Health Benefits of Meditation
Meditation and the health benefits are beginning to be popular and increasing in the acceptance of society for regular use. According to White, Thorpe, and Ajmera (2023), “meditation is the habitual process of training your mind to focus and redirect your thoughts.” A regular routine of meditation has been shown to be a position habit proven by practitioners and through scientific re-search.
The most overarching and well-known benefit of regular meditation is stress-release. The act of meditation while attempting to slow down the many thoughts that race through our minds at any given moment will provide the means for lowering daily stress. The sense of calm and peace will benefit not only your emotional well-being but will affect your overall health (Mayo Clinic, 2023). Being able to focus your thoughts at any time and at any place pro-vides great opportunity for regularly practicing stress reduction.
Another excellent benefit of meditation is to help with sleep quality and to treat insomnia. Meditation has a long history in the Eastern culture, but with the Western culture researching the many benefits, practitioners and scientists are finding the benefits are not only evidenced by the public, but clinicians and scientist are learning how to incorporate the practice into patient care. “Although more research is needed, evidence suggests that mindfulness meditation may improve sleep quality on a level similar to exercise or cognitive be-havioral therapy (Summer, 2022).
Gaining the mental ability to train your focus through meditation may also help with individuals who suffer from addictions. This is an area that has been a debatable topic regarding whether this is a disease, mental problem, or lack of willpower. The practice of meditation develops mental awareness which leads to recognition of negative thoughts and behaviors. According to the ECO Institute (2023) “In a certain way meditation and addiction are opposites: meditation is checking in with the here and now, while addiction is checking out of the here and now.” However, with the ability to gain control over emotions and thoughts, meditation provides the means to take back control of emotions and thoughts, enabling the addicted to change behaviors.
It is easy to see the many benefits of meditation through research, books, and articles. It is becoming more popular as more people begin the routine of med-itation and mindfulness. The popularity is increasing as people learn about the many health benefits and experience them through practice (White, Thorpe, and Ajmera (2023).
References
ECO Institute (2023). The Benefits of Meditation in Addiction Recovery. Re-trieved from https://eocinstitute.org/meditation/meditation-and-addiction-how-meditation-supports-recovery-from-addiction/
Mayo Clinic Staff (2023). Stress Leasers: Tips to Tame Stress. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relievers/art-20047257
Summer, J. (2022). Meditation for Sleep. Retrieved from https://www.sleepfoundation.org/meditation-for-sleep
White, M.A., Thorpe, M, & Ajmera, R. (2023). 12 Scientific Based Benefits of Meditation. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/12-benefits-of-meditation