10 Benefits of Meditation – That Will Make You Want to Meditate

Why is meditation so popular with so many people using and promoting it? The answer is easy. It’s because meditation works. There are many reasons meditation is so successful. Read on to find ten benefits of meditation that will make you want to meditate.

1. Meditation Decreases Anxiety

Meditation can help decrease anxiety. Some people’s gut instincts tell them that they are in danger when they really aren’t. They have too much fight or flight syndrome.  

For some, the neural pathway in our brains that leads to the part that determines whether or not we are in real and imminent danger is so strong that we feel we are in danger even when we are not.  

We can diminish this connection in our brain with meditation. This is not a bad thing. Meditation weakens the irrational fear pathway, while the part that assesses reasoning is strengthened. This is a win/win situation.  

2. Meditation Can Make You More Emphatic

Meditation activates the part of your brain that is responsible for showing more compassion. Scientific studies show that empathy and compassion are more active when someone meditates. This is also a good thing. Having more compassion can be very beneficial.  

3. Meditation Can Increase Focus

This makes sense because you focus on the present moment when you meditate. Awareness of the present moment trains the brain to stay focused.

One of the most significant benefits of meditation is helping you choose your focus and redirect your thoughts back to reality in the present moment. How often do you catch yourself having a busy brain and feel like you cannot calm it down? Meditation can help with that. 

Meditation helps you to be in the present moment. But the effects continue beyond when you are meditating. Meditation helps to keep you focused long after you have finished meditating.

4. Meditation Improves Memory

Have you ever walked into another room and wondered why the heck you went in there? Meditation can boost your memory. Meditation activates a particular part of the brain, which helps to increase memory recall and decrease distractions.  

With this increased memory, the next time you walk into a room, you might just remember why you went in there in the first place.

5. Meditation Unlocks Creativity

If ever get stuck on creating a new idea or had the experience of writer’s block, it may be a good idea to start a meditation practice. Meditation has a way of unlocking and unleashing creative potential.

Creativity is a useful asset in just about any scenario. Whether you are a writer or a sales and marketing manager, a little creativity goes a long way.

6. Meditation Helps You Alleviate Stress Better

When stress arises, you face a fight or flight sensation. You need to either take flight and run away to protect yourself or stay and fight. Neither of these responses promotes healing and peace.

When you practice meditation daily, you can alleviate stress more. However, and more importantly, you get to relieve stress with more grace and ease. Beginning a daily meditation practice doesn’t only serve you at the moment; it helps you throughout your day, week, and life.

7. Meditation Can Make You Smile More

People who meditate tend to be more upbeat and positive. Meditation has a way to soothe and calm the mind. The mind-body connection is very powerful. When your mind is calm, your spirit is likely to follow. If your mind is calm, you are more focused and can, therefore, be more successful. When your mind is full of clutter, it isn’t easy to focus on anything. When you have clarity, you have momentum, and with clarity and momentum, you can have more success. Simply put, when you are less stressed, you are more focused.

8. Meditation Helps You to Increase Brain Function

Meditation is like exercise for your brain. Your brain is like a muscle; the more you use it, the better it gets. There are many ways in which meditation increases your brain’s ability to function better.

There are plenty of neurological benefits to the brain that you can experience from meditating. Whereas before, it was thought that only a region or two of the brain was positively impacted, new studies are beginning to show that many brain areas are positively affected.

The improvements are not just temporary either; they are proving to be long-lasting effects. 

9. Can Meditation Slow Down the Aging Process?

According to Psychology Today, a loving-kindness meditation could actually slow down biological aging. It also stands to reason that if mediation can reduce anxiety and stress, this reduced response to stress can have someone lead a happier, healthier, and longer life.

10. Improving Sleep

Hundreds of thousands of people take sleep aids to assist them in getting a decent night’s sleep. These people have insomnia. No matter what they do, they keep tossing and turning, and they are unable to fall asleep.

They wake up in the morning feeling irritated and groggy, not to mention that it’s easy to get rundown or even sick without proper sleep. Meditation can help improve your sleep quality and make it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Here are three ways to incorporate meditation into your nightly routine to experience more restful sleep.

• Breathing – practice the art of meditative breathing. Breathing in through your nose and exhaling through your mouth is an excellent way to alleviate stress. This kind of meditative breathing can slow the body and mind down. And doing so is conducive to a good night’s rest. More importantly, it slows your brain’s activity to prepare yourself for a good night’s sleep. This is a terrific way to wake up feeling refreshed rather than tired and wanting more sleep.

• Affirmations – it can also help to use a releasing affirmation when you prepare to go to sleep at night. It will do wonders to mix your deep breathing along with your affirmations. Make sure the affirmations you choose are releasing affirmations that work for you. An example would be, “I release all that did not serve me today.”

• Visualization – visualizing, along with deep breathing and affirmations is a powerful trio. Imagining your life as you wish it to be doesn’t make you ungrateful, it just leads you to a place where you accelerate the momentum to get to where you want to be.

There are plenty of benefits to a good night’s sleep. When you are well-rested, you are more productive and focused. When you are more productive and focused, you will experience more success.  

These are some of the reasons that meditation is included in our morning routine ideas. You can find other morning routine ideas to set you up for a successful day here.