Is meditation worth it

4 Huge Benefits of Meditation (And How to Get Started Today)

Written By Mark Manson – filed under Focus | Happiness

Take a moment. Breathe. Focus your mind. Slow down and read each word. Become aware of yourself reading this sentence, this paragraph. You, sitting there, focusing on each word, one by one. Become aware of each sound as it echoes in your mind, the one you’re hearing right now, and this one, and again and again and again. The voice in your mind reading this to you, is that you? If so, then who is doing the listening?

Ideally, the above paragraph forced you into some form of meditation. It forced you to become aware of your thoughts and mental processes, and then hopefully helped you differentiate your Self from the thoughts and sounds running through your head.

What Is Meditation?
Benefits of Meditation
Meditation and Spirituality
How to Meditate

Meditation forces one to disidentify with their mind and emotions. It is perhaps the easiest to learn and most readily available personal developmental tool on the planet. The disabled can do it. Children can do it. Stephen Hawking can do it. Anyone with conscious awareness can practice it.

You can do it on a crowded bus. You can do it in a monastery. You can do it in your bedroom. You can do it now as you read this. Experienced meditators can even do it while they sleep.

The benefits of meditation—mental, emotional, and physical—are innumerable and there are no side effects to a small daily practice.¹ You can learn to do it in as little as five minutes and once you learn you’ll never forget. Doing it as little 10 minutes a day can make you happier and healthier, and doing it as little as 30 minutes per day could change your life.

Yet almost no one does it regularly. Myself included. Why?

It’s hard to do. Really fucking hard. No seriously, take a few seconds and close your eyes and try to think about nothing for 30 seconds. No seriously, try it. Just for 30 seconds. I guarantee you can’t do it.

If you try, you’ll soon notice that our minds are producing a constant stream of thought vomit, and most of us identify so strongly with it that we don’t even notice. Our mental energy is sapped by an endless stream of useless, unhelpful thoughts and opinions:

“I hope the Lakers win tonight. I wonder if Shannon will ever call me back. I really enjoyed our date together, but maybe I should have picked a better restaurant? Oh, that’s silly worrying about that. I wonder if that new Sushi place near Dave’s is any good? I should call him, I haven’t talked to him in a while. He can be overly negative though sometimes. Oh, I should buy a movie to watch this weekend, that will be cool. I wonder what though. I remember when I watched that one movie with Sara, my teenage girlfriend. God, we were young and naive. First kisses are awkward. But yeah, I should call Dave, I haven’t called him in a while. I should call Dad too, he gets testy if I don’t call him. Oh, today’s Tuesday, Breaking Bad is on.”

Chances are your mind sounds like this on a daily basis, and you’re rarely aware of it. Few of us are. Meditation trains our minds to prune and hone our thoughts, to only focus on what’s useful and important, to disregard the rest, and to separate our egos and identities from the thoughts and emotions running through our heads. This may sound like little, but it adds up and the life benefits are massive.

I got into meditation as a teenager and became serious about it in college. Since graduating, I’ve lost touch with the practice (got distracted with girls, booze, and work), but it’s a goal of mine this year to reboot the habit. The benefits of meditation in my life were very apparent, and I miss the clarity and consciousness I had when I practiced regularly.

If your mind is a muscle, then meditation is a way to take it to the gym. The stronger your control of your mind becomes, the more you’re able to consciously control what your mind focuses on and how it processes new information.

Strengthening your mind in this way affects every aspect of your life: your emotional health and self-esteem, your work performance, your discipline, your relationships, your overall happiness, your stress levels, and your physical health as well.

I attribute a lot of the success I’ve attained in other areas of my life to all of the meditation I did when I was younger. In everything I’ve pursued since that time, I’ve noticed that my mind is more focused than most and that I’ve always been able to strip away the unnecessary distractions and get right to what’s important in any endeavor.

Of all the so-called “spiritual practices,” meditation probably has the largest body of scientific research backing up its utility and power. In fact, meditation is so powerful that it can rewire our brain. Numerous studies using MRI and EEG have shown that a regular meditation practice can rewire the neural patterns in the brain and even increase grey matter.²^,³

In a nutshell, meditation leads to:

Reduced psychological distress
Better emotional health
Better cognitive abilities
Better physical health

Let’s take each of these in turn.

1. Reduced Psychological Distress

All of us face varying degrees of psychological distress in our daily lives—from regular stresses and worries, to anxiety, depression, and addiction. Meditation and mindfulness interventions help us deal with all of it.⁴^,⁵

Solid research backs up the common knowledge that mindfulness techniques reduce anxiety and stress.⁶ In fact, they have long been prescribed to patients who suffer anxiety disorders and panic attacks as a way to calm their nerves with relatively good success rates.⁷ Interestingly, research also shows that meditation retreats are more effective than traditional vacations in reducing daily stress and improving mood.⁸

Several studies also show that meditation can reduce depressive symptoms, maybe even more so than antidepressants and cognitive behavioral therapy in the long run.⁹ Clarity of thought and the ability to step back and get perspective reduce our tendency to ruminate, which often plunges the most vulnerable among us into depression.

