Does mindfulness meditation offer all the health benefits people say it does or is it just a hoax? Read on to find out.
If you’ve ever been confused by the term “mindfulness meditation,” you’re not alone. These two terms are often used interchangeably, so you may think they mean the same thing.
This is likely because they’re both effective techniques for boosting your overall health and well-being. However, while mindfulness and meditation may be interrelated, they’re not synonyms.
The primary difference between mindfulness and meditation is in their nature. While meditation is a technique or practice, mindfulness is a quality or, as the name suggests, a state of mind.
Meditation is to the mind what physical exercise is to the body; it involves awareness, focus, and relaxation.
On the other hand, mindfulness keeps your attention on the here and now while consciously identifying and embracing your emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations.
Since mindfulness is a state of mind, you can be mindful when undertaking numerous activities, including meditation.
Sometimes, meditation is also a means to achieving mindfulness. The combination of both practices always results in a fuller and healthier life.
We’ll discuss the benefits of mindfulness meditation in detail throughout this article. Come along.
20 Benefits of Practicing Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation involves paying close attention to your breath, feelings, thoughts, body sensations, etc., as they come.
The American Psychological Association (APA) says mindfulness meditation aims to “enable individuals to become highly attentive to sensory information and to focus on each moment as it occurs.”
This practice offers numerous benefits and improves your quality of life in the following ways:
Mindfulness Meditation Reduces Stress
Stress relief is one of the most essential benefits mindfulness meditation offers.
Mindfulness meditation can reduce your stress by calming your amygdala, the brain region that controls emotional reactivity and sends distress alarms to the hypothalamus, triggering it to activate a stress response.
With mindfulness meditation, you’ll also widen your perspective and learn how to respond to stressful situations gently.
Another way mindfulness meditation helps reduce stress is by lowering cortisol levels.
According to research on the effects of mindfulness meditation on the serum cortisol of medical students, mindfulness meditation lowers cortisol levels in the blood, which suggests that it can reduce stress and may minimize the risk of stress-related diseases.
This includes psychiatric disorders, peptic ulcers, migraines, etc.
Mindfulness Meditation Fights Loneliness
There’s evidence that mindfulness meditation can help individuals, especially seniors, cope better with loneliness.
According to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), many older adults experience social isolation and loneliness, which are serious yet overlooked public health consequences.
This is typically a result of living alone, losing friends or family, chronic illness, and sensory impairments.
Depending on the senior’s peculiar situation and perceptions, these seniors may experience episodic or chronic social isolation/loneliness throughout their lifetime.
Fortunately, researchers who recruited forty 55 to 85-year-old healthy adults have found that meditation is highly effective in fighting loneliness and disease.
These lonely adults who were interested in learning mindfulness-based meditation exercises were divided into two groups, with one group engaging in a mindfulness-based stress-reduction program and the others doing nothing.
In the end, participants in the program had significantly reduced loneliness levels compared to the other non-participatory group.
Mindfulness Meditation Promotes Quality Sleep
Insomnia or low-quality sleep has always been a problem for many individuals. However, according to Statista, about 51% of UK residents don’t enjoy quality sleep, with women having more sleep problems than men.
If you belong to this group, you must take action fast, as sleep deprivation can adversely affect your mental health and every other aspect of your life.
Fortunately, as a relaxation technique, mindfulness meditation for sleep is one of the best ways to tackle your sleep problems.
Mindfulness meditation can treat insomnia by reducing psychological distress that makes you stay awake all night. It helps you drift quickly into slumber by relaxing your mind and making it conducive to falling asleep.
Mindfulness Meditation Aids in Anxiety Management
You can ease your anxiety and depressive symptoms by prioritizing mindfulness meditation anxiety. It does this through the same relaxation mechanism it uses to fight stress and insomnia.
Many factors can trigger anxiety, including neglect, losing someone, physical/emotional abuse, etc.
However, regardless of your triggers, the bottom line is that anxiety makes you worried, fearful, nervous, and uneasy with racing thoughts.
Mindfulness meditation helps you deal with anxiety’s physical and mental symptoms by distracting you from your triggers and ensuring that you only focus on the present moment.
