How Mindfulness Meditation Can Improve Your Life, According to #Science
There is a lot of hype out there about Mindfulness and Mindfulness Meditation these days. And the truth is that the research into the benefits of these ancient practices is new, but there is still some encouraging evidence coming out to support the wide range of benefits we get when we practice.
Mindfulness can't and won't eliminate stress or difficulties from occurring in our lives (BUMMER), but we do gain more autonomy in how we deal with challenging situations which has many benefits from mental to physical.
Improves Mental Well-Being
Let's start with the mental. It's probably not a huge surprise to you that Mindfulness can improve our psychological well-being. There have been studies showing Mindfulness meditation can improve our mood, increase positive emotions, and decrease anxiety, depression, stress, emotional reactivity, and job burnout. In other words, people who incorporate Mindfulness meditation in their lives have more happiness, patience, acceptance, and compassion, as well as lower levels of stress, frustration, and sadness. Who wouldn't want this?!
Hearing that it could help my anxiety is what first drew me to the practice. And my personal experience has backed up what more and more studies are showing. So why exactly does this simple practice calm anxiety and reduce stress? One reason is that our ability to regulate our own emotions is improved and our ability to practice awareness and acceptance is heightened, helping us become less reactive and overwhelmed when challenges arise. But there are amazing things happening in the brain when you meditate as well. First, the practice decreases the neurological connections to the medial prefrontal cortex (also called the "me center") which helps to lessen fear, stress, and anxiety. Also, some areas of our brain that are engaged in our "fight or flight" response like the amygdala, are seen to decrease in size with regular meditation practice. This may further explain why meditators have reduced reactivity to challenging emotions and reductions in anxiety and depression.
The practice of Mindfulness meditation can also increase our focus and concentration as studies have shown it's correlated directly to cognitive flexibility, including an improved ability to regulate a crucial brain wave called the alpha rhythm. This rhythm is thought to “turn down the volume” on distracting information, helping the brain focus in what is often an overstimulating world.
And coming out of the self-focus for a minute, higher levels of mindfulness is also shown to predict happier and more satisfying relationships benefiting key relationship skills like being present and attentive, regulating emotions, being self-aware, and cultivating empathy and compassion. Oh, and did I mention better sex? Yes, please! In general, being mindful makes it easier to savor all the different types of pleasures in our lives as they occur.
Improve Physical Health
These are all amazing benefits, but did you know Mindfulness Meditation can also improve our overall physical health? Meditation helps us sleep, is good for the heart, decreases cognitive decline from aging or Alzheimers, improves immune response, and reduces pain from illness (including chronic pain).
How does it do all of this you ask? Well, meditation acts on areas of the brain that modulates the autonomic nervous system, which governs everything from digestion and inflammatory processes to stress hormones and blood pressure—all functions heavily affected by chronic stress. Recent neuroscience research looking at the effects of meditation on the nervous system suggests that regular meditation practice can—at least partially—reverse the harmful imbalance of our nervous system that our everyday stress response can induce.
A Whole New Brain
“It is fascinating to see the brain’s plasticity and that, by practicing meditation, we can play an active role in changing the brain and can increase our well-being and quality of life." -Britta Hölzel
And if that’s not enough for you, Mindfulness and Mindfulness meditation doesn't just change our mindset, perspective, and overall health, it also can change the shape of our brains! I mentioned earlier the decrease in parts of the brain that contribute to our anxiety, but studies have also shown Mindfulness meditation causes other changes in the brain, or neuroplasticity, like increased gray-matter (the area responsible for emotional regulation, planning, and problem-solving) and increased cortical thickness (responsible for learning and memory). Mindfulness, through neuroplasticity, also allows us to build new pathways in the brain, helping us "rewire" new healthier habits like self-awareness, compassion, and introspection. It's theorized that these changes in the brain underlie many, if not all, of the benefits stated above.
Checking in with our deepest intentions for why we are meditating can be a great way to build and stick to the habit. So next time you sit down to do a meditation practice (or are trying to talk yourself out of doing it) remind yourself of one of these many life-changing benefits you could get from taking a little bit of time to become present.
What are you hoping to get from a meditation practice?
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