On the addiction front, mindfulness can help people to stop smoking¹⁰ and reduce binge eating¹¹ as well as drug and alcohol abuse.¹² It makes sense that being more mindful would help us control our worst impulses, and the science backs it up.

2. Better Emotional Health

Meditation also leads to better emotional health in general. Being in a mindful state—even momentarily—is associated with a greater sense of well-being.¹³

You can also learn to regulate your emotions through meditation and mindfulness practice. Mindful individuals have more emotional awareness, are more understanding, more accepting, and can better cope with being in a shitty mood.¹⁴^,¹⁵ People who are prone to outbursts of anger or sadness are better able to regulate and control their emotions with the aid of meditation.¹⁶

Psychologists have also noted that patients who practice meditation develop greater awareness of their actions and emotions. In fact, some therapists prescribe meditation to their patients to assist them in their therapy.¹⁷

Meditation also lowers the need for external validation. Meditating trains you to become more aware of what thoughts and emotions dictate your behavior, primarily where you’re trying to receive your love and validation that may not be working. It forces you to become more aware of your needy and neurotic behaviors and put an end to them.¹⁸

Not only will you rely less on external validation, you will also have healthier relationships all around. This is primarily because meditation increases your ability to empathize with others. Brain scans show that meditation activates the positive, happy, empathetic aspects of the brain. People who regularly practice meditation report an ability to empathize and care about the emotions of others, thereby bonding with them more easily.¹⁹

3. Better Cognitive Abilities

Quite simply, meditation trains you to remove all of the unnecessary garbage from your mind, which frees it up to retain what is useful and important more efficiently. ²⁰ In a nutshell, you’ll have better memory and be able to think more clearly.

Meditation also increases focus and discipline. Practitioners of meditation are able to retain focus on specific tasks and are less likely to deviate from those tasks.²¹

Interestingly, meditation also improves your intuition. Often referred to as your “gut reaction,” your “instinct,” or your “intuition,” meditating gets you in touch with your unconscious decision-making processes. Daniel Kahneman refers to it as your “first brain.” Malcolm Gladwell refers to it as “blink.” Whatever it is, that instant, gut reaction that you have about some things is often right. Meditation will increase that.

4. Better Physical Health

Not only does meditation help you psychologically, emotionally, and cognitively, it can also make you physically healthier. You get better sleep, better cardiovascular health, lower blood pressure, increased tolerance to pain, and better immune functioning. ²²

As the physical health benefits of meditation are less commonly known than its other benefits, I want to show you what exactly meditation does for your body. I present to you… the Meditation Nerd Box:

Better sleep quality in normal adults²³ and reduced wake time in those with chronic insomnia²⁴
Better heart function associated with better self-regulation²⁵
Significant reduction in blood pressure in adults with hypertension (which increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and even death)²⁶ as well as those with normal levels of blood pressure²⁷
Decreased perception of pain in patients undergoing treatment for chronic pain²⁸ as well as increased tolerance to acute pain²⁹
Better immune functioning and lower mortality³⁰
Higher effectiveness of the flu vaccine³¹

Meditation is by no means a cure-all for your problems. But I believe that it’s a powerful tool. Meditation’s purpose is to give you perspective and clarity on your internal issues. It doesn’t fix them for you.

Years ago, one of the most upsetting parts of my involvement in meditation was the sheer number of long-time practitioners I met who convinced themselves that meditation fixed all of their psychological and emotional problems, when it didn’t. It helped them experience and become aware of those problems, but you still have to go out into the world and commit the actions to overcome them.

Sitting in a room staring at a wall all day is unlikely to do that.

The Benefits of Meditation and Spirituality

There is a spiritual aspect to a meditative practice, for those of you into that kind of thing.

I usually avoid spirituality on this blog on purpose. I believe it’s something that can only be experienced and lived. Spirituality, by its definition, cannot be discussed. Just the resulting experiences of spirituality can be described. Spirituality itself is transrational.

It’s like counting to infinity. Words can capture part of it but will never fill it up.

I’m no good at describing the spiritual experience with words. But if you’ve ever:

Had a moment in your life where your sense of self—your sense of identity—completely dissolved and there was no longer differentiation between you, the sky, the water, the people around you, everything,
Stared at the stars so long you started laughing at how beautiful the fact that we even exist is,
Suddenly realized that your fears and worries were illusions created by your ego and mind, and that good and bad were simply separate expressions of the same grand unity of This, and that you never had to be afraid, ever, because you—your fears, your flaws, your failings, everything about you—was just another perfect expression of the same reality,

Then yeah, meditation can help get you back to that place.

There are dozens of meditation styles and techniques—from mindfulness, spiritual, movement, mantra, to loving-kindness, and more. ³²

The beautiful thing is that none of them are right or wrong, simply different. Whatever forces you to focus your mind on your awareness and let go of any thoughts or emotions that arise is a form of meditation. Whether it involves mantras, counting breaths, yoga, chanting, rituals, or whatever.

