A lot of the time, the things that improve your mental and physical health don’t come cheap. While pricey pieces of equipment or expensive treatments work great, they can leave you broke if you’re not careful. Fortunately, that isn’t the case with meditation. It has some of the most impressive benefits around, and it’s absolutely free.
Meditation deserves all the hype, even after being around for thousands of years. While it’s thought of as something that mostly benefits your mental health, it can do wonders for your body, too. These are the meditation benefits that will surely convince you to do it daily.
5 Meditation Health Benefits You Should Know About
1. It Can Help Reduce Pain
The mind is more powerful than you think. Multiple studies suggest meditating can help reduce pain. In a 2016 study published in JAMA, researchers found those with chronic lower back pain had a greater reduction in pain after months of meditation compared to those who had typical care for pain.
2. It Can Help with Anxiety and Depression
After meditating, it’s not uncommon to feel less anxious and experience a mood boost, and those feelings are backed up by research. A 2014 review published in JAMA that included more than 3,500 participants found meditating may help improve symptoms of anxiety and depression.
3. It Can Help Reduce Stress
Feeling stressed? Meditate. According to the Mayo Clinic, it’s a great way to combat the stress of daily life and help you find inner peace. That’s because when you’re meditating, you’re able to “focus your attention and eliminate the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress.” Once you open your eyes again and return to the real world, you’ll feel much lighter.
4. It Can Keep Your Brain Healthy
In the moment, meditating can help clear your head, fighting off stress and anxiety. And a 2015 study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology found those who had been meditating over a long period of time had better-preserved brains (aka more grey matter, which has a role in everything from interpreting senses to muscle control) as they aged compared to those who didn’t meditate.
5. It Can Help You Concentrate
Do you lose focus easily? You’re not alone, and meditation can help. A 2013 study published in the journal Psychological Science found participants’ attention and concentration improved after just a couple weeks of meditating. Yeah, that’s all it took.
