Meditation offers a range of physical, mental, and emotional benefits. There have been a number of research studies that have supported these benefits. Recent research is predominantly focused on Mindfulness meditation because of it's simplicity, prevalance and awareness. However, there are many more forms of meditation which deliver.
Below are some common benefits that people practicing meditation have experienced. This recent article in Forbes Health offers a good read. The benefits below include links to supporting research with more information.
- Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Improvement: Regular meditation is linked to increased emotional intelligence. In his 1995 book “Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ,” psychologist Daniel Goleman named this emotional overreaction to stress “amygdala hijack.” Use meditation or controlled breathing to focus your body’s energy. This will help you respond to a threat or stress in a peaceful way. It will help you stop an amygdala hijack so you can retain control. Click here to access recent research.
- Stress Reduction: Meditation lowers the cortisol levels in the blood suggesting that it can lower stress and may decrease the risk of diseases that arise from stress such as psychiatric disorder, peptic ulcer and migraine. Click here to access recent research.
- Anxiety Reduction: Meditation may have a beneficial effect on anxiety symptoms in Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and may also improve stress reactivity and coping as measured in a laboratory stress challenge. Click here to access recent research.
- Sleep Improvement: A study published a few years ago in JAMA Internal Medicine included 49 middle-aged and older adults who had trouble sleeping. Compared with the people in the sleep education group, those in the mindfulness group had less insomnia, fatigue, and depression at the end of the six sessions. Additional reading. Click here to access recent research.
- Digestion: The impact of meditation on gut health is an emerging area of research that has garnered much attention in recent years. The gut-brain axis, which serves as the communication network between the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system, is believed to play a crucial role in understanding this connection. Meditation, by reducing stress and modulating the release of stress hormones, can positively influence the gut microbiome, promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria, reducing inflammation, and improving overall gut health. Click here to access recent research.