But to begin, I recommend people start with a basic sitting and counting of breaths. The process is easy:

Set aside 10 or 15 minutes. Get a clock or timer and set an alarm preferably, because you are going to be tempted to get up or stop before the time is up.
Go into a quiet room where there are no distractions.
Toss a pillow on the floor and sit on it cross-legged. Don’t worry if you can’t cross your legs perfectly, just do it as much as possible while remaining comfortable. Plant your ass firmly on the pillow and then make sure your back is straight.
Relax your diaphragm and let your belly hang out (don’t worry, no one’s looking).
Look straight ahead. You can close your eyes or leave them open, it doesn’t really matter. I prefer leaving mine open, but to start out you can close them if it makes you feel more comfortable.
You can put your hands on your knees or you can rest them in your lap, one on top of the other, palms facing up, as shown in the picture.

Now comes the hard part. Allow whatever thoughts to enter your mind without judging them.
Breathe through your nose into your chest until your chest is full. Your belly should expand. Then slowly exhale. One.
Do the same thing again. Count each breath.
When a thought or distraction arises, start the count over again at one. Thoughts and distractions WILL come up, and if you’re just starting out, they will often come up without you even noticing them until they’ve been rattling around for a few seconds.
Don’t judge yourself. Don’t get mad. Don’t get frustrated and say, “I suck at this. ” Just acknowledge the thought, let it go, and reset your counting. Chances are you won’t get past two or three the first few times you meditate. It often takes people months to even get to ten.

Do this for the full 15 minutes. It’s only 15 minutes, but I guarantee it will feel closer to three hours. By the fourth minute you’ll be dying to get up and do something. Your mind will be going crazy. Chances are you’ll start to let your mind go and just start thinking about the party last weekend, or the project that you’re working on at work. That’s fine. Don’t judge. Just let go and start the count over again.

This is the most basic form of Zen meditation, which is the practice I followed for a few years. If you get through one session, congratulations. I imagine you will get up feeling much more relaxed, clear-headed, and will feel calmer throughout your day.

These sessions are easier to do and to keep up with if done with someone else, so you can keep each other accountable. Daily practices are best. Start with 10 or 15 minutes each morning when you wake up and slowly add time from there. Once you get to the point where you can keep your mind thoughtless for a full 10 breaths or so, there are other techniques or practices you can begin to add.

Many people find it useful to start with meditation apps. There are many excellent ones out there: Headspace, Calm, my favorite Waking Up, and dozens more. Each app will have a particular style and approach to meditation. Take advantage of the free trials and figure out which one works for you.

I hope by now you see how powerful meditation can be and have some ideas on how to get started. Now it’s time to try it out and experience its wonders. It will change your life.

