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10 benefits of meditation: meditation tips and tricks

December 19, 2021 by Dikshi Gupta

At the core of all of us, we all seek one thing in common. It is the burning urge to be happy, blissful and satisfied in life. Men, women, and even crying infants seek comfort and peace for themselves.

For several years, it has been well-known that meditation is the answer to a stressful life and an anxious mind. The benefits of meditation are becoming a trending topic in the general public. Furthermore, as the number of studies increases, the scientific benefits of meditation are now also beginning to be understood.

However, in this hectic lifestyle, taking time for self-care and meditation is like a concept from a science fiction movie. It often feels like there is not enough time to get things done. We barely find enough time to complete our chores and errands, let alone to unwind and take a second for ourselves.

With that being said, it is vital to take some time and breathe despite our always-moving lifestyle. Regular meditation practice can lead to long-term benefits of meditation and short-term benefits of meditation. This article will talk about the importance of meditation and different tips for meditation you can use.

Benefits of meditation

Improved sleep

Disrupted sleep can drain all the energy out of you and leave you all exhausted. The continuous cycle of insufficient sleep can lead to several long-term damages. Ensuring a “good night’s sleep” is crucial for maintaining productivity at work, and meditation can be the solution to this problem.

There are numerous mental benefits of meditation, and better sleep is one of the many. Many recent studies have confirmed that meditation helps patients with insomnia and other sleep disorders. It is one of the most admired long-term benefits of meditation as most people have insomnia at some point.

Although whether night meditation is better for insomnia or day meditation is still a topic of debate. However, one thing is certain that meditation and better sleep are directly related.

Better immune system

Just like its psychological benefits, there are also an array of physical benefits of meditation. Practicing meditation boosts the immune system, regulates hormonal discharge, and decreases cellular inflammation in the body. Moreover, studies have also revealed that people who meditate regularly have a higher number of antibodies and produce these antibodies more rapidly than those who don’t.

It means that your body will fight off diseases better and quickly and make your overall physical health strong.

Increase alertness and focus

You might have noticed how people feel spaced out and unfocused when not getting enough sleep. Alertness and focused attention are essential factors that help us get things done effectively and efficiently. Lack of these components can cause distraction and mistakes and ultimately leads to diminished productivity at work.

Scientific studies have shown meditation by controlling the alpha waves in the brain that are directly associated with our sense organs and respond to external stimulations.

1 Minute Meditation

Ability to fight addiction

Substance abuse is a big problem in our society, and overcoming it requires focus, commitment, and sheer will. Meditation helps overcome the barrier of dry dependence by increasing your awareness and self-control of triggers for addictive behaviors. Patients who practice meditation daily show less craving towards drugs and seem to have fewer withdrawal symptoms.

Moreover, they often generate better self-awareness and self-care and bounce back to their normal state than non-meditating patients.

Reduce stress

Managing stress is the most common catalyst for people to try meditation in the first place. Unexpected encounters with negative situations lead to stress, burnout, and hypertension. Stress can give birth to more dire mental problems such as insomnia, anxiety, and even depression if not taken care of. Practicingbehaviorsn allows you to tame your mind to survive the crisis successfully.

Manage anxiety

Anxiety has been a significant problem for everyone and can cause several adverse effects on the mind and the body. Meditation can reduce stress levels making people less prone to anxiety. Whether it is anxiety disorders, panic attacks, or other emotional imbalances, meditation helps tackle them all.

Helps in chronic pain

According to a study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), meditation not only helps reduce chronic pain but also increases the individual’s pain tolerance. While meditators experience the same amount of pain like others, studies have shown that meditation helps change their perception of pain, thus providing relief.

benefits of meditation — Increases Gratitude and Kindness

Controls blood pressure

As stress is a significant element of bad blood pressure, meditation helps facilitate optimal blood pressure levels by keeping your mental stress in check. Not only that, by preventing irregular blood pressure levels, meditation also diminishes the chance of heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems.

Prevents age-related memory loss

Meditation techniques like Kirtan Kriya are mainly famous for sharpening the mind and preventing memory loss from old age. By enabling better attention, concentration, and focus, meditation helps keep your mind young and reduces the chances of age-related memory loss and memory retention problems.

