Meditation is a habitual process of training your mind to focus and redirect your thoughts. Meditation is growing in popularity as more people discover its many health benefits. You can use it to raise awareness for yourself and those around you. Many see it as a way to relieve stress and improve focus. People also use this practice to develop other useful habits and emotions such as Positive moods and attitudes, self-control, healthy sleep patterns, and improved pain tolerance.
Reduce stress
Stress relief is one of the most common reasons people try meditation. One review concluded that meditation lives up to its reputation as a stress reliever. Mental and physical stress usually leads to elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This leads to many of the detrimental effects of stress, including the Release of inflammatory chemicals called cytokines. These effects can interfere with sleep, promote depression and anxiety, increase blood pressure, and cause fatigue and clouding of thoughts.
Controls Anxiety
Meditation reduces stress and helps reduce anxiety. One study found that eight weeks of mindfulness meditation helped people with generalized anxiety disorder reduce anxiety symptoms, increase positive self-reports, and improve stress reactivity and coping. Meditation may also help control job-related anxiety. Employees who used a mindfulness meditation app for 8 weeks experienced improved feelings of well-being and decreased distress and job strain, compared with those in a control group
Promotes emotional Health
Inflammatory chemicals called cytokines that are released in response to stress can affect mood and lead to depression. A review of multiple studies suggests that meditation may reduce depression by lowering levels of these inflammatory chemicals. Meditation can lead to improved self-image and a more positive outlook on life.
Enhances self-awareness
Meditation helps you develop a stronger sense of self and grow to be your best self. Self-inquiry meditation, for example, is specifically aimed at helping you better understand your relationships with yourself and the people around you. Other forms teach us to recognize harmful or self-destructive thoughts. The idea is that as we become more aware of our thinking habits, we can channel them into more constructive patterns.