Footnotes

Some research suggests meditation may have negative side effects if undertaken for extended periods of time, say, for several hours a day or on days-long retreats when not well supervised. This article gives an excellent recap of where we are in understanding these potential harmful effects. I’d still say the benefits of meditation far outweigh the risks, and you will be perfectly fine with 10 to 30 minutes of daily practice.↵
Lazar, S. W., Kerr, C. E., Wasserman, R. H., Gray, J. R., Greve, D. N., Treadway, M. T., Benson, H. (2005). Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness. Neuroreport, 16(17), 1893.↵
Luders, E., Toga, A. W., Lepore, N., & Gaser, C. (2009). The underlying anatomical correlates of long-term meditation: Larger hippocampal and frontal volumes of gray matter. NeuroImage, 45(3), 672–678.↵
Baer, R. A. (2003). Mindfulness Training as a Clinical Intervention: A Conceptual and Empirical Review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 125–143.↵
Grossman, P., Niemann, L., Schmidt, S., & Walach, H. (2004). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits: A meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 57(1), 35–43.↵
Morone, N. E., Lynch, C. P., Iii, V. J. L., Liebe, K., & Greco, C. M. (2012). Mindfulness to Reduce Psychosocial Stress. Mindfulness, 3(1), 22–29.↵
Chen, K. W., Berger, C. C., Manheimer, E., Forde, D., Magidson, J., Dachman, L., & Lejuez, C. W. (2012). Meditative Therapies for Reducing Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Depression and Anxiety, 29(7), 545–562.↵
Gilbert, A., Epel, E., Tanzi, R., Rearden, R., Schilf, S., & Puterman, E. (2014). A Randomized Trial Comparing a Brief Meditation Retreat to a Vacation: Effects on Daily Well-Being. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 20(5), A92–A92.↵
Creswell, J. D. (2017). Mindfulness interventions. Annual Review of Psychology, 68, 491–516.↵
Davis, J. M., Fleming, M. F., Bonus, K. A., & Baker, T. B. (2007). A pilot study on mindfulness based stress reduction for smokers. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 7(1), 2.↵
Kristeller J, Baer R, Quillian-Wolever R. (2006). Mindfulness-based approaches to eating disorders. In: Baer R. A., (Ed). Mindfulness-based Treatment Approaches. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.↵
Bowen, S., Witkiewitz, K., Dillworth, T. M., Chawla, N., Simpson, T. L., Ostafin, B. D., Larimer, M. E., Blume, A. W., Parks, G. A., & Marlatt, G. A. (2006). Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors: Journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors, 20(3), 343–347.↵
Lau, M. A., Bishop, S. R., Segal, Z. V., Buis, T., Anderson, N. D., Carlson, L., Shapiro, S., Carmody, J., Abbey, S., & Devins, G. (2006). The Toronto mindfulness scale: Development and validation. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(12), 1445–1467.↵
Brown, K. W., Ryan, R. M., & Creswell, J. D. (2007). Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects. Psychological Inquiry, 18(4), 211–237.↵
Feldman, G., Hayes, A., Kumar, S., Greeson, J., & Laurenceau, J.-P. (2006). Mindfulness and Emotion Regulation: The Development and Initial Validation of the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised (CAMS-R). Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 29(3), 177.↵
Chambers, R., Gullone, E., & Allen, N. B. (2009). Mindful emotion regulation: An integrative review. Clinical Psychology Review, 29(6), 560–572.↵
Vago, D. R. (2014). Mapping modalities of self-awareness in mindfulness practice: a potential mechanism for clarifying habits of mind. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1307(1), 28–42.↵
Van den Hurk, P. A., Wingens, T., Giommi, F., Barendregt, H. P., Speckens, A. E., & van Schie, H. T. (2011). On the relationship between the practice of mindfulness meditation and personality—an exploratory analysis of the mediating role of mindfulness skills. Mindfulness, 2(3), 194–200.↵
Mascaro, J. S., Rilling, J. K., Negi, L. T., & Raison, C. L. (2013). Compassion meditation enhances empathic accuracy and related neural activity. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 8(1), 48–55.↵
Zeidan, F., Johnson, S. K., Diamond, B. J., David, Z., & Goolkasian, P. (2010). Mindfulness meditation improves cognition: Evidence of brief mental training. Consciousness and Cognition, 19(2), 597–605.↵
Friese, M., Messner, C., & Schaffner, Y. (2012). Mindfulness meditation counteracts self-control depletion. Consciousness and Cognition, 21(2), 1016–1022.↵
Kok, B. E., Waugh, C. E., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2013). Meditation and health: The search for mechanisms of action. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7(1), 27–39.↵
Winbush, N. Y., Gross, C. R., & Kreitzer, M. J. (2007). The Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Sleep Disturbance: A Systematic Review. EXPLORE, 3(6), 585–591.↵
Ong, J. C., Manber, R., Segal, Z., Xia, Y., Shapiro, S., & Wyatt, J. K. (2014). A Randomized Controlled Trial of Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Insomnia. Sleep, 37(9), 1553–1563.↵
Kok, B. E., Coffey, K. A., Cohn, M. A., Catalino, L. I., Vacharkulksemsuk, T., & Algoe, S. (2012). Positive emotions drive an upward spiral that links social connections and health. Psychological Science.↵
Ospina, M. B., Bond, T. K., Karkhaneh, M., Tjosvold, L., Vandermeer, B., Liang, Y. et al. (2007). Meditation Practices for Health: State of the Research. Evidence Report ⁄ Technology Assessment No. 155. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.↵
Anderson, J. W., Liu, C., & Kryscio, R. J. (2008). Blood Pressure Response to Transcendental Meditation: A Meta-analysis. American Journal of Hypertension, 21(3), 310–316.↵
Veehof, M. M., Oskam, M.-J., Schreurs, K. M. G., & Bohlmeijer, E. T. (2011). Acceptance-based interventions for the treatment of chronic pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PAIN®, 152(3), 533–542.↵
Zeidan, F., Gordon, N. S., Merchant, J., & Goolkasian, P. (2010). The Effects of Brief Mindfulness Meditation Training on Experimentally Induced Pain. The Journal of Pain, 11(3), 199–209.↵
Schutte, N. S., & Malouff, J. M. (2014). A meta-analytic review of the effects of mindfulness meditation on telomerase activity. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 42, 45–48.↵
Davidson, R. J., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schumacher, J., Rosenkranz, M., Muller, D., Santorelli, S. F., Urbanowski, F., Harrington, A., Bonus, K., & Sheridan, J. F. (2003). Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation. Psychosomatic Medicine, 65(4), 564–570.↵
Which Type of Meditation Is Right for You? (2020, September 17). Healthline.↵

Meditation: How To Meditate And Why It's Worth It

Live Well

Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME

By Markham Heid

October 8, 2014 5:00 AM EDT

Updated Oct. 9, 2pm

First of all, understand that “meditation” is a catchall term for a lot of different mental activities, many of which have nothing to do with sitting cross-legged on the floor and saying om.

“There are thousands of different types of meditation,” says Dr. Andrew Newberg, a neuroscientist at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and author of Words Can Change Your Brain. But while meditative practices come in all shapes and styles, Newberg says nearly all of them have at least one thing in common: They involve focusing your attention, a habit that’s been marginalized by our smartphone-tethered lifestyle of digital distraction.

Make your wellbeing a priority and sign up for TIME’s guide to meditation and mindfulness.

