Meditation has been shown to have many benefits, It is known to reduce stress and anxiety. Research has shown that it may help to improve mood, and promote healthy sleep patterns.
The following are the health benefits of meditation
Reduces stress
One of the main motivations for trying meditation is stress reduction.
Cortisol, the stress hormone, is often elevated in response to both physical and mental stress. Many of the negative consequences of stress are produced by this, including the production of cytokines, which are molecules that cause inflammation.
These side effects include raising blood pressure, inducing anxiety and melancholy, interfering with sleep, and causing exhaustion and hazy thinking.
“Mindfulness meditation” was found to be an effective technique for reducing the inflammatory response that stress causes in an 8-week trial.
Controls Anxiety
Anxiety can be decreased by meditation by lowering stress levels.
According to a meta-analysis including over 1,300 individuals, meditation may lessen anxiety. Notably, people with the highest levels of anxiety had this impact the strongest.
Additionally, a research discovered that eight weeks of mindfulness meditation improved stress reactivity and coping, increased positive self-statements, and decreased anxiety symptoms in individuals with generalised anxiety disorder.
In a different trial, which included 47 individuals with chronic pain, an 8-week meditation programme was found to significantly reduce pain, anxiety, and depression over a year.
Promotes emotional health
A more optimistic attitude toward life and a better sense of self-worth can result from some types of meditation.
For instance, an evaluation of over 3,500 persons’ treatments revealed that mindfulness meditation reduced depressive symptoms.
In a similar vein, an analysis of eighteen research revealed that participants in meditation therapy reported fewer depressive symptoms than those in a control group.
According to different research, participants in the meditation exercise had fewer negative thoughts when exposed to unpleasant imagery than those in the control group.
May lessen memory loss brought on by ageing
Enhancements in focus and mental acuity might contribute to maintaining mental youth.
With Kirtan Kriya, you may focus your mind by repeatedly moving your fingers while repeating a mantra or chant. Research has demonstrated that it enhances performance on neuropsychological tests in individuals with age-related memory decline.
Additionally, a review discovered early evidence that meditation in a variety of forms can improve elderly participants’ attention, memory, and mental agility.
Apart from combating typical age-related cognitive decline, meditation has the potential to enhance memory in dementia patients to some extent. Additionally, it helps lessen stress and enhance coping for family carers of dementia patients.
Can encourage kindness
Certain forms of meditation have the potential to enhance good emotions and behaviours towards both oneself and others.
The first step in practising metta sometimes referred to as loving-kindness meditation, is to cultivate self-compassion.
People learn through experience to be compassionate and forgiving to others, starting with friends and working their way up to foes.
This type of meditation has been shown to improve people’s compassion for both themselves and other people, according to a meta-analysis of 22 research.
After four weeks, a second study involving fifty college students showed that three times a week practice of metta meditation enhanced pleasant feelings, social relations, and empathy.
Makes sleep better
At some point, about half of the population will experience sleeplessness.
In research comparing mindfulness-based meditation programmes, participants reported better insomnia severity and extended sleep duration when compared to an unmedicated control group.
Gaining control over your racing or racing thoughts—which are typically the cause of insomnia—may be possible if you practise meditation regularly.
It can also aid in bodily relaxation, relieving tension and putting you in a calm condition that increases your likelihood of falling asleep.
Can lower blood pressure
Because meditation lessens the strain on the heart, it can also benefit physical health.
High blood pressure gradually causes the heart to work harder to pump blood, which can result in compromised cardiac health.
Atherosclerosis, or the narrowing of the arteries, is another condition that is exacerbated by high blood pressure and can result in heart attacks and strokes.
A meta-analysis of twelve research with close to a thousand individuals revealed that meditation lowered blood pressure. Older volunteers and those with higher blood pressure before the research showed more benefit from this.
According to one analysis, different forms of meditation led to comparable increases in blood pressure.
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