Scientific Reasons To Meditate Regularly

28 Apr Scientific Reasons To Meditate Regularly

Meditation, often thought of as a path to self-awareness, can also be a path to better health. Practiced for centuries in Hindu, Buddhist and Taoist communities, people use meditation today to cope with stress in a busy world.  While there are different types of meditation, they can all offer a similar set of proven benefits for mental and physical health. Here’s what research has found and you can also click here for online casinos in australia.

1. Reduces stress
   Stress reduction is one of the most common reasons people try meditation. Normally, mental and physical stress cause increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This produces many of the harmful effects of stress, such as the release of inflammatory chemicals called cytokines. These effects can disrupt sleep, promote depression and anxiety, increase blood pressure, and contribute to fatigue and cloudy thinking.
2. Better focus and concentration

Mindfulness meditation helps you focus on the present, which can improve your concentration on other tasks in daily life. A 2011 study from the Harvard Medical School examined the effects of mindfulness meditation on the brain and found a connection between mindfulness and processing new information.

3. Controls anxiety

Meditation can reduce stress levels, which translates to less anxiety. A meta-analysis including nearly 1,300 adults found that meditation may decrease anxiety. Notably, this effect was strongest in those with the highest levels of anxiety. Meditation may also help control job-related anxiety. One study found that employees who used a mindfulness meditation app for 8 weeks experienced improved feelings of well-being and decreased distress and job strain, compared with those in a control group.

4. Promotes emotional health

Some forms of meditation can lead to improved self-image and a more positive outlook on life. For example, one review of treatments given to more than 3,500 adults found that mindfulness meditation improved symptoms of depression. Similarly, a review of 18 studies showed that people receiving meditation therapies experienced reduced symptoms of depression, compared with those in a control group. Playing games at best online casino us also promotes emotional health.

5. Enhances self-awareness
   Some forms of meditation may help you develop a stronger understanding of yourself, helping you grow into your best self. For example, self-inquiry meditation explicitly aims to help you develop a greater understanding of yourself and how you relate to those around you. Other forms teach you to recognize thoughts that may be harmful or self-defeating. The idea is that as you gain greater awareness of your thought habits, you can steer them toward more constructive patterns.
6. May reduce age-related memory loss

Improvements in attention and clarity of thinking may help keep your mind young. Kirtan Kriya is a method of meditation that combines a mantra or chant with repetitive motion of the fingers to focus your thoughts. Studies in people with age-related memory loss have shown it improves performance on neuropsychological tests.