“That focusing could be on a word or object or physical motion,” Newberg explains. “But regardless, the type of focusing involved in meditation activates the brain’s frontal lobe, which is involved in concentration, planning, speech and other executive functions like problem solving.” Studies have shown meditation can bolster all of these mental tasks. But the greatest benefits may spring from the interplay between your brain’s focus centers and its limbic system—a set of structures that manage your emotions and regulate the release of stress and relaxation hormones.

MORE: The Mindful Revolution

“Studies suggests your body’s arousal system is calmed and the flow of stress-related hormones is reduced [by meditation],” Newberg explains. “There’s also a softening effect when it comes to emotional responses.” Just as weightlifting allows your muscles to lift a heavier load, working out your brain with meditation seems to fortify its ability to carry life’s emotional cargo. That stress-dampening effect has tied meditation to improved mood and lower rates of heart disease, insomnia and depression.

Newberg says there’s also some evidence that meditation quiets the area of your brain that manages your sense of self and your relationship to others. That may sound like a bad thing, but this quieting may help you feel more connected to others and less isolated within yourself, he says.

“Basically, meditation helps your brain get out of its own way,” adds Dr. Judson Brewer, a Yale School of Medicine psychiatrist.

Once you’re convinced meditation is worth a try, figuring out the right type for you is important, because the benefits tend to materialize only if you enjoy your practice enough to stick with it, Brewer says. Luckily, you have a lot of options—from Transcendental Meditation to Tai Chi. Even yoga counts, because it focuses your mind and blocks out distraction.

MORE: How Tai Chi Helps Fight Depression

Mindfulness is one style of meditation that’s exploding in popularity, largely because it can be done anywhere and anytime, Brewer says. “It’s mostly about being aware of your thoughts and not running after them in your mind,” he explains. Awareness is a wedge that, with practice, you can place between your thoughts and unhealthy emotional reactions, he says.

MORE: Can Yoga Ease Major Psychiatric Disorders?

That kind of vague, semi-abstract language can make meditation seem thorny and inaccessible, but it’s easier than you think. If you want a simple taste of meditation, Brewer suggests focusing your mind on your breath or a nearby object, refocusing it when it strays. “Your mind wanders, and you bring it back,” Newberg says. “That’s a mental push-up.”

Do enough mental push-ups, and you may be amazed at how strong your mind muscle can get.

Contact us at [email protected].

Meditation: Why You Should Do It

Written By Mark Manson

Take a break. Breathe. Focus your mind. Read each word slowly. Be aware of yourself reading this sentence, this paragraph. You, sitting here, focused on every word, one by one. Be aware of each sound and its echoes in your mind, the one you are hearing right now, and now this one, and another, and another, and another. The voice in your mind saying this text is you? If yes, then who is listening? nine0003

The paragraph above ideally put you into some form of meditation. He made you aware of your thoughts and mental processes, and most likely helped to separate your "I" from the thoughts and sounds in your head.

Meditation makes a person disidentify himself from his mind and emotions. It is arguably the easiest to learn and most accessible personal development tool on the planet. This can be done by people with disabilities. Children can do it. Stephen Hawking can do it. Any conscious person can practice this. You can do it on a crowded bus. You can do it in the monastery. You can do it in your bedroom. You can do it now while reading this article. Experienced meditators may even do this while they sleep. The health benefits — mental, emotional, and physical — are innumerable, and there are no side effects. You can learn it in just five minutes and never forget how to do it again. Doing this for at least 10 minutes a day can make you happier and healthier, and practicing 30 minutes a day can change your life. nine0003

But almost no one does it regularly. Including me. Why?

It's hard to do. In fact, it's damn hard. No, seriously, take a break for a few seconds, close your eyes and don't try not to think about anything for 30 seconds. No, seriously, try it. Only for 30 seconds. I guarantee you can't do it.

If you try, you will soon notice that our mind produces a constant stream of thoughts, and most of us identify so strongly with it that we don't even notice it. Our mental energy is consumed by an endless stream of useless, worthless thoughts and opinions:

“I hope the Lakers win today. I wonder if Shannon will ever call me back. I really enjoyed our date, but maybe I should have chosen a better restaurant? Oh, it's so stupid to worry about it. I wonder if Dave's new sushi restaurant is good? I need to call him, we haven't talked in a long time. He can be too gloomy, although this rarely happens with him. Oh, you have to buy a movie to watch on the weekend, it will be cool. I wonder which one. I remember watching that movie with Sarah, my childhood friend. God, how we were young and naive. First kisses are so awkward. But yeah, I have to call Dave, we haven't talked in a while. And I also need to call my dad, he gets hot-tempered if I don't call him. Oh, it's Tuesday, they're already showing Breaking Bad." nine0003
You probably have a similar monologue going on in your mind and you rarely realize it. Few of us. Meditation teaches our mind to reduce and refine our thoughts, focus only on what is useful and important, ignore everything else, and separate our ego and personality from the thoughts and emotions swirling around in our heads. It may seem insignificant, but it adds up to huge life benefits.

