Why meditate? Here's ten reasons, backed by science

The low-down on the scientifically-proven benefits of a meditation practice.

While meditation techniques and the anecdotal evidence of their benefits have been passed down by meditators over centuries, scientific research into the benefits of a meditation practice are relatively new. Thanks to trailblazers like Jon Kabat Zinn and the team behind Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction programs, there is now some really exciting emerging evidence that proves that all those billions of meditators, over thousands of years, were on to something after all.

So, to save you trawling through the scientific research, here are a few highlights from systematic reviews on the benefits of meditation:

#1 - Stress reduction

This one you’re probably familiar with, it’s probably the reason you’re interested in meditation in the first place. There is a lot of research out there, studying a range of different meditation techniques/styles, that point to meditation’s ability to help counter the damaging effects of an overactive stress response. The effects seem to be both on the physical biomarkers of stress, such as reducing cortisol and blood pressure, as well as our perception and emotional reaction to stress.

#2 - Managing anxiety and depression

Research into the use of meditation in the treatment of anxiety and depressive disorders is promising, with some reviews indicating similar effectiveness of mind-body techniques to medication.These results should be used with caution though, and the best effects are likely to be in combination with other active treatments (medication, exercise, therapy).

#3 - Cardiovascular (heart) health

Meditation has been shown to have a beneficial effect not only on risk factors like high blood pressure and cholesterol, cortisol levels, and type 2 diabetes, but on your overall risk of dying from coronary disease. It’s believed that the stress-reducing impacts of meditation on heart health and reducing inflammation are the likely reason behind this.

#4 - Immunity and physical health

The evidence here is emerging with much more to be studied to work out exactly how meditation impacts on our immune system. The preliminary research points to meditation’s impact on reducing inflammation and improving the health and response of immune cells.

#5 - Sleep

The interaction between sleep and meditation is twofold. Firstly, regular meditation appears to improve the amount and quality of sleep (probably by reducing stress/worry, enabling the mind and body to relax into deep sleep), especially in older people who often have worse sleep. Being in a meditative state is also similar to sleep in that it allows the body to deeply rest and recover, which can help to mitigate some of the effects of poor sleep on day-to-day life (I see you, parents of newborns).

#6 - Brain function and cognition

Studies into meditation have shown that a regular practice can have positive effects on our cognitive skills, including attention, executive function, learning and memory. Changes to both the structure and function of our brain have been found, including increased grey matter in the cerebral cortex in areas relating to memory and emotional regulation. Meditation has also been shown to slow cognitive decline in older adults, including those with dementia.

#7 - Managing chronic pain

Chronic pain can have a devastating effect on the quality of someone’s life and is very difficult to treat, as often there are changes to the way the nervous system registers pain signals so that the pain response is super sensitive. Meditation, particularly mindfulness meditation, has been found to be an effective tool in helping to manage a range of chronic pain conditions including low back pain, migraine and fibromyalgia. The effects appear to cross across neural function, physical function and the psychological experience of pain.

#8 - Getting out of your head - self-awareness, perspective & insight

While it’s