Increases gratitude and kindness

Meditation is a great way to increase the feeling of kindness and gratitude within ourselves. When we meditate, we discard our ego, anger, and self-doubt. Meditation connects us with our surroundings and creates a sense of euphoria and peace. Thus, making us more giving and kinder towards others.

Some tips and tricks for meditation

Start small – It is not carved in stone to jump in with hours-long meditation sessions. You can start with small 2 minute sessions and increase the time gradually.

Try morning meditation – To make meditation a regular habit, try meditating first thing day in the morning. It makes you more fresh and active throughout the day.

Count your breaths – If you are not aware of different meditation techniques, sit down, settle in, and count your breaths slowly. Focus on inhaling and exhaling, and follow it through your nose down to your lungs.

Allow your mind to wander – Don’t try to force your mind to concentrate. Give your mind a chance to run wild for some time and try to come back to the present and start again.

Try meditation apps – Today, you cannot have a meditation guru with you every time you meditate. Instead, you can try guided meditation apps to help you in the meditation journey. You can check out our Joyscore app for guided meditation sessions.

Final thoughts

Meditation has been in existence for thousands of years, and through various scientific studies, we are still unraveling the exemplary benefits that this ancient technique holds. It is undoubtedly one of the best ways to calm storms in our minds and dissolve any doubts or negativity.

However, it’s essential to acquire clear, progressive, and authentic meditation methods from trustworthy guides. Joyscore app features an array of different meditation methods and techniques that you can use for successful meditation sessions.

How Does Meditation Reduces Anxiety?

December 12, 2021 by Dikshi Gupta

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), almost 18.1% of the population aged 18 and above (approx 40 million adults) in the US alone suffers from anxiety disorders each year. Not to mention that anxiety disorders are officially the most common mental illness in the US.

This staggering number raises concern among people about the constantly rising cases of mental problems in the US and all over the globe. People often turn to medication and prescribed drugs to ease their restless minds to fight this disorder. However, popping pills might not be best for your body in the long run, according to several studies.

Recently, several studies have shown the power of meditation and mindfulness breathing for reducing anxiety and clinical depression. In this article, we will discuss how meditation reduces anxiety disorder and the benefits of breathing exercises and meditation.

Meditation reduces anxiety download the app now

What is meditation?

Before diving into breathing and meditation benefits, it is vital to know what meditation is. Meditation is the systematic process of training your mind to be more poised, focused, and capable of redirecting thoughts from negative to positive. Used by people for generations, meditation is a complementary mind-body medicine that can develop a positive mood and emotions and reduce problems like anxiety and chronic pain.

Meditation reduces anxiety and is even known to cure clinical depression with regular practice. Our ancestors used it to find spiritual wisdom. However, now meditation is becoming more trending because of its psychological benefits. You can learn more about meditation and practice it by downloading the Joyscore app.

How to practice mindful breathing

Irregular breathing can topple the oxygen and carbon dioxide balance in your lungs and lead to anxiety, fatigue, panic attacks, and other physical and emotional agitations. Proper breathing helps reduce anxiety, and many different breathing techniques can help you in immediate and long-term stress reduction. Let’s look at some breathing techniques that can facilitate breathing benefits lower stress levels.

1. Belly Breathing

Belly Breathing is a great technique to reduce stress levels in your body and achieve a more calm and composed mindset. You can do this exercise while sitting down or lying on your back with a pillow under your head and elbows. The procedure is listed below.

First, Put one hand on your chest and the other hand on your belly.
Let your stomach relax, and make sure not to force it inward.
Start breathing through your nose slowly and notice your stomach rise and fall with breathing.

2. 4-7-8 Breathing

The 4-7-8 breathing, also known as the relaxing breath, is another way to calm your anxiety and enjoy breathing benefits—this technique functions as a natural tranquilizer for your nervous system.

“4-7-8” states the number of seconds an individual has to hold their breath after exhaling each time. You can do this exercise both while being seated or lying back. However, starting with the seated position is recommended if you are a beginner.