I started meditating as a teenager and got serious about it in college. After graduation, I interrupted the practice (distracted by girls, drinking and work), but this year my task is to restore the habit of meditation. Its benefits have been excellent and I miss the clarity and awareness I had during regular practice. nine0003
If your mind is a muscle, meditation is the way to get it to the gym. The stronger your control over the mind, the more you can consciously control where the mind is focused and how it processes new information. Strengthening your mind in this way has implications for every aspect of your life: your emotional health and self-esteem, your performance, your discipline, your relationships, your overall happiness, your stress levels, and your physical health. I attribute much of my success in other areas of my life to the meditation I practiced when I was younger. I noticed that in everything I aspired to since that time, my mind was more focused than most, and that I could always remove unnecessary hindrances and realize what is really important in any business. nine0003
HOW TO MEDITATE

There are many forms and techniques of meditation. And the great thing is that there is no right or wrong among them, they are just different. Whatever causes you to focus your mind on awareness and let go of any thoughts or emotions that arise is a form of meditation. Whether it includes mantras, breath counting, yoga, chanting, rituals, or something else.

But to begin with, I recommend that people start by simply sitting and counting their breaths. The process is simple. nine0003
Take 10 or 15 minutes. It's a good idea to set a timer on your watch because you'll be tempted to get up or stop before the time runs out. Go to a quiet room with no distractions. Throw a pillow on the floor and sit cross-legged on it. Don't worry if your legs don't bend well, just cross them as much as you can while being comfortable. Put your butt on the pillow and then make sure your back is straight. Relax your diaphragm and let your stomach droop (don't worry, no one is watching). Look straight ahead. You can close your eyes or leave them open, it doesn't really matter. I prefer to leave mine open, but you can close them first if that's more comfortable for you. You can put your hands on your knees, or you can leave them folded together, one on top of the other, palms up, as shown in the picture. nine0003

Now the hard part begins. Clear your mind. Don't think about anything. Inhale through your nose into your chest until it is full. Your belly should expand. Then exhale slowly. Once. Repeat the same. Count your breaths. When a thought arises or you get distracted, start counting from the beginning. Thoughts and distractions will come up, and if you are just starting out, they will come up often, even if you don't notice them, until they start rattling around in your head for a few seconds.

Don't judge yourself. Do not be angry. Don't get upset and say, "I screwed up." Just accept the thought that arises, let it go and reset the count. Chances are you won't get past two or three counts in your first meditation practice. It often takes many months to even get to ten.

Do this for 15 minutes. It's only 15 minutes, but I guarantee it will feel like three hours. By the fourth minute you will be dying not to get up and do something. Your mind will go crazy. Most likely, you will start to let go of your mind and just start thinking about the party last weekend or about the project you are working on at work. Good. Do not judge. Just let go and start counting again. nine0003
This is the main form of Zen meditation that I have been practicing for several years. If you do it at least once, congratulations. My guess is that you will wake up feeling much more relaxed, with a clear mind and calm throughout the day.

These practices are easiest to do and stick to when done with someone else, so you can discipline each other. The best practice is daily. Start with 10 or 15 minutes every morning when you wake up and slowly add time. Once you get to the point where you can keep your mind blank for a full 10 breaths or so, you can try other methods or practices. nine0003
BENEFITS OF MEDITATION

I have mentioned throughout this article the great benefits of meditation. Of all the so-called "spiritual practices," meditation probably has the most scientific research backing its usefulness and power. Numerous MRI and EEG studies have shown that regular meditation practice can repair neural structures in the brain and even enlarge gray matter.[1, 2] Below are some of the practical benefits of regular meditation that psychologists and doctors have discovered:

Increases self-awareness. Psychologists have noted that patients who practice meditation develop a deeper awareness of their actions and emotions. Some psychotherapists prescribe meditation to their patients to help them practice.[3]

Increases concentration and discipline. Meditators are able to stay focused on specific tasks longer and be less likely to be distracted from those tasks. Meditation increases the capacity for what psychologists call "self-regulation". [4] nine0056
Reduces stress and anxiety. Mindfulness techniques have been found to reduce anxiety and stress [5] and have long been prescribed to patients suffering from anxiety disorders and panic attacks as a way to calm their nerves with fairly good success rates.[6]

Makes you physically healthy. People who practice meditation, on average, sleep better, have a lower heart rate, lower blood pressure, and get sick less often.[7] nine0056
Increase emotional stability. For people who are prone to outbursts of anger or sadness, meditation helps regulate and control their emotions.[8]

Improves memory and helps you think more clearly. Meditation teaches you to throw out unnecessary garbage from your thought patterns. Further, it frees your mind, more effectively storing all that is useful and important.[9]

Helps to get in touch with intuition. When you meditate, you communicate with your unconscious decision-making processes, often referred to as "gut feeling", "instinct" or "intuition". Daniel Kahneman calls it his "first brain". Malcolm Gladwell calls him "Blinker". Whatever it is, this instantaneous, inner reaction to some things is often the right thing to do. Meditation will enhance it. It goes hand in hand with self-awareness. nine0056
Increases your ability to empathize with others. Brain scans show that meditation activates those parts of the brain that are responsible for optimism, happiness, and empathy. People who meditate constantly talk about improving their ability to empathize with and care for other people's emotions and connect with them more easily.[10]

