’15 minutes of meditation a day keeps the anxiety at bay’.

If you have not heard of this powerful quote, learn this by heart right now.

Mental health has become more important than ever. So many people lost their lives during covid not because of the disease but because of it’s effects on our mental health.

The creeping anxiety and the fear of the unknown took a toll on each one of us.

What helped most of the people to get through such difficult times is: 15 minutes of meditation.

The reason I’m emphasising on 15 minutes is because no matter how busy you are, you can take out 15 minutes for your own benefit.

What is meditation?

Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.

So basically, meditation is a way to train your mind to be focussed.

Long lasting effects of 15 minutes meditation

1. Reduces stress

We all know this one but still won’t try. Maybe today I’ll be able to convince you into making your lives better!

There are n number of problems caused by stress. All the lifestyle diseases like hypertension, diabetes etc have one common cause i.e. stress.

So in order to save yourself from these and lead a healthy happy life, meditate.

The key is to be consistent. Don’t just do it for 3 days and stop since you are not getting immediate effects. You have to practice it daily at least for a month.

Stress ruins everything and I know right now, it feels like it’s out of hands but not entirely. So let’s beat it with meditation now!

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2. Controls anxiety

8 weeks of mindfulness meditation helped reduce the anxiety symptoms in people suffering from this disorder as proved by a study. There was also seen an increase in the positive self-statements and improvement in stress reactivity and coping.

Anxiety has become so common these days and that too among youngsters.

Yoga along with meditation has amazing and long lasting effects on your physical as well as mental health.

3. Reduces chronic pain

One review of 38 studies concluded that mindfulness meditation could reduce pain, improve quality of life, and decrease symptoms of depression in people with chronic pain.

4. Better skin

Seriously who doesn’t want a better skin!?

Meditation along with Yoga, it has been proven has a profound impact in beautifying and clearing and healthifying your skin.

Here is how it does that –

1. As the sweat production increases during the Yoga session, the residue toxins from your body starts getting ejected.
2. Meditation helps in relaxation which allows the blood to flow more freely nourishing all the organs including the skin in the best manner.
3. Enhanced blood flow makes sure that the skin receives all the oxygen it needs, which in turn helps it remain elastic, supple, and evenly toned.
4. Also, the relaxing effect of yoga reduces the level of the stress hormone cortisol, which is known to cause acne outbreaks.
5. Regular Yoga practice works wonders for your digestion which has a dramatically positive effect on the skin, giving it that nice healthy glow.

So along with those sheet masks and retinol that you have been using everyday, incorporate meditation in your routine too.

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5. Promotes emotional health

Just 15 minutes of meditation has profound effects on your emotional health.

It can restore your calm and inner peace by clearing away the information overload that builds up every day and contributes to your stress.

Inflammatory chemicals called cytokines are released in response to stress and they can affect mood, leading to depression.

A review of several studies suggests meditation may also reduce depression by decreasing levels of these inflammatory chemicals.

Some forms of meditation also help you develop a stronger understanding of yourself, helping you grow into your best self.

If you are just calm and peaceful from the inside, you’ll be surprised to see how beautiful life seems even in the ordinary times.

6. Increases focus

Since meditation involves focusing on one thing whether it be a flower or a candle, it is a way of training your mind to be more attentive and focused.

It really helps improve your attention span and you will see the work that used to take you 4 hours now takes an hour to complete.

That’s how powerful meditation is, even if done for 15 minutes.

One review concluded that meditation may even reverse patterns in the brain that contribute to mind-wandering, worrying, and poor attention.

Read: Why Self Discipline is the key to success in life: 6 Absolute Reasons

7. Reverses ageing

“There was a study reported at the American Geriatric Association convention in 1979 involving forty-seven participants whose average age was 52.5 years. It found that people who had been meditating more than seven years were approximately twelve years younger physiologically than those of the same chronological age who were not meditating.” (Gabriel Cousens, M.D., Conscious Eating, p. 281.) (Source)

8. Improves sleep

A goodnight’s sleep can make your day as beautiful as it can be. Just a good deep sleep.

I am sure you must have noticed that you feel happy whenever you wake up from a good sleep.

Since meditation helps in pushing away the negative thoughts which is one of the major causes of insomnia, we can say meditation would definitely help in improving sleep.

Additionally, it can help relax your body, releasing tension and placing you in a peaceful state in which you’re more likely to fall asleep.

9. Helps fight addictions

One study in 60 people receiving treatment for alcohol use disorder found that practicing transcendental meditation was associated with lower levels of stress, psychological distress, alcohol cravings, and alcohol use after 3 months.

Meditation helps you develop self-discipline and increase self-control. The lack of which leads to addictions.

Related: 10 Self improvement tips to make your life worth living

10. Improves memory

A number of studies carried out by neuroscientists have confirmed that there is a clear link between meditation practice and enhanced memory. 

Regular meditation increases blood flow to the brain, which leads to a stronger network of blood vessels in the cerebral cortex (the part of brain involved in learning and memory) and reinforces memory capacity.

So if you are a student reading this, you know what enhanced memory could do to your grades. Just 15 minutes of meditation can take you from grade C to grade A.

Conclusion

Meditate if you want a more calm, happy and peaceful life. Life is short, so better enjoy every moment of it.

Now go and set a reminder for yourself to meditate daily for 15 minutes. Here’s a video that helps me a lot and teaches right way.