The oldest known evidence of meditation dates as far back as 5,000 BCE. And in those terms, it has only recently come into the limelight as a highly effective activity for healthier living.
Now, people from all walks of life are turning to meditation for the various health benefits that it has to offer. Among all the benefits of meditation, perhaps the most significant one is that it helps with stress management.
Meditation and Stress Relief
Meditation helps reduce stress, mainly by acting as an instant mood booster and interestingly, the effects are much more long-lasting.
Meditation trains your mind to focus on the good in your life. It redirects your thoughts from negative to positive ones and promotes a feeling of happiness, which, in turn, improves your overall well-being. Whether you had a traumatic experience that you just can’t seem to overcome, or you are having trouble coping with the challenges of everyday life, meditation can help you deal with it all.
What the Science Says
Research has shown that meditating for as little as 5 minutes a day can control stress, decrease anxiety, and help you feel more calm and relaxed.
In the early ‘70s, a U.S. Harvard physician named Herbert Benson coined the term ‘relaxation response’ for the use of meditation in the healthcare industry. It gained worldwide acceptance among therapists and even doctors as a technique for not only relieving chronic stress but also for helping patients deal with the trauma resulting from severe diseases such as cancer and AIDS.
To understand how this works, you must first understand what happens when we have excessive stress.
When you worry about something too much, your body produces hormones called epinephrine and norepinephrine. The increased levels of these hormones increase the blood flow to your muscles, causing tension to build up. This results in fatigue, in addition to disrupting other bodily functions such as digestion.
Meditation alleviates stress by eliciting the exact opposite reaction from the body.
When you practice mindfulness, your pulse and metabolism rates are stabilized. Healthy blood flow is restored and enables you to physically relax, leaving you feeling calmer and more refreshed.
Why Meditation is the Ultimate Stress Buster
A quick rundown of the benefits of meditation for stress control will help you appreciate why it is the ultimate method for improving mental health as compared to alternative techniques.
To begin with, meditation has literally no side effects. Unlike medications or even herbal medicines, meditation is a 100% safe option for anyone trying to manage daily stressors.
Secondly, meditation does not require any special equipment. It’s convenient in the sense that you can do it anywhere and at any time you want. Plus, you don’t need to enlist the help of any professional such as a physical trainer or a therapist.
Above all, the best part is that there is no ‘right’ or wrong way to meditate. As long as you are actively trying to declutter your mind, you will inevitably see the results in no time.
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