Why Meditate?
It seems an obvious question. Most of us are so time poor how could we possibly take time out of our busy schedules to sit still twice a day for 20 minutes. The reality is that our entire experience of life takes place through the filter of our state of mind. It’s literally the difference between thinking about life and living life.
It’s also been shown through a mounting body of peer review research the meditation can aid in so many areas of our lives including:
Reduce stress and anxiety
Meditation cuts back your stress chemistry (like cortisol and adrenaline) and replaces it with natural bliss chemistry (like dopamine and serotonin).
Stay focused and clear
Meditation develops full-brain functioning. Your prefrontal cortex is activated, alpha waves increase and neurophysiology changes so you think clearly and make good decisions.
Sleep better and have more energy
The very deep rest of meditation does two things: gives you lots of energy and calms your system so you can fall asleep (and stay asleep!)
Be healthier and younger
Stress weakens your immune system and speeds up ageing. Meditation reverses this: you get sick less often and you stay youthful.
Get along with people better
When you’re healthier, happier and thinking clearly, you’re nicer to be around. All your relationships get better.
Meditation Statistics
60%
Anxiety
After meditating for 6–9 months, almost two-thirds of those prone to anxiety managed to reduce their anxiety levels.
Project Meditation
87%
Coronary Heart Disease
Meditation studies reveal that people who meditate are less likely to suffer from heart disease. Since meditation is a kind of relaxation technique, it relieves stress, which is a well-known cause of many serious medical conditions.
Project Meditation
75%
Insomnia
The majority of people with insomnia who meditated on a daily basis were able to fall asleep more quickly. In fact, 75% of them needed only up to 20 minutes to doze off. Additionally, 91% of insomniacs reduced or eliminated their use of sleeping medication.
Project Meditation
89%
PTSD
A study looked at PTSD and 89 war veterans who had been deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. 87% of the group showed a significant decline in their PTSD symptoms after practicing this technique for 1 month
David Lynch Foundation
80%
Blood Pressure
Scientists have found out that practicing meditation is beneficial for hypertensive patients. According to meditation stats, 80% of them lowered their blood pressure and needed less medication thanks to meditation. Additionally, 16% of them were able to stop taking their medications for hypertension.
Meditation 24-7
120%
Productivity
Additionally, employers who introduced meditation to their employees claim that work absenteeism decreased by 85% while profits increased by 520%.
Project Meditation
45%
School Suspensions
One school noticed a decrease in school suspensions after introducing a meditation program. This data on meditation in schools and the statisticsrelated to it are further proof that meditation can be beneficial in the classroom since it’s believed that it can boost children’s performance.
The Good Body
90%
Stress
Medical research estimates as much as 90 percent of illness and disease is stress-related. Stress can interfere with your physical functioning and bodily processes. High blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and heart disease have been linked to stress factors.
AMA
43%
Telomerese
A study has shown that meditation increases the quantity of the enzyme telomerase within the body. This enzyme is needed to delay the onset of diseases including Alzheimer's, some cancers, Cardiovascular disease and Diabetes.
Harvard Medical School
Research & Articles of Interest
Time Magazine
Strongest Study Yet Shows Meditation Can Lower Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke
After roughly five years of follow-up, the researchers found a 48% reduction in the overall risk of heart attack, stroke, and death from any cause among members of the meditation group compared to those from the health education group. “It’s like discovering a whole new class of medications,” Schneider says of the power of meditation in improving the patients’ health.
Bloomberg.com
Harvard Yoga Scientists Find Proof of Meditation Benefit
“There is a true biological effect,” said Denninger, director of research at one of Harvard Medical School’s teaching hospitals. “The kinds of things that happen when you meditate do have effects throughout the body, not just in the brain.”
Psychology Today
20 Scientific Reasons to Start Meditating Today
“When I started meditating, I did not realize it would also make me healthier, happier, and more successful. Having witnessed the benefits, I devoted my PhD research at Stanford to studying the impact of meditation. I saw people from diverse backgrounds from college students to combat veterans benefit. In the last 10 years, hundreds of studies have been released.”
Sports Performance Bulletin
Mind over movement: using meditation for performance
Meditation is the new tool in the kitbag of sports psychology, but can a mantra really improve sports performance? Alicia Filley explores how inner bliss could help propel you across the finish line in record time!