Reduces the need for external approval. Meditation teaches you to be more aware of what thoughts and emotions dictate your actions in the first place where you are trying to get love and approval, and what may not work. This makes one more aware of needy and neurotic behavior and put an end to it. [11]

Meditation is by no means the cure for all problems. But I think it's a powerful tool. The purpose of meditation is to help you see your inner problems clearly. It won't eliminate them. A few years ago, one of the most frustrating moments of my participation in Zen was how many experienced practitioners I met convinced themselves that meditation had removed all their psychological and emotional problems, when this was not the case at all. Yes, she helped them see and realize their problems. But to overcome them, we still need to go out into the world and act. Sitting in a room and staring at a wall all day is unlikely to do that. nine0003
MEDITATION AND SPIRITUALITY

There is also a spiritual aspect to meditation practice, for those of you who are interested. I usually avoid the topic of spirituality in this blog. I believe that spirituality is something lived and experienced, not discussed or taught. In my opinion, spirituality, by its definition, cannot be discussed. It is possible to describe only the received experience of spirituality. Spirituality itself is transrational. It's like trying to count to infinity. Words can only capture a part, but never fill the whole. nine0003
One such way to experience spirituality is through meditation. I can't describe spiritual experience in words. But if you ever had a moment in your life when your sense of self – your sense of identity – completely dissolved and there were no more differences between you, the sky, the water, the people around, everything… If you ever looked at the stars for so long , who started laughing at the realization of how beautiful the mere fact that we just exist ... If you suddenly realized that your fears and worries are illusions created by your ego and mind, and that all good and bad were just separate expressions the same great unity of It and that you never needed to be afraid, you - your fears, your flaws, your defeats, everything about you - it was another perfect expression of the same reality ... Then yes, meditation can help you bring it back state back. nine0003
Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness. Neuroreport, 16(17), 1893.↵
Luders, E., Toga, A. W., Lepore, N., & Gaser, C. (2009). The underlying anatomical correlates of long-term meditation: Larger hippocampal and frontal volumes of gray matter. NeuroImage, 45(3), 672–678.↵

Vago, D. R. (2014). Mapping modalities of self-awareness in mindfulness practice: a potential mechanism for clarifying habits of mind. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1307(1), 28–42.↵

Friese, M., Messner, C., & Schaffner, Y. (2012). Mindfulness meditation counteracts self-control depletion. Consciousness and Cognition, 21(2), 1016–1022.↵

Morone, N. E., Lynch, C. P., III, V. J. L., Liebe, K., & Greco, C. M. (2012). Mindfulness to Reduce Psychosocial Stress. Mindfulness, 3(1), 22–29.↵

Chen, K. W., Berger, C. C., Manheimer, E., Forde, D., Magidson, J., Dachman, L., & Lejuez, C. W. (2012). Meditative Therapies for Reducing Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Depression and Anxiety, 29(7), 545–562.↵

Kok, B. E., Waugh, C. E., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2013). Meditation and health: The search for mechanisms of action. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7(1), 27–39.↵

Chambers, R., Gullone, E., & Allen, N. B. (2009). Mindful emotion regulation: An integrative review. Clinical Psychology Review, 29(6), 560–572.↵

Zeidan, F., Johnson, S. K., Diamond, B. J., David, Z., & Goolkasian, P. (2010). Mindfulness meditation improves cognition: Evidence of brief mental training. Consciousness and Cognition, 19(2), 597–605.↵

Mascaro, J. S., Rilling, J. K., Negi, L. T., & Raison, C. L. (2013). Compassion meditation enhances empathic accuracy and related neural activity. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 8(1), 48–55.↵

Van den Hurk, P. A., Wingens, T., Giommi, F., Barendregt, H. P., Speckens, A. E., & van Schie, H. T. (2011). On the relationship between the practice of mindfulness meditation and personality—an exploratory analysis of the mediating role of mindfulness skills. Mindfulness, 2(3), 194–200.↵

Translation: Alexey Galtsev

Should I meditate? Understanding the benefits of the most controversial technology

January 31, 2015 Life

Did you know that meditation is one of the most frequently researched areas of science? This is due to the fact that the benefits of meditation cannot be seen, so it still remains one of the most controversial methods. We decided to look into the benefits of meditation from a scientific point of view and see if there is any point in the fact that we meditate. nine0003
The only problem with meditation is that it's hard to see any real benefit from it. With other useful habits, everything is much simpler. He began to eat less - lost weight, began to work out in the gym - gained muscle mass. Started meditating - so what? The lack of a visible result becomes the reason that we give up meditation. Although this habit takes almost no time, even 10-15 minutes a day is enough.

We decided to look into the benefits of meditation and how it affects the human brain and body as a whole. nine0003
Who is Elizabeth Blackburn

The word “meditation” was first mentioned in the 12th century by the monk Gigo II. Of course, meditation as a spiritual practice appeared much earlier, but the word meditatio was first named then. The technique began to become popular only in the 1950s, starting from India and ending with the USA and Europe.

