7 Excellent Reasons to Try Meditation

For thousands of years, people from all around the globe have been practicing meditation for its many life-improving benefits. In recent years, the practice has grown in popularity – thanks to the many studies that support its numerous physical and mental health benefits. While it may seem like a difficult task, anyone can meditate with the right approach. It simply requires a quiet area, a specific posture that is comfortable for you, and a good focus of attention. The effects of meditation can be quite amazing, and these are just a very few of the many reasons that you might want to give it a try for yourself.

1. Banish Stress  

Between challenges at work, crying children and never-ending housework, your body is likely to be flooded with adrenaline, which causes your blood pressure to soar and your pulse to gallop like a wild horse. That type of stress is bad for you, and meditation can help you reach a state of deep relaxation that decreases your blood pressure and pulse rate and allows you to feel calm and at peace. Meditating at the same time each day can be a huge stress reliever. Many prefer to do this in the morning before going to work, as it relaxes their mind and puts them at ease for the day ahead.

2. Achieve a Better Night of Sleep

If you’ve ever spent a restless night tossing and turning, then you already know that your active mind can keep you awake for hours worrying and wondering about events of the day or what may happen tomorrow. A bit of meditation before bed can serve to completely clear your mind so that you may sleep deeply and well.

3. Increase Focus and Concentration  

Most everyone wishes that they could be more focused so that they can concentrate on whatever task may currently be at hand. This can be achieved by the presence of higher levels of dopamine in your brain. Meditation increases this handy little neurotransmitter naturally, and it works to keep you focused while enhancing your ability to concentrate and become more productive and motivated.

4. Improve Medical Conditions  

Because stress can make the symptoms of several different medical conditions much worse, prestigious medical facilities such as the Mayo Clinic incorporate meditation into the overall treatment plan for many patients. Meditation is used for such medical issues as cancer, asthma, Parkinson’s disease and heart disease.

5. Reduce Anxiety  

Literally millions of Americans suffer from some form of anxiety, which is often a result of irrational fears. Meditation works to physically reduce the large number of neurons that exist in the part of the brain that triggers fear so that you can calm yourself and become centered. This allows your overactive mind to recognize that your fears are unfounded, and you’ll experience less anxiety.

6. Alleviate Depression  

Those who suffer from depression often find that it greatly interferes with their ability to live their daily lives to the fullest, and it can be difficult to treat because it may stem from several psychological, biological and sociological factors. Regardless of the specific reason behind the depression, meditation can alleviate the condition by boosting the levels of serotonin and norepinephrine in your brain. These are also known as the feel-good neurotransmitters and the medical world is pretty unanimous in its assertion that the presence of these neurotransmitters can increase with regular meditation.

7. Manage Pain  

Around 15 percent of adults in America are dealing with chronic pain, and many of them depend on addictive medications for relief. To help eliminate the potential for dependency on pain medications, many doctors now prescribe meditation to these patients. In many cases, meditation has offered pain relief through a combination of full relaxation and improved coping skills.

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