3. Lion’s Breath

The Lion’s breath breathing technique comes from the Hindu culture. It is also called “Simhasana” in the Sanskrit language and has proven beneficial for anxiety disorders. To put it simply, in this exercise, the person sticks out its tongue and roars like a lion. It is yet another helpful deep breathing technique that can help in relaxing the muscles in your face and jaw, relieve stress, and provide other breathing benefits.

Benefits of meditation for anxiety

Meditation is a century-old, if not more, practice that can provide mental and spiritual enlightenment. And now, this ancient practice is becoming wildly popular because of its benefits. People now practice meditation to ease anxiety or use meditation to release stress. Here are some of the advantages that meditation and breathing hold for anxiety and stress reduction.

1. Meditation reduces anxiety and stress.

People all over the world use meditation to relieve stress and anxiety. Any stress, mental or physical, can increase the levels of cortisol chemicals in your body. These chemicals can negatively impact your body and lead to anxiety and depression.

Many types of research have proven that spending regular, accurate time in meditation benefits the body and decreases these chemical levels. It can also diminish physical health concerns caused by stress such as chronic pain, fatigue, high blood pressure, or insomnia.

Guided meditation helps reduce anxiety — Guided Meditation

2. Provides better self-awareness

Meditation helps to increase your self-awareness. It makes you more present at the moment, allows gratitude, and thankfulness into your lifestyle. While different meditation techniques give different results, all types of meditation elevate your mood, mind, and self-awareness.

This heightened self-awareness leads to an increased capacity to identify and begin to understand your source of anxiety and take necessary steps to overcome them.

3. Better emotional health

The meditation benefits also extend to your emotional health. Several forms of meditation can result in a better self-image and a more positive outlook on life. It calms the mind down, makes us more emotionally stable, and more capable of handling the uncertainties of life.

4. Provides better concentration

One major cause of anxiety is overthinking. When your mind races because of stress, it starts to imagine (primarily negative) scenarios and gives birth to anxiety disorders. However, meditation reduces anxiety and helps you filter out these negative thoughts that lead to an enhanced attention span. In a way, just like lifting weights is a workout for your body, meditation is like a workout for your brain.

5. Improved sleep

Everybody loves sleeping, it is relaxing and refreshing, but sleep plays a much important role in our emotional and physical well-being. Stress and anxiety cause sleep deprivation and insomnia in most cases. As a result, insomnia can cause agitation, tiredness, and even more stress and anxiety.

Meditation helps you achieve deep sleep and prevents insomnia by enabling a more relaxed sleeping process.

Final thoughts

Anxiety is a constantly growing problem, not only in the US but also worldwide. The growing number of cases certainly causes a chill down the spine. However, meditation is a proven and tested way to fight anxiety, stress, and other mental problems. Meditation reduces anxiety and can be nectar for your mind.

We hope that this article helped you and answered your questions. You can also download our Joyscore app for daily meditation mindfulness exercises.

Try These 5 Things for the Perfect Morning Routine

September 24, 2019 by Marcela De Vivo

How you start off your day sets the mood for the entire day. If you feel rushed and anxious in the morning, that energy will carry on throughout the rest of the day. Similarly, a calm and collected morning can help you get through the inevitable ebbs and flows of your day.

Try doing these 5 things to help keep your cool for whatever the day has in store for you.

1. Wake up early enough to get everything done We all have our checklist of things to do in the morning. If you need to make lunches, or get kids ready, be sure you allow ample time for that in your morning. Getting out of bed at the last possible second will only make you feel rushed. Making time to get it all done will help you properly pace out your day.

2. Add physical activity to your morning Not everyone is a morning person, and that is ok. Adding in a bit of light cardio in the morning is a great day to get the blood flowing and energize tired muscles. You will feel more alert after a quick jog or morning swim.

3. Eat a healthy breakfast A light and balanced breakfast will help fuel you for the day as well as improve your memory and concentration.

4. Meditate Among the various other benefits of meditation, morning meditating helps set the tone for calm for your entire day and allows you time to focus.

5. Get a full night’s rest A morning routine is easier to start and maintain when you have had a good night’s rest. You will have the focus and energy necessary to avoid hitting that snooze button.

A morning routine helps you start your day with structure and gives you direction. You’ll find that by setting the stage for better prioritizing, more effective time-management, and greater productivity, you’ll be able to navigate through your day with a bit more calmness.

