9 amazing benefits of meditation for human health

Meditating for at least 30 minutes a day will give you the following benefits:

Stress reduction

Chronic stress increases blood pressure and leads to constricted blood vessels, depression, and even addiction. When your mind is clear during meditation, you focus on your breathing and relax, which reduces your feelings of stress. Deep, controlled breathing allows your body to produce higher levels of nitric oxide. This helps to open up constricted blood vessels and lower blood pressure.

Reduce muscle tension

As you focus on multiple areas of your body through controlled breathing, your mind helps your muscles relax. This technique, called advanced muscle relaxation, can be used at the beginning of a meditation session to consciously and intentionally tense and relax muscles throughout the body.

Improve heart health

People who meditate all day have reduced artery wall thickness, people who do not meditate do not have this phenomenon. Reduced artery wall thickness means reduced risk of stroke and heart attack.

Improve mood

Meditation reduces gray matter density in areas of the brain associated with stress and anxiety. People who practice a particular type of meditation are less likely to experience negative arousal. Meditation reduces anxiety levels and improves the three compassions – compassion for others, compassion from others, and compassion for oneself.

Boost immunity

People who practice yoga and meditation improve their resilience and use of mitochondrial energy. This process leads to a stronger immune system and better stress response.

Enhance creativity

Open-minded meditation has positive effects on creativity and divergent thinking. This particular type of meditation involves observing, but not reacting to, the content of experience from moment to moment. People who practice this type of meditation seem to perform better on tasks that require them to come up with new ideas in a creative way.

Improve positive relationships and understanding

Compassion meditation helps practitioners focus on developing love and concern for all living beings. One study found that practicing this type of meditation allows practitioners to better understand others by reading their facial expressions. Building positive emotions through compassion helps increase personal resources, such as self-compassion, love for others, social support, and self-acceptance.

Reduce social isolation

Compassion meditation increases social connectedness and positive attitudes. It is easy to practice and can reduce social isolation and increase positive social emotions.

Reduce the risk of stroke and heart disease

Meditation has the potential to significantly reduce the risk of death, stroke, and heart attack in people with heart disease. This is because meditation lowers blood pressure and changes other psychological stress factors. Along with that, it reduces the risk of depression, premature death, and even Alzheimer's.