Although stress is fast becoming a major contributor to almost every imaginable sickness, it’s often difficult for people to commit to a stress-reduction practices such as meditation, probably because when compared to diet changes, supplement, or exercise routine stress-reduction can seem a little vague.
However, research shows that meditation as a form of stress-reduction, produces concrete, measurable benefits. And the best part is that you can begin to reap most of those benefits by just engaging in meditation every day for 10-20 minutes.
What Is Meditation?
Meditation is the art of silencing the mind, which increases concentration and allows us to experience inner peace, a quality everyone can benefit from and one that attracts so many people to meditation.
Under meditation, there are several subcategories, but the two most common types are transcendental meditation and mindfulness meditation. With transcendental meditation, you focus on a mantra that you repeat in your head, while with mindfulness meditation, you focus on your breath or other physical sensations.
But regardless of the type of meditation you choose to practice, the main goal is become more aware of your thoughts, feelings and sensations, and learn to observe them without reacting unconsciously.
Five reasons why you should start meditation
1. It Will Make You More Focused and Productive
A clearer mind improves concentration and make you more productive especially in creative disciplines. Just meditating for just 10 minutes daily can go a long way in improving focus while helping the brain become more effective at processing conflicting stimuli.
2. It’s Good for Your Heart
Meditation has been closely linked to the decrease in mortality rates in older patients with high blood pressure. Which is great, as it shows that the benefits of meditation aren’t just mental. A number of trials conducted, have shown major decrease in blood pressure in participants who engaged in meditation, when compared to those who used either progressive muscle relaxation or health-education programs. This goes to show that with the reduction of stress, many health benefits follow.
3. You’ll Be Happier and Less Stressed
It is natural for our minds to serious problems out of little things, but through meditation, we can learn to detach and live in the present, rather than worrying about the past or future. It also enables you to have a deeper understanding of your inner self, through which you can gain a better understanding of your life’s purpose.
Meditation has also been known to cause an improvement in mental disorders such as anxiety and depression.
4. It Can Help Reduce Inflammation
A few studies conducted, have shown that meditation can help reduce gene expression for inflammatory cytokines. It does so by reducing mental stress and improving cognitive function.
5. It Can Help You Sleep
Lack of sleep or insomnia is one of the major contributors to most of the chronic diseases plaguing our modern society today. Even when the opportunity to sleep arises, most people often can’t because their brains are still in high gear. So, by training your brain to let go of passing thoughts during meditation, instead of paying attention to them, you’ll make it easier to “shut down” your brain when it’s time to sleep.
And lastly, you have nothing to lose!
It’s not a drug, so you don’t need a list of tightly controlled trials to assess its safety and prove that it works, there are no side-effects. It is instead a simple and spontaneous action.
So, by deciding to meditate, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
If you would like more information about meditation in Dubai, or a meditation center, reach out to us, we’d be happy to assist you.
