How Meditation Calms the Mind and Body
Meditation Calms the Mind and Body: Looking for a stress-relieving break? When we are concerned or agitated, it is tough to let go of certain thought patterns and maintain our calm. If you’ve ever found yourself bringing up even more unpleasant ideas while agitated, you can attest to this. Our bodies are pushed out of equilibrium when we are under a lot of stress. The process causes the body to produce large amounts of cortisol (the principal stress hormone).
Did you know that when stress hormones take hold, they can put your brain and body out of sync? A single obsessive idea in the mind might trigger a response that causes the body to operate in survival mode. Meditation is a simple technique to follow if you wish to begin working from a calmer and more relaxed state. Let’s look at how this technique might help you relax your mind and body.
Meditation Affects Certain Brain Chemicals
If you are always under stress, your body will constantly release cortisol. While this stress hormone is necessary for survival in the short term, no one’s body is built to operate in this state for an extended period of time. Meditation can assist to decrease the body’s cortisol production. This way, you can reduce your body’s fight or flight reaction in instances where it is not required. Consider being in a stressful scenario, such as a heavy task at work. If you continue to function in this mindset by bringing up further stressful ideas, your body reacts. Meditation teaches and prepares the mind to slow down and be present in the moment. As basic as this may sound, lowering cortisol helps you maintain a more balanced state of mind.
Additionally, meditation has the relaxing effect of increasing the flow of ‘feel-good’ hormones in the body. Through meditation, you may alter your mood, which has an effect on serotonin production. As this feel-good hormone circulates, it enhances your mood as well, making this a two-way street [1]. Meditation can also assist increase the sleep hormone melatonin, which aids in mood regulation [2]. When we work from a more positive condition, there is little question that we enjoy a sense of serenity in our life.
Managing Stress
Many individuals resort to meditation as a means of coping with daily stress. Stress levels created by the mind and external environment have a detrimental effect on our mental and physical health. Stress can manifest itself in the form of headaches, weariness, and muscular strain [3]. Because we have a mind-body link, good mental consequences can result in improved health. When you meditate, you get a sense of relaxation. You begin to develop increased degrees of mental and physical awareness, which aids in your ability to remain in the present moment. This relaxation reaction aids in breathing and heart rate regulation. Even more recently, studies have demonstrated that meditation has an effect on brain waves. By concentrating on your breath or on certain regions of your body, you may cultivate the capacity for calmness.
Altering Brain Wave Frequencies
Our brains are constantly engaged in some form of electrical activity, depending on our current condition. When we are awake and cognizant, we work mostly in the beta range, which spans the spectrum from low to high. Beta in the low range occurs when we are conscious of our body and environment but calm. On the other hand, high-range beta is a state of arousal induced mostly by stress. Today, many of us are continually functioning in high-range beta, which results in us living in a state of tension, irritation, and rage on a daily basis. Meditation enables us to shift our brain wave frequencies to alpha and theta, which induces deeper levels of relaxation [4]. By refocusing your attention away from the external world and into your inner world, you enhance the likelihood of experiencing calm states.
The Bottom Line
We can see a substantial relationship between meditation and calmer moods via personal accounts and considerable scientific study. You have the ability to regain control by moving from frustration to tranquility. Daily meditation can assist you in managing stress, altering the frequency of your brain waves, and overall feeling good.
Meditation Over Medication
When our bodies betray us and we begin to suffer from a particular ailment, it may appear as though there is no way to fight back other than via medicine. What if there is an alternate route? Rather than constantly taking mood stabilizers, sleeping pills, painkillers, muscle relaxants, and other prescriptions, what if we could practice focusing our attention on the present moment and muting our brain’s pains?
Anxiety
Mediation can be used independently or in conjunction with medicine. Meditation has been shown in research to alleviate anxiety symptoms as good as or better than benzodiazepines, an anxiety medicine. Meditation is viewed as a superior option because the majority of anxiety drugs do result in addiction and physical dependency. As a result, meditation is a more effective technique to manage anxiety for individuals who do not wish to rely on medicine.
Additionally, it has been discovered that mindful meditation activates the brain regions responsible for mood regulation, cognition control, and the reduction of negative thinking processes. According to a 2014 research, anxiety medication did not help for half of clinical anxiety disorder patients who did not meditate while taking the prescribed medications. The other half reported a 22% reduction in anxiety after completing a 20-minute meditation session. This demonstrates that via consistent meditation practice, our brains may develop emotional resilience and adjust to environmental changes.
Sleep disorder
Sleep is critical for stress management, cognition, healthy eating, and weight loss. If you’re having difficulty sleeping, you might want to explore meditation. Meditation has been shown in research to enhance sleep efficiency, sleep latency, and insomnia.
Inflammatory disorder
Individuals who suffer from inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, muscular neck pain, osteoarthritis, muscular low back pain, and fibromyalgia experience significant pain, which can make daily tasks difficult. If you suffer from any of these conditions, you might consider adding meditation to your medicine regimen. Meditation has been shown in research to have an effect on cell-mediated immunity, particular indicators of inflammation, and biological aging.
Depression
Meditation can be equally as beneficial as antidepressants, particularly for patients who relapse into depression following a prolonged period of medicine. People who are attempting to sustain their remissions do not rely on antidepressants, according to research. Rather than meditating, they use drugs. This demonstrates that mindfulness is just as helpful as medications in avoiding depression recurrence.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Research was conducted in which 74 military people suffering from PTSD were divided into two groups. The first half of the group participated in a 20-minute transcendental meditation session, whereas the second half did not. The results indicated that individuals who meditated gradually grew more calm and active, and at the end of one month, the majority of participants had stopped using their medicine. After six months, there was a 21% difference between the two groups, and those who did not participate in the meditation had more severe PTSD.
Stress Reduction
Stress may have a detrimental effect on our health, which is why it is critical to managing our stress. Rather of using drugs to alleviate your tension, spend some time relaxing your mind via meditation. This will help you feel more prepared to deal with daily stress. According to research, it takes around eight weeks of meditation to alleviate the detrimental effects of psychological stress and to decrease the “fight or flight” reaction.
In general, evidence indicates that meditation benefits human health and can aid in the reduction of symptoms associated with sleeplessness, stress, depression, weight gain, and inflammatory disorders. Though the majority of this study includes methodological flaws and limits, high-quality research must be conducted. There is, however, no danger in meditating while taking your prescription.
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References
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2077351/
[2] https://askthescientists.com/brain-meditation/
[3] https://www.everydayhealth.com/meditation/how-meditation-can-improve-your-mental-health/
[4] https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100319210631.htm
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