Meditation and mindfulness have been a hot topic of research for many psychologists and neuroscientists for past two decades. It is nearly impossible to go anywhere on the internet and not stumble upon something related to meditation and its benefits. The reason why mediation as an idea and practice is getting popular with every passing day is because of the rising need for it.
In today’s digital age, where we are so much surrounded by various gadgets and gizmos, our ability to focus is taking a fall. The truth is that meditation is not easy, and especially for those who struggle to turn off their mental chatter and can’t buzz off the thoughts of their life.
Following are some interesting facts about meditation that you must know:
Meditation can help manage your stress and anxiety
There are various studies out there that conclude that meditation plays a vital role in reducing stress and manage your anxiety. The majority of the people who participated in the study found that meditation helps, and it lives up to its expectation. In another study that took place at the University of Wisconsin proved that meditation has a profound impact on our physiology and mindset. It showed that the part of the brain that is responsible for regulating stress and anxiety shrinks when we meditate consistently. By focusing on moment-to-moment experiences, meditators train their minds to stay calm in adverse situations, and also they are less likely to be stressed about future uncertainties.
Improve sleep
A huge chunk of today’s population suffers from insomnia. It is a troubling condition- everyone dreads it. If you also are tired of looking at your ceiling or counting infinite sheep at night, but are still failing to sleep. Meditation could be a solution for you. A Harvard blog confirms that practicing meditation your body triggers the relaxation response- explaining some people’s tendency to immediately fall asleep as soon as they begin to meditate. A lot of times, racing thoughts or “runaway” thoughts keep going through our heads and prevent us from having a sound sleep. Meditation can also help in redirecting and having control over the ever-wandering thoughts.
Sharpens memory
Apart from enhancing concentration and increasing attention span, meditation can help you sharpen your memory. When you focus and meditate, you train yourself to be aware of the present moment in a non-judgmental way. This helps to keep all the distractions away and help you sharpen your memory.
There are tons of studies that also conclude that meditation can help people in old age by preventing their eroding memories from fading away. Not just old people, it also helps people with attention deficit and patients of dementia.
You can meditate anywhere
Yes! This is true. You don’t need a waterfall, a place on the top of a mountain, and you do not have to join yoga/meditation classes or even have to dedicate an area of the house to meditate. Though it is preferred that you do it at a place where it is easier for you. But that does not mean you can’t do it at other various locations.
There are different forms of meditation, most of which do not require specialized equipment and space. You can practice with just a few minutes daily. There are two significant forms of meditation based on what you can get out of it.
- Focused attention meditation: It entails concentrating of attention on a single object (could be a thought, sound or visuals). It focusses on getting rid of all the distractions. Meditation could focus on just breathing, a mantra, or a calming sound.
- Open monitoring meditation: This encourages broadened awareness of all aspects of your environment, train of thoughts. It may include feelings or impulses that you might usually try to suppress.
It helps fight addiction
We all are aware that by practicing meditation we achieve better self-control and self-awareness. This helps us in making us more disciplined and control our triggers and addictive behaviors. Meditation helps in redirecting of attention and increase willpower, control emotions, and impulses. Meditation also enables you to step out of your zone and analyze the cause of addiction.
In a nutshell, meditation can help you develop mental discipline. It also enables you to avoid triggers of unwanted impulses. This can help you come out of your addiction, lose weight, and other undesirable habits.