In addition, it helps you to notice your intrusive thoughts and accept them without judgment. By doing this, mindful meditation ensures you’re comfortable and don’t react sharply to stress.
Mindfulness Meditation Can Improve Your Attention Span
Is paying attention to every word in this article a challenge for you already? Don’t worry; we all deal with reduced attention spans now and again, especially when we’ve had a long day.
But if this has always been a problem for you, and you need a cost-effective and healthy solution to your short attention span, turn to mindful meditation to do its magic.
According to a 2018 study, mindfulness meditation can improve cognitive performance and attention and influence numerous psychological outcomes.
In fact, brief mindful meditation practices will offer you various benefits, even if you’re only a beginner.
Mindfulness Meditation Helps in Body Weight Management
If you’ve ever struggled to lose weight, you already know how challenging and frustrating it can be. But it’s a goal you must never give up on, especially considering the health implications of having an unhealthy weight.
For example, an NHS report shows that one kilogram of weight gain (2.2 pounds) is thought to raise a person’s risk of developing diabetes by about 8%.
Being overweight also puts you at high risk of heart disease, cancer, digestive problems, etc.
So, what do you do after all is said and done, and you’ve tried everything you can to maintain a healthy weight without success?
Health experts say it’s time to try mindful meditation. Meditation for weight loss is as real as it’s effective.
It helps you lose weight by boosting your body awareness and increasing your understanding of your eating habits. It also enables you to curb stress-related and emotional eating.
Mindfulness Meditation Fights Dementia
Vincent Minichiello, MD, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, has stated that mindfulness benefits people with dementia.
In an interview with Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, he had this to say “there has been some research showing that mindfulness practice has a positive effect on attention, cognitive functioning, psychological well being, and in reducing systemic inflammation, all of which can have a direct impact on people that are experiencing cognitive impairment, mild cognitive impairment or dementia…it can be very supportive.”
Fortunately, more than just supporting dementia patients, Minichiello also added that caregivers of people with dementia could also benefit from mindfulness practice.
Mindfulness Meditation Helps to Fight Age-Related Memory Loss
It’s a well-known fact that meditation offers physical health advantages to participants. However, not many know that it also offers anti-ageing benefits, especially for individuals with age-related memory loss.
A study has revealed that mindfulness meditation is important in building cognitive reserve.
In addition, it can slow down age-related cognitive decline and improve attentional functioning in general.
Mindfulness Meditation Aids Self-Awareness
One of the best ways to enjoy a happier life is through self-awareness.
According to Shelley Duval and Robert Wicklund in their book, “A Theory of Objective Self-Awareness,” self-awareness is “the ability to focus on yourself and how your actions, thoughts, or emotions do or don’t align with your internal standards.”
With a high self-awareness level, you can objectively assess yourself, control your emotions, match your actions with your ideals, and accurately gauge how others see you.
Fortunately, the core of mindfulness meditation centres around self-awareness. So with regular mindful meditation, you’ll naturally develop and enjoy the benefits of self-awareness in high “doses.”
Mindfulness Meditation Boosts Academic Performance
There’s no argument that a retentive memory and improved attention span can significantly improve your academic prowess. Luckily, those are some of the objectives of mindfulness meditation.
Regular mindful meditation will improve your focus and recall abilities while enhancing social skills and influencing academic outcomes.
Mindfulness Meditation is Important for Boosting Brain Health
Did you know the brain is the most complex and arguably the most vital organ in your body?
It manages every bodily function and controls your thoughts, memories, emotions, touch, vision, motor skills, respiration, hunger, temperature, etc.
Since mindfulness meditation can influence these functions, it means it can change your brain-literally and positively.
For example, Harvard researchers have discovered that mindfulness can change the brain in depressed patients as it eases their physical and mental symptoms.
Music Can Sound Better with Mindfulness Meditation
Music therapy has proven effective in calming moods and improving mental health. But the exciting news is that combining music with mindfulness meditation gets a lot better.
