What Millennials Think About The Benefits of Meditation for Your Mind and Body

What Millenials Think About the Benefits of Meditation for Your Mind and Body
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Meditation is something that many people have heard about but have never tried. But if you're looking for ways to improve your mental health and quality of life, meditation might be the answer! Meditation has been used for thousands of years around the globe as a way to relax, release stress and feel more connected with yourself and others around you. Nowadays, meditation isn't just reserved for spiritualists or yoga practitioners--it's becoming more mainstream thanks to modern science showing its benefits on our body's systems beyond just relaxation. So let's talk about some unexpected benefits of meditation:
Meditation can relieve stress.
Stress is defined as a state of mental or emotional strain that causes physical tension, and it's one of the leading contributors to many health problems. Meditation helps relieve stress by reducing your body's sympathetic nervous system response, which results in lower blood pressure and heart rate. It also helps with anxiety by lowering cortisol levels—a hormone associated with stress—in the brain.
Meditation can help you sleep.
Many people who practice meditation find that it helps them fall asleep faster and deeper, which is great news if you're a night owl like me and need to catch some sleep before the sun comes up. It also reduces stress, which means less restlessness in your body, so even if you're not ready to sleep yet or ever, meditating will still make you feel calmer overall.
You'll have more clarity and focus.
Meditation helps you focus on the present moment. When you meditate, you're not worrying about what happened yesterday or tomorrow. Instead, it's all about focusing on your breath or mantra and letting your thoughts go by as they come up without judgment. This can be incredibly freeing and allow you to feel more in control!
If meditation isn't something that sounds appealing to you yet but would like some tips for getting started with it, there are plenty of apps that make it easy:
Headspace (free) - This app offers guided meditations for beginners and advanced practitioners alike, including sleep-aiding tracks meant specifically for those who suffer from insomnia or anxiety disorders; there are also guided imagery exercises aimed at improving focus at work or school environments where distractions may be common.
Meditation improves your memory.
Meditation is an excellent way to improve your memory. One of the most significant benefits of meditation is that it helps you focus, which makes it easier to memorize things. Your brain becomes calmer and more focused, so it can easily hold onto information that you’re learning during meditation. This means that when it comes time for exams or other tests where you need quick recall, meditation will help give you a leg up on all those other students who aren’t meditating yet!
I recommend practicing one type of meditation at least once every day (and if possible twice). For example:
Focus on your breath for 10 minutes each day; focus on how deep the inhalation feels in your belly compared with the exhalation coming out through your nose; notice any sensations within yourself as well (such as warmth or coldness).
Focus on one specific thought or image for five minutes each day—for example: “This morning I had a bowlful of cereal with milk; today I'm going to make myself some toast." If possible, try visualizing what's happening right now in front of me instead of thinking back over my lifetime events so far!
It lowers blood pressure and cholesterol levels, too.
Meditating for just 20 minutes each day could reduce the risk of developing heart disease by 30%, according to another study published in the American Journal of Cardiology. And it's not just adults who see these benefits: A 2011 meta-analysis showed that adults who meditated regularly were at lower risk for developing Type 2 diabetes than those who didn't meditate at all or only did it occasionally.
It might improve your immune system health, too.
There's also some evidence that meditation can help reduce inflammation in general—and this could be especially important for people who are prone to chronic inflammation such as those with high cholesterol or heart disease.
It helps lower your risk of depression, too.
Meditation can also help lower your risk of depression. The practice has been shown to improve mood and feelings of well-being, reduce stress levels, and even increase feelings of compassion for others. Meditation is effective in treating mental health disorders like anxiety, depression, and addiction because it helps you get in touch with your emotions—which are often the root cause of these problems—and process them in a healthy way.
It's free, so try it out! Just do it - don't worry about how long it takes or getting "better" at it! Just do it whenever work for you and see what happens!