Benefits of meditation: why you need to include it in your life
Mental Health & Psychology
October 19, 2022
Meditation has been around for thousands of years and is practiced by millions of people. There are so many benefits of meditation, including lowering blood pressure, increasing serotonin levels that improve mood and behavior, slowing aging, and improving learning abilities and memory.
The alpha brainwave state is associated with relaxation, meditation, and a sense of well-being. Alpha waves are generated when the brain is awake but in an idle mode; they’re often linked to being in an alert state but not focused on anything in particular. In this relaxed state, we’re more likely to access our creative side and even daydream.
Alpha brainwaves are also behind some interesting research into healing practices: one study found that listening to sounds that generate alpha waves can help people recover from insomnia or chronic pain faster. It’s believed that this frequency promotes healing because it encourages positive emotions like hope and gratitude—feelings that make us more likely to take care of ourselves physically as well as mentally.
Meditation lowers blood pressure
One of the most visible benefits of meditation is that it can lower blood pressure. According to a study published in the American Journal of Hypertension, just five minutes of power meditation can reduce your blood pressure by up to 7 points.
This effect is different than other methods that have been shown to lower blood pressure, like exercise and relaxation techniques such as yoga or deep breathing exercises (known as guided imagery). That’s because meditation acts on parts of the brain that control how we perceive stress and respond to emotions. This means you’re less likely to feel anxious or tense while also making it easier for you to stay calm during stressful situations.
Meditation has been shown to be effective in treating headaches, muscle tension, joint pain, and other types of pain. In addition to improving physical health through stress reduction, meditation can also improve sleep quality and decrease the risk of depression and anxiety.
Meditation increases serotonin production which improves mood and behavior
One of the benefits of meditation is that it can improve your mood and behavior. How do you do that?
Meditation increases serotonin production in the brain, which has been shown to improve sleep and mood. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that affects your mood, appetite, and other functions in the body. It’s also involved in regulating pain perception, muscle contraction, and other physical processes such as digestion. Low levels of serotonin have been linked to depression.
The research on how meditation improves serotonin levels varies depending on how long someone meditates for each day and what type of meditation they practice: some types may increase levels more than others.
Meditation makes you happier
A growing body of research shows that meditation can have many positive effects on your health, including:
 Reducing stress levels. A study published in the Journal of Health Psychology found that meditating for just 30 minutes a day over eight weeks reduced the participants’ stress levels by an average of 34 percent.
 Reducing depression and anxiety. Researchers at the University of Santa Cruz found that regular meditation practice may reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. They found this especially true when practicing mindfulness meditation, which involves focusing on breathing or other sensations while allowing thoughts to pass without judgment or attachment.
Improving sleep quality. The University of Utah conducted a study on people with chronic insomnia who practiced mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for eight weeks; 46 percent reported less nightly sleep disturbance than before they began meditating, and 45 percent said their sleep was better overall after completing MBSR training compared with only 6 percent reporting worse quality upon completion (the remaining 49 percent reported no change).
According to the Mayo Clinic, an eight-week study of over 3,500 people found that participants who meditated for about 30 minutes daily had lowered blood pressure and heart rates. These benefits are especially important for older adults, as they help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Meditation also decreases stress levels by lowering cortisol levels (the stress hormone), which can contribute to chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer.
Meditation improves learning abilities and memory
Meditation has been shown to improve your ability to concentrate, focus and remember things. In fact, studies have found that meditators are able to maintain their attention for longer periods of time than non-meditators.
Another study showed that people who practiced meditation experienced significant improvements in memory retention compared to those who did not practice meditation. This means you can learn new things more easily if you practice meditation regularly!
Meditation also encourages a healthy lifestyle. The fact that you’re able to recognize your own emotions, understand where they come from and why you feel the way you do is important in terms of taking steps towards a healthier lifestyle.
Meditation allows people to be more aware of their actions and understand the consequences better. They learn to make better decisions because they have an awareness of the effect their actions have on others as well as themselves. This results in positive changes in behavior which leads to better health overall!
There are so many benefits of meditation!
If you really want to experience the benefits of meditation, you need to make it a part of your daily routine. Meditating for 10 minutes a day is better than meditating for 20 minutes once a week.Â
To get started with meditation today, just sit somewhere quiet where no one can bother you—even if only for two minutes at first—and close your eyes. Focus on breathing slow and deep breaths as slowly as possible without holding them in too long.Â
You might find yourself thinking about many things throughout this process; that’s okay! Let them go and bring yourself back into focus by focusing on your breath again until all thoughts have completely drifted away from your mind. This is just one example; there are many different ways people choose how they meditate, but whatever method works best for you should be enough!
 Conclusion
So there you have some of the many benefits of meditation. If you’re feeling stressed or anxious, I highly recommend giving this practice of power meditation a try. You’ll not only feel better in no time but also be able to focus on what matters most in life: enjoying each moment!