Making time to live in the present can be challenging in today’s fast-paced world. Often, we reach for our phones whenever there’s a moment of downtime, which takes our attention away from the now. Although it seems like a small thing, losing this ability can be quite impactful – especially during stressful situations. The good news? Practicing meditation can help us focus on the present moment, and bring a lot of benefits to our overall wellbeing.
Let’s explore a few of these meditation benefits:
1. Beating Stress
People frequently underestimate how harmful stress can be. Chronic stress can mess with your sleep, make you overeat, and even thin your hair! Plus, without proper management, it may lead to heart and digestion problems.
But guess what? Meditation can help combat stress. It can lower levels of cortisol– a hormone that boosts inflammation in our bodies when we’re stressed. A type of meditation known as mindfulness meditation can help in particular, as it works to refocus our attention on the present and reduce inflammation caused by stress. If you’re feeling overwhelmed lately, maybe it’s time to explore meditation.
2. Easing Chronic Pain
Over 50 million Americans live with chronic pain every day, making even mundane tasks a challenge.
Doctors have been exploring alternatives to opiate-based painkillers to avoid the risk of addiction. Practices like cognitive behavioral therapy, acupuncture, and physical therapy are used increasingly, and meditation’s getting recognized as a pain management tool as well.
Research shows that meditation may make pain more bearable for people who struggle with intense, short-term pain. Plus, it could provide some relief for lower back pain. If you’re considering using meditation to help manage pain, remember to talk it over with your doctor first.
3. Decreasing Depression
Depression can significantly lower a person’s quality of life and make it hard for them to enjoy their usual activities.
Meditation helps fight stress and anxiety, which can be major depression triggers. These feelings often come from negative self-talk and a lack of hope for the future. With mindfulness meditation, we learn to focus on today, breaking the cycle of negativity.
4. Lowering Blood Pressure
With cardiovascular disease being a top cause of early deaths worldwide, it’s important to prioritize heart health.
Lowering blood pressure is a great way to take care of your heart. High blood pressure can lead to heart problems over time, as it makes your heart work too hard and can cause your arteries to narrow.
Meditation can help here too – both transcendental and mindfulness meditation have been found to lower blood pressure by promoting relaxation and reducing inflammation.
Interested in giving it a try? The good thing is getting started with meditation is easier than ever these days. There are plenty of how-to videos online to help you on your journey.
In the categories of general wellness and mental and physical health, meditation is a practice that’s definitely worth exploring for its numerous benefits.
