10 REASONS TO... MEDITATE
1 IT WILL HELP YOU RELAX Meditation can be simply described as taking a break from everyday tasks to become aware of your body and mind – ‘mindfulness’. For many, this means five to ten minutes to sit down and focus only on breathing, free from outside distractions, which relaxes and de-stresses.
2 IT MIGHT HELP YOUR EXAM RESULTS
A 2013 study found that two weeks of regular meditation was enough to improve students’ exam performance by boosting memory and the ability to concentrate. Results were increased by an average of 16 per cent.
3 PRESERVE THE BRAIN . . . Californian researchers found that people who had meditated for an average of 20 years had better-preserved brains than non-meditators. They had more grey matter: the ‘thinking part’ of the brain involved in muscle control, seeing, hearing, memory, emotions, and speech.
4 . . . OR REBUILD IT Meditation can also restore grey matter in the brain, a 2014 Harvard University study found. The research showed that in as little as eight weeks there were noticeable changes in several areas of the brain including the hippocampus, the part involved in memory and learning.
5 IT CAN BRING DOWN BLOOD PRESSURE
Transcendental meditation involves sitting comfortably and closing the eyes for 20 minutes, twice a day, to rest the mind and body. The practice has been found to trigger the production of telomeraselower blood – pressure.an enzyme linked to
6 BOOSTA few minutes YOUR of MOOD meditation mood-boosterin the morningfor the can rest beof thea real day. studiesA reviewon meditationof nearly concluded50 scientific that it can help conditions such as anxiety, depression and pain as it strengthens a person’s ability to regulate their emotions.
7 IT’S GOOD FOR THE GUT Stress is a known trigger for symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Women who meditated for eight weeks as part of a 2011 study reported a reduction in pain, bloating and cramps.
8 IT CAN HELP YOU QUIT SMOKING ...
Texas researchers found that smokers who meditated as well as using traditional quitting methods such as patches or nicotine gum halved the number of cigarettes they smoked – often without realising. It is thought de-stressing meant people craved less tobacco.
9 SHED THE POUNDS ... For many with weight problems, over-eating is a response to stress. A 2011 study of overweight and obese women found that meditating as a stressrelief helps control ‘comfort eating’.
10 AND IMPROVE SLEEP Training the brain to take a break can help later in the day when it’s time to nod off. A survey of adults with sleeping problems found that those who had been taught meditation suffered less insomnia, tiredness and depression after just six weeks than others on a ‘sleep education’ course.