Such interest was understandable: meditation gurus talked about almost magical transformations of thinking, memory improvement, rejuvenation and cessation of aging. Of course, many embellished, but identifying the lie was not so easy due to the placebo effect and the inability to see the real benefit of the process. nine0003
Nobel laureate Elizabeth Blackburn was one of the first to link meditation and science. In the 1980s, Blackburn found telomeres in the human body - repeating sequences of the genetic code that protect it (genetic code - ed. note) from information loss. Telomeres can change size, and the smaller they are, the higher the risk of various diseases: diabetes, obesity, stroke, Alzheimer's disease.

Returning to her research only in the 2000s, Blackburn decided to look at telomeres from a different perspective and found that their size is proportional to the amount of stress a person receives. The more stress we experience in our lives, the smaller the telomeres become. nine0003
Blackburn and her colleagues examined the DNA of victims of child abuse, people with Alzheimer's disease and depression. Comparing the length of their telomeres with the telomeres of ordinary people, they once again confirmed their correctness.

The telomere length of stressed people was shorter than that of normal people.

This study shocked the scientific world, and other scientists also rushed to study telomeres and their impact on our health. Later it turned out that the length of telomeres not only shortens due to stress and hard life, but also increases due to exercise, proper nutrition and social support. nine0003
However, Blackburn is the furthest back. In 2011, another study came out that linked telomeres and meditation. Previously, no one tried to combine these two concepts.

It turned out that meditation is the most effective activity, slowing down the destruction of telomeres and contributing to their increase.

As part of the study, a group of participants went on a three-month meditation course. The level of telomerase in their DNA after the end of the course was 30% higher than in the second group, which was just waiting for the trip. nine0003
How the brain changes after meditation

It's amazing how many new things and things that turn everything upside down can be learned with just a little desire. In 2003, an American scientist, professor of psychology Richard Davidson conducted a study trying to figure out whether meditation affects the brain in a physical way.

The study was a long-term study with 25 participants. The researchers measured the level of electromagnetic activity in the subjects three times:

before eight weeks of meditation;

immediately after the course;

four months after graduation.

Participants were divided into two groups, one of which completed the eight-week course and the other did not. After the course, both groups were injected with a small amount of influenza virus.

The amplitude of alpha waves in the meditating group was higher. Moreover, the body of this group produced more antibodies for the influenza virus.

Alpha waves are a graphic representation of the electrical processes that occur in the brain. Alpha waves have the highest amplitude in a state of calm wakefulness, especially with closed eyes in a darkened room. The greater the amplitude of alpha waves, the less a person is subject to stress, anger and bad mood. (Wikipedia)

In addition to the amplitude of the waves, the physical state of the brain was also examined in the subjects. It turned out that in the meditating group, the areas of the brain responsible for learning, memory, and emotions became denser. nine0003
How not to sleep for 40 years

Having studied the effect on the brain and DNA, we can move on to a more mundane topic - sleep. Sleep is an integral part of our life, and we pay a big price for it - more than a third of all the time we live. But there is no other way. Or is it possible?

Paul Kern was a Hungarian soldier who fought in World War I. In 1915, in one of the battles, he was wounded by a Russian soldier in the temple. The bullet hit the frontal lobe and separated part of it. After such a wound in the brain, a person cannot survive, but Paul succeeded. With only one strange consequence: he could no longer sleep. nine0003
From the moment he was wounded in 1915 until his death in 1955, Kern did not sleep and, in his own words, did not experience any difficulties in this regard. Kern's brain was examined many times, but the cause of the anomaly was never found.

Scientists haven't been able to figure out what to do to stay awake that long (shooting yourself in the head doesn't count), but there have been a number of other studies showing that it's still possible to reduce the need for sleep.

During the experiment, 30 test subjects were divided into two groups. The first group included those who were new to meditation, and the second group included those who had been meditating for a long time. All participants measured the speed of reaction to PVT 40 minutes before meditation, after meditation and after a short sleep. nine0003
PVT (psychomotor vigilance task) is a special task that measures the speed of a person's reaction to visual stimulation.

The results showed that the reaction rate accelerated after meditation (even for beginners) and slowed down in both groups after a short sleep. The study also found that the participants in the second group needed less sleep to fully rest.

Conclusion

Now that the benefits of meditation have been proven, we are left with one more problem.
Learn more

Learning website for kindergarteners

Essential learning login

Vocabulary list for toddlers

Preschool sight words games

What are compound words examples

Fun reading activities for 1st grade

Kids small story

Love tongue twisters

Cookie monster abc song

Games for spelling practice

Math concepts for 2nd grade

Is meditation worth it

4 Huge Benefits of Meditation (And How to Get Started Today)

Table of Contents

1. Reduced Psychological Distress

2. Better Emotional Health

3. Better Cognitive Abilities

4. Better Physical Health

The Benefits of Meditation and Spirituality

Meditation: How To Meditate And Why It's Worth It

Meditation: Why You Should Do It

HOW TO MEDITATE

BENEFITS OF MEDITATION

MEDITATION AND SPIRITUALITY

Should I meditate? Understanding the benefits of the most controversial technology

Who is Elizabeth Blackburn

How the brain changes after meditation

How not to sleep for 40 years

Conclusion

Learn more