Mindful Meditation Has Amazing Health Benefits
Practicing mindfulness is more powerful than you think. When you practice mindfulness, you are staying aware and in sync with your self and your surroundings. You can practice mindfulness through 10-15 minutes of meditation in the morning or at night.
Not only will you start or end your day on a calm note with regular meditation, but you will also enjoy these science-backed benefits.
Pain Management
Have chronic pain? Then meditation is a great time to add to your day. A study published in the Journal of Neuroscience in 2011 found that those who practiced 80 minutes of mindful meditation each day, were able to cut their pain in half. Another study also found that those who meditated regularly had higher pain thresholds than those who did not.
Sharper Working Minds
Regular meditation can even change how your brain thinks. A study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience found that long-term meditators had larger gyrification. Gyrification is the folding of the brains cortex that relates with information processing.
Better Moods
Can’t seem to shake a bad mood? Studies suggest that meditation could help. One study took a group of marines that were about to leave for deployment. They practiced two hours of meditation a week. After eight weeks, they had noticeably better moods and better working memories over the other marines who did not meditate.
Better Attention Spans
Some days it can be so hard to focus at work. You want to tackle your large to-do list, but your mind keeps wandering to the weekend or something else. Try taking a meditation break. Meditation helps because it forces individuals to block out distractions. Try including meditation into your mornings before work and trying a five-minute zen session at work if you are having issues staying focused.
Slowing the Rate of Brain Degeneration
You may not be able to cure Alzheimer’s disease, but it is possible to slow down the degeneration. LifeHack.org says, “Alzheimer’s patients who took part in the study showed less cognitive decline after an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction program than a second group who did not take the program.” The reason why degeneration is slowed down is because the mind benefits from meditation and can thrive when some factors such as stress are removed.
Are you convinced to give meditation a try yet? You don’t have become a monk to reap the benefits of meditation, nor do you have to spend hours a day doing it. Just start with 10 minutes a day and see how it benefits you.
Used under Creative Commons Licensing courtesy of Victor Tongdee