How Meditation Helps Your Health

Introduction

You've probably heard of meditation and how it's supposed to be good for you. Honestly, I always thought meditation was super boring and not really life changing. Have I tried it? No. Although, it would probably benefit people like me who always have something on their mind. If you're clueless about what meditation can actually do for you, you're in the right place! I never took time to learn about meditation or try it for myself and I assumed it would be something I would never try. Maybe you can relate to this. After learning more about meditation, I can't say for sure that I will attempt it. Even so, it's amazing what it can do for a person. Who knows, this may influence you to make an effort to do meditation at home and could be supportive to you.

Benefits On Our Health

Even if you know nothing about meditation, you can guess it helps with stress and mental health. I want to share with you all a more specific explanation of the health advantages. As explained by an interesting article by Maureen Salamon on Harvard Health Publishing called 'Want a calmer brain? Try This', "some studies show certain types of meditation offer an array of benefits, from easing chronic pain and stress and lowering high blood pressure to help relieve anxiety and depression."

In Lazar's research mentioned in the article, it's stated that mediating can help change the structures of our brain that influence anxiety. Lazar found that after around 2 months of doing meditation, density in the amygdala decreased. What does this decrease in density do? The study stated that, this helps us to not perceive everything as threats. Jumping back to stress levels, the way meditation affects our amygdala helps us have less sensitivity to stress. This is super helpful for us teens who get stressed out by school, sports, friends, and everything else. After all, my blog is part mental health focused so give meditation a try even if it is just for a couple of minutes to deal with any stress you're feeling.

How Can I Start?

As I mentioned previously, a few minutes is all you need and you can build on from there. Start by just focusing on your breathing in a quiet spot. In addition, check out some YouTube videos or look for some meditation music to guide you. I would suggest trying out different things because you may like having meditation music or you might prefer a quiet place. The easiest thing to do is next time you are laying in bed, take a moment to pay attention to your breathing and take slow breaths.

Conclusion

Meditation can really help everyone, especially when you're stressed out. When I remember about days that I was very stressed, meditating could've assisted me. Even though I had said I don’t plan on trying meditating, it seems interesting to me now. To remind you of some of the benefits, they include lower stress levels, lowering high blood pressure, and changes in the brain structures that deal with fear and anxiety. Now stepping away from meditation, I hope everyone is doing good in school now that the first semester is nearing the end. Winter break is coming up as well and I know that many of us are excited for the holidays! I will have a post during this break so make sure to check it out. Hope you learned something new! Remember you're not alone!

Works Cited

Salamon, Maureen. “Want a Calmer Brain? Try This.” Harvard Health, 29 Oct. 2024, www.health.harvard.edu/blog/want-a-calmer-brain-try-this-202410293078.