10 Surprising Positives of Meditation.

While we strive daily to be the best we can be, to be present at the moment, to minimize stress, and to appreciate life's beauty, let's look at the scientifically-proven positives of meditation.

Get Better Sleep

Anyone who has suffered the lingering mental and physical effects of a poor night's sleep regularly can appreciate another of the positives of meditation: better sleep. Research with older adults diagnosed with sleep disturbances found that the practice resulted in significant short-term improvement in sleep quality by remedying sleep problems. Researchers noted that this meditation type reduced daytime sleep-related impairment and provided a better quality of life.

Make Progress Toward Your Weight-Loss Goals

Too many people struggle with wildly fluctuating weight. How many have opted for fad diets or tried the latest weight-loss scheme? Learning that mindfulness meditation is an excellent strategy to support weight-loss goals might be motivating. One study with obese and overweight women found that this meditation intervention for stress eating, even though it wasn't intended to result in total weight loss, stabilized weight among those who were obese. Researchers also found that a greater frequency of mindfully eating meals was related to weight loss, albeit slightly, noting that, at a minimum, these techniques "may support weight maintenance efforts," resulting in "actual weight loss" for those eating higher proportions of their meals mindfully.

An American Psychological Association licensed psychologists survey by Consumer Reports found that mindfulness, cognitive therapy, and problem-solving are "excellent" or "good" weight loss strategies. Dieters should focus more on their emotions' role in weight management rather than solely on exercise and calorie control or eating less.

Lower Your Stress Levels

We live in a fast-paced society. This contributes to and exacerbates stress. Learning how to control or minimize the effects of stress on the body and mind is essential for overall health and well-being. So, it is refreshing to know that a review of 47 clinical trials found that meditation programs show "small improvements in stress / distress and the mental health component of health-related quality of life." Another study found that focusing on the present through mindfulness can reduce cortisol levels, the stress hormone.

Decrease Loneliness in Seniors

Getting older has challenges, yet relationships can be enriching and satisfying. But many older adults who have lost their spouse experience worsened loneliness because of concurrent medical or psychological conditions or issues. One study found that two months of participation in a meditation program (mindfulness-based stress reduction, or MBSR), reduces loneliness. Positives were also found in reducing older adults' pro-inflammatory gene expression.

Banish Temporary Negative Feelings

Sitting all day at a desk or computer is unsuitable for your overall health and well-being. The often-recommended advice to get up and move is well-founded in research. One study evaluated the daily movement-based behaviors of college students and found fewer movements with mindfulness in mind and suggested that incorporating mindfulness meditation into daily activity may lead to better overall health benefits.

Improve Attention

Researchers found that brief meditation training (four days) can enhance the ability to sustain attention. Other positives of meditation training included working memory, executive functioning, visuospatial processing, reduced anxiety and fatigue, and increased mindfulness. Another study found attention improvements after six months of mindfulness training.

Manage Chronic Pain

Millions of people suffer from chronic pain, some following an accident that leaves them with a long-term debilitating medical condition, some due to post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) after a severe injury during a combat deployment, and others due to diagnoses with cancer. Much current research focuses on managing chronic pain more healthily. Yet, alternatives to medication to help patients deal with chronic pain are steadily gaining momentum. MBSR, a therapy combining mindfulness meditation and yoga, has significantly improved pain, anxiety, well-being, and participation in daily activities.

Help Prevent Depression Relapse

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), according to a growing body of research, may show the positives of meditation in preventing depression relapse. A particular strength of the mind-body technique is how it shows participants how to disengage from the highly dysfunctional and deeply felt thoughts accompanying depression. According to one study, MBCT is a helpful intervention for depression relapse in patients with at least three previous major depressive disorder (MDD) episodes. Another study found that this type of meditation provided significant relapse protection for those with a childhood trauma history, leaving them with increased vulnerability to depression.

Reduce Anxiety

Feeling anxious? Researchers have found that even a single mindfulness meditation session can reduce anxiety. For the study, researchers focused on the effect of a single meditation session on participants with high anxiety levels but normal blood pressure. They found measurable improvements in anxiety following the single meditation session and further anxiety reduction one week later. Researchers suggested that a single mindfulness session may help to reduce cardiovascular risk in those with moderate anxiety.

Increase Brain Gray Matter

Along with the well-documented positives of meditation, another surprising finding of the mind-body practice is that it increases brain gray matter. A controlled longitudinal study investigated pre-, and post-changes to gray matter and found that they could be attributed to MBSR participation. Researchers found that increases in gray matter concentration occurred in the left hippocampus, the posterior cingulate cortex, the temporoparietal junction, and the cerebellum. These are the regions involved in memory and learning processes, emotion regulation, self-referential processing, and perspective.