3 Benefits of Meditation Backed by Science
You may have heard that meditation is good for you. In my experience, meditation has brought me closer to Spirit, and it’s helped strengthen my connection to The Other Side.
But what about those who are apprehensive to the Woo-Woo World? Or are wanting to know more about the benefits of meditation that is actually grounded in science?
Look no further, I’ve compiled THREE AMAZING Benefits of meditation that is backed by science. Even though I love the mystical world, it’s time to get grounded and find out some scientific facts that will inspire you to get on your meditation pillow.
First, did you know there are 112 types of meditation techniques mentioned in the Vigyan Bhairav Tantra? It’s an ancient Indian scripture. Check it out on Amazon!
I know, Craziness!
Sit back, relax, and let’s put out smart caps on as we will learn about the 3 AMAZING benefits of meditation and mindfulness that will make you never want to miss your meditation session ever.
1. Meditation Makes you Calmer
This might sound like a no-brainer. Everyone intuitively understands that meditation makes one calmer and now we have a scientific explanation to back this intuition. It is found that practicing meditation moderates the release of a hormone called cortisol or “the stress hormone”. Cortisol is released when you get stressed which makes you alert in a crisis situation but it harms your body in the long run. So, meditation not only makes you calm, but can also make you happier too since you’re not full of cortisol.
2. Meditation can help us fight “Tech Addiction”
We live in a hyper-connected world where we are constantly stimulated by all forms of media through our digital devices. Because of that, we are becoming more like addicts. And our object of addiction is “Dopamine”. The brain releases dopamine when it is expecting some kind of reward. It is exploited by all social media platforms and tech companies. So, what does it all have to do with meditation?
A study from the John F. Kennedy institute has found that those who regularly meditated had a 65 percent increase in their dopamine levels. This means that meditation releases natural dopamine which makes us crave dopamine less and be less prone to any kind of addiction. (MICORPHONE DROP!)
3. Meditation can literally transform your Brain
Sara Lazar and her team at Harvard found that meditation can actually change the structure of your Brain. Eight weeks of MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) led to an increase in the thickness in the “hippocampus”, which is the part of the brain that manages learning and memory. Changes were also observed in certain areas of the brain that play roles in emotion regulation and self-consciousness. In addition to that, brain cells in the “amygdala” decreased. Amygdala is responsible for fear, anxiety, and stress.
All this means that meditation improves our psychological well-being and mood by regulating our emotions and reducing anxiety. This is probably why when I started meditating, I was able to boot my anxiety meds like xanax, and prozac.
So….
Meditation seems like such a simple activity that it can be surprising to know that just 20 minutes of meditation can have so many benefits. (but even 5 minutes is better than none!)
We can’t expect the benefits of mindfulness meditation to be apparent in just a few days of meditation but regular practice will surely lead to amazing results for you. Like all good things, to make meditation work for us what we need is commitment.
If you need some help in this area, I got you covered! Head on over the the Rise Into Your Power Group in FB, and join my FREE Meditation Challenge. I’m gonna keep you accountable, and give you some prizes along the way to get you to stay on the track of reaping not just these 3 AMAZING benefits, but ALL of the benefits of both meditation & mindfulness!