5 Tips for Achieving a Good Night’s Rest

September 17, 2019 by Marcela De Vivo

We all know that a good night’s sleep is important. Not only do we feel better when we are well-rested, but we function better too. In fact, sufficient sleep plays a vital role in our mental, physical, and emotional health- not to mention our general safety and performance in our everyday lives.

So if sleep is so important, why are we constantly neglecting it? According to a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions, more than a third of American adults are not getting enough sleep on a regular basis.

Its recommended that adults aged 18-60 sleep at least 7 hours each night. Are you falling short? Here are 5 tips to help get you back on track:

Get adequate sunshine exposure throughout the day Your body actually wants to help you with your sleep schedule. The body has a natural clock known as the circadian rhythm that helps you stay awake and tells your body when its time to sleep. Getting natural sunshine (or bright light) during the day helps keep your circadian rhythm healthy. This can improve your energy throughout the day and help you sleep better and longer at night.
Limit light exposure at night For the same reasons sunlight exposure during the day is important, limiting the exposure to light at night matters. This includes the blue light that is emitted from electronic devices. Try powering down 2 hours before bed to help improve your sleep quality.
Try to maintain a normal sleep schedule That circadian rhythm we discussed earlier thrives on consistency. Taking unexpected naps throughout the day or waking/going to bed at random hours is not doing your body any favors. Consistency with your sleep and waking times can help improve your long-term sleep quality.
Avoid caffeine late in the day Though a healthy intake of caffeine during the day can enhance focus and energy, its effect can make it difficult to unwind at night. Caffeine can stimulate your nervous system, which makes it difficult for your body to unwind the way it typically would at night.
Exercise during the day Exercise has numerous health benefits, and improving your sleep quality is another bonus. Sleeping can help reduce the amount of time it takes to fall asleep and reduce anxious thoughts that may keep you awake. However, try to avoid exercising too closely to bedtime as exercise tends to increase your alertness, which would be counterproductive to falling asleep.

Ultimately, poor sleep patterns can lead to obesity, lack of productivity, mental issues, and all sorts of other problems. Focusing on getting a good night’s sleep should be made a top priority for achieving optimal well-being.

5 Ways to Fight the Monday Blues

August 26, 2019 by Marcela De Vivo

We’ve all felt it. Sunday night, you’re beginning to come down from the joy of your weekend and reality that you have to go back to work the next day is starting to set in.

The feeling of stress or anxiety for the upcoming week is known as, “The Monday Blues,” and if you feel it, you’re not alone. Whether you don’t love your job or class, or you just feel overwhelmed with all that you have to accomplish within the week, its easy to feel negative emotions about the coming work week.

To help get you through, we’ve put together 5 tips to help you stay joyful and motivated throughout the week.

Prepare for Monday on Friday You don’t want to dedicate your allocated down time on the weekends to prepare for Monday. This can make Monday mornings particularly chaotic since a lot of the time is dedicated to playing “catch up” from work that has piled up over the weekend. To help ease some of the burden, make sure you are using the last hour of your day on Friday to prepare for Monday. When possible, hold off scheduling calls or meeting until later on in the day on Monday.
Practice good self-care principles The basics of self care should not be neglected, especially when you have a busy week coming up. This means getting a good night’s rest, eating a healthy breakfast, and fitting in some good physical activity. The better you feel on the inside, the more equipped you are to handle all the outside stresses that the day may throw at you
Add moments of joy to your schedule Your calendar should not only be full of work deadlines and appointments. Make sure that you schedule in fun with friends, work out classes, walks with your dog, or anything else that brings you joy. Even if you don’t have a ton of downtime to spare, there is always an opportunity to carve out some time for joy.
Tackle one task at a time Nothing is more overwhelming than seeing dozens of items on your to-do list. Ease the burden on yourself by working on one thing at a time. Not only will this help you stay organized, but it will also give you the feeling of satisfaction that comes along with checking items off the list.
Evaluate your situation While feeling the blues for a coming Monday sometimes is normal, continuously feeling dread or unhappiness to go into work is not. If you are constantly feeling anxiety about going into the office, it may be time to re-evaluate how happy you are in your position.