormone levels and an enhanced ability to cope with stressful situations.
Meditation can extend life by strengthening the immune system and protecting telomeres, which shorten with age and can lead to cell damage and cancer. More research with larger samples should be conducted in order to confirm these findings.
10. Reduce Anger
Anger often stems from fear-based thoughts and beliefs rooted in our ancient “caveman brain.” Meditation allows you to train your prefrontal cortex to defuse these irrational thinking processes; recent studies indicate that regular meditators’ measurable brain functions relate directly to increased intelligence, emotional balance, and overall happiness.
Meditation allows us to explore our own awareness, diving deep into its depths. You’re able to witness anger as it arises but recognize it for what it is: an emotional storm on the water that passes quickly without disruption to you as an individual. A calm mind produces solutions, while great thinkers have often credited meditation with their clarity of thought; by keeping a regular practice going you can reduce fear and melt anxiety before reaching boiling point.