3 science-backed reasons to try meditation today. Not sure where to start? Take this fun quiz: https://qappy.involve.me/my-meditation
Unless you’ve been living under a rock in the last few years, chances are you heard about meditation. Maybe a well-meaning friend or family member keeps on trying to get you to try it because ‘it changed their life’. And sure enough, that sounds promising but is it really all that it’s talked up to be?
We spoke to Dr. Alyson Smith, a psychologist with over 15 years of experience and meditation enthusiast about the benefits of meditation and more broadly mindfulness.
And here’s a short and sweet summary — 3 science-backed reasons to give it a try.
1. Meditation can improve mental wellbeing
A meta-analysis 163 studies (Sedlmeier et al 2012) found that meditation improves mental well-being at a magnitude similar to behavioural
treatments and psychotherapy. Now we’re big believers in therapy and that may well be a great option for many people. But it sure gets expensive fast and is a big time commitment. If you want to improve your well-being and only have 10 minutes per day? Meditation is a great way to start.
2. Meditation can reduce stress, anxiety, blood pressure and improve attention
Meditation can help reduce stress in healthy people based on a meta-analysis from the University of Bologna, and meditation training helped alleviate stress for those suffering from serious chronic illness or pain in a study with 87 participants. With chronic conditions growing at an alarming rate, meditation is an interesting solution. After all, if given the choice, who wouldn’t want an option that has no side-effects and is easily available?
3. Regular meditation can alter our brain’s grey matter for lasting change.
A neuro-imaging study from Harvard University showed that novices to meditation could alter the grey matter concentration in their brain by undertaking an 8-week meditation training. Changes were most prominent in
areas related to learning and memory, ability to manage emotions and taking perspective. A larger meta-analysis with 300 participants also supported these findings.
So there you have it, 3 science-backed reasons to give it a shot. Now, the trick is to find the right meditation track and stick with it until it becomes a habit. Sounds hard?
At Qappy, we’re on a mission to make meditation easier for everyone and we think personalisation is the very first step. How do you get started? Try our fun quiz that helps you build your very own meditation track.
Give it a try today for FREE at: https://qappy.involve.me/my-meditation
Qappy is a science-backed well-being subscription for a happier life. To find out more about the Qappy boxes check out our website https://www.qappy.io/.
We’d love to hear from you so if you have any questions or want to chat, email hello@qappy.io.
References
- Sedlmeier, Eberth, Schwarz, Zimmermann, Haarig, Jaeger and Kunze (2012)
2. Chiesa and Serretti (2009)
3. Goyal, Singh and Sibinga (2014)
4. Intarakamhang, Macaskill and Prasittichok (2020)
5. Napoli, Krech and Holley (2005)
6. Fox, Nijeboer, Dixon, Floman, Ellamil, Rumak, Sedlmeier and Christoff (2014)