According to a study, mindfulness meditation enhances musical aesthetic emotion processing. It also improves your ability to appreciate the music you’re listening to by enhancing focused engagement.
Mindfulness Meditation Can Lessen the Harmful Effects of Cold
You can practice mindful meditation to protect yourself from a cold, especially during flu season.
Bruce Barrett of the Department of Family Medicine says mindfulness meditation training can prevent or shorten cold lengths.
He made this assertation based on a small study where meditation training reduced the ARI illness burden and resulted in fewer sick days for participants.
Mindfulness Meditation Makes You a Better Person
Have you decided to take your character development goals seriously? Then mindfulness meditation can help.
It teaches discipline as you control your mind to remain present. Mindfulness meditation also inspires you to be kinder and more empathetic toward others.
Mindfulness Meditation Helps Emotion Regulation
You can regulate your emotions better when you practice mindful meditation. When you’re mindful, you’ll fully detect and experience your emotions.
Fortunately, you’ll also be able to control and react to them more sensibly and in adaptable ways than others.
Mindfulness Meditation Helps You Beat Addiction
Whether it’s pornography, alcohol, drugs, or phone, fighting addiction is never fun. Fortunately, mindfulness meditation can make it easier to deal with.
It does this by naturally making you feel good and eliciting similar brainwaves to the ones physicians use to treat addiction.
Again, instead of merely dealing with symptoms, mindfulness meditation helps to tackle the problem from the roots.
Mindfulness Meditation Improves Pain Control
Mindfulness meditation has analgesic effects on the body. According to research, actively meditating individuals enjoyed 32% less pain intensity than others.
This is because mindfulness meditation helps individuals to detach from painful sensations by interrupting their communication with the brain.
Mindfulness Meditation Helps You Have Better Relationships
We’ve already established that mindfulness meditation is essential in helping you regulate your emotions.
Plus, you already know that enhancing your emotion regulation skills also makes you happier and enhances your compassion/empathy. This makes you a better person and improves your connection/relationship with others.
Mindfulness Meditation is Great for Skin Health
Have you been angling for better-looking skin? Then you should take your mindful meditation practice seriously.
That’s because breathing mindfully as you meditate improves your cellular health by increasing oxygen flow to the skin. This keeps your skin rejuvenated and makes it look healthier.
Mindfulness Meditation Enhances Creativity
Employers are increasingly looking for creative minds to fill vacant positions by the day. But, unfortunately, it’s challenging to consistently come up with brilliant ideas every day, all day.
Luckily, you can get your mojo back by consistently practising mindful meditation. Mindfulness meditation enhances creativity and sparks innovation by helping you regulate your emotions and boosting brain activity.
Final Thoughts
The benefits of mindful meditation for your overall health are too numerous to mention.
From decreasing your stress levels to improving your relationships, physical health, creativity, etc., it’s one of the most effective singular means of achieving optimal wellness.
So, if your goal is to improve your quality of life significantly, get into mindfulness meditation practice immediately.
Confused about how to start your mindful meditation practice? You can sign up for our mindfulness meditation for beginners classes ASAP!
We also offer guided mindfulness meditation, mindful movement meditation, mindful meditation for sleep, and mindfulness meditation anxiety sessions to suit your goals, needs, and level.
FAQ
What is Mindfulness Meditation?
As the name implies, mindfulness meditation combines mindfulness and meditation. It’s a practice that calms your body and mind and trains you to eliminate negativity and manage your thoughts.
How to practice Mindfulness Meditation?
Start practising mindfulness meditation by getting comfortable on your seat with your legs crossed and upright.
Next, ensure that your upper arms align parallelly with your upper body while your chin drops slightly as you slowly lower your gaze.
Relax and follow your breath while bringing your focus back without judgment when intrusive thoughts come. Finally, slowly lift your gaze, notice your body’s sensations and pause for a while to plan your day.
What is the difference between Mindfulness and Meditation?
Mindfulness is a mental state that remains with you as you continue your daily activities.
Meanwhile, meditation is an exercise for your mind that offers numerous benefits for your overall health. They work together to contribute to your well-being and encourage you to live in the moment.
