1. Helps You to Sleep Better
If you have a difficult time falling asleep or staying asleep at night, you might want to consider adding mindfulness meditation to your daily ritual.
Mindfulness meditation helps you relax the body. This comes from the breathing techniques that allow you to shift your focus and concentration.
Research (Mindfulness Meditation and Improvement in Sleep Quality and Daytime Impairment Among Older Adults With Sleep Disturbances A Randomized Clinical Trial; Black et al) shows that mindfulness meditation improves daytime functioning among adults and that this ultimately improved the overall quality of sleep for older adults at night.
A different study (A low‐dose mindfulness intervention and recovery from work: Effects on psychological detachment, sleep quality, and sleep duration; Ute R. Hulsheger)re-affirmed that mindful meditation—even in low doses—improving the quality and duration of sleep.
2. Lowers Blood Pressure
Mindfulness meditation can help control blood pressure. In one study, (Benefits of mindfulness meditation in reducing blood pressure and stress in patients with arterial hypertension; Ponte Márquez, et al) participants received mindfulness meditation training two hours each week.
They had to blood pressure levels measured before their mindfulness training and then after four weeks, eight weeks, and twenty weeks of training.
After twenty weeks of mindfulness, the participants had blood pressure readings that were statistically lower than people who had not been through the training.
3. Helps to Control Pain
Finding a natural way to relieve chronic pain may seem impossible, but according to Psychology Today, clinical trials have shown that mindfulness meditation can reduce chronic pain by as much as 57%. Pain impacts us on multiple levels.
4. Boosts Weight Loss
Mindfulness meditation may be the thing you need to help tip the scales in your favor. One study showed that women who regularly engaged in mindfulness meditation were able to sustain their weight.
Experts say the practice of this form of meditation also enables individuals to become more aware of their triggers for overeating, change their eating patterns, and identify the types of food that they are consuming that may contribute to unwanted weight gain.
In addition, mindfulness can help to reduce stress levels and cortisol levels throughout the body that can contribute to adipose fat.
5. Improves Your Mood
Mindfulness meditation improves one’s mood and state of mind. According to the American Psychology Association, research suggests that this may result from the fact that the practice of mindfulness changes the density of brain tissue in various regions.
Experts agree that mindfulness changes the way we focus on feelings and sensations. We examine them at the moment and make better decisions that are non-judgmental.
There are a great many benefits that come from practicing mindfulness meditation regularly. These benefits are not the hype of some fad.
Instead, science is helping us to see that mindfulness meditation is an excellent natural practice that can improve our overall interaction and engagement with others as well as our physical, mental, and emotional health.
