An ever-growing number of laboratory and clinical research proves the effectiveness of mindfulness to manage, treat, or alleviate symptoms of many illnesses physical and mental. Additionally, researchers and researchers continue to find new methods to harness this power in increasing our wellbeing and overall quality of our lives. From improving cognition to lessening physical signs caused by stress. research-based evidence is there to support it. Explore the top advantages of mindfulness to your health.
1. Reduces Stress
The practice of mindfulness for a couple of days can help reduce anxiety overall (and who wouldn’t want to have reduced stress?). A study conducted in 2015 of 1333 stressed, unemployed adults, which was published in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience A three-day intensive mindfulness training program resulted in a decrease in activity levels of the amygdala of participants, the brain region that is responsible for releases of hormones associated with stress.
2. Improves Cognition
Benefits of mindfulness meditation is less time than you think. In fact, a mere 20 minutes each day for 4 days enhanced the cognitive effectiveness (i.e. the ability to concentrate) when performing tasks that require continuous attention among 63 students at a college who had not practiced mindfulness before, according to the study from 2010 released in Consciousness and Cognition.
3. Boosts Immunity
Although mindfulness practices aren’t an absolute way to avoid illness, it could help boost the immune system and brain function, as demonstrated by the results of an investigation conducted in 2003 and that was published in Psychosomatic Medicine. Researchers conducted an eight-week study that measured brain electrical activity prior to and after mindfulness meditation in both the groupings of test and control getting an influenza vaccine following the training. They observed significant increase in antibodies for those who were in mindfulness meditation, and increased activity on the left-hand part that is located in the left brain.
4. Supports Working Memory
The findings of a study conducted in 2010 trial published in Emotion revealed how mindfulness can improve the shorter-term memory capacity. Researchers studied two military groups under high-stress conditions, and found that the group who took part in the eight-week mindfulness program (and working at their own pace following the class) demonstrated less impairment in working memory abilities than those who didn’t receive mindfulness training.
5. Helps Manage Chronic Pain
An increasing body of research suggests that mindfulness can help you cope suffering from chronic pain. John Kabat-Zinn, PhD one of the pioneers in this field was a researcher in the 1980s regarding the benefits of meditation-based techniques for treating chronic pain. In 2017, a study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine showed that mindfulness meditation led to an enlightened reduction in chronic pain among patients. Further research and bigger studies are needed to verify the efficacy of mindfulness meditation as a alternative to pain management by itself.
Related: What is a reason mental illness factor for vulnerability?
6. Increases Empathy
Numerous studies, including those from a study conducted in 1998 published in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine and the study from 2015 published in Mindfulness research, have demonstrated that meditation with mindfulness improves the level of empathy in general. In the second study, researchers examined the impact of psychotherapists who practice compassion meditation and loving-kindness and found that both of them assisted them in developing more empathy for their clients, and also reduced the negative effects of empathy for pain.
7. May Help Lower Blood Pressure
A study from 2019 released in PLOS One has confirmed what was previously thought to be a sporadic evidence of mindfulness’s ability in reducing hypertension (a high-risk aspect for developing heart diseases) among adults. The findings from a study of 48 participants, of which 80 percent had hypertension.
The study showed that mindfulness-based stress reduction can influence the psychological underlying causes of this condition by improving the participants self-regulation (i.e. the capacity to keep from eating too much) and increasing their awareness of themselves and control over their attention. The effects lasted for a long time A follow-up study one year later revealed that individuals’ blood pressure was lower than their baseline at the beginning this study.
8. Bolsters Cognitive Flexibility
Are you always multitasking? Meditation can help you switch your thoughts between multiple concepts more easily. A study conducted in 2009 in Consciousness and Cognitive Science compared an individual group of Buddhists practicing mindfulness against non-meditators. The study found that the first group did much better in all tests of concentration, including written tests that were timed.
9. Improves Quality of Sleep
Feeling tired and sluggish after the night of tossing, turning and turning can make it difficult to perform at your peak. The practice of mindfulness will help you get better Zazas However, according to the results of a clinical trial in 2015 released in JAMA Intern Medicine.
The trial compared 49 elderly adults (with an average time at 66.3 years) suffering from moderate to severe problems with sleep (such like insomnia) prior to and after going through a guided mindfulness-based meditation program. Following the intervention, sleep quality significantly improved, and sleep-related daily impairment was decreased. Further research is required to understand the longer-term benefits of meditation on sleep the researchers pointed out.
10. Decreases Emotional Reactivity
If you are prone to making decisions based upon emotions and feelings, mindfulness practice can help you to let go of emotional situations and to think more rationally. A study from 2007 released in Motivation and Emotion demonstrated that those who meditated with mindfulness experienced a less emotional reaction to negative images, allowing them to focus better on their task and also exhibited a higher level of wellbeing.
11. Improves Relationship Satisfaction
The ability to improve your mindfulness can improve the way you have in your relationship. A study published in 2007 in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy indicates that mindfulness can lead to greater capacity to handle stress in relationships positively. It also can be beneficial to the wellbeing of romantic relationships.
12. Restores Child-Like Wonder
Children can be fascinated with a wild leaf bugs, even a flower — things that we tend not to think about when we are adults. Being mindful can allow us see the world with a new perspective however. A study from 2015 was released in PLOS One, mindfulness meditation was found (in certain instances) to reduce the effects of sensory habituation, our inclination not to pay attention to things that are happening around us in our daily surroundings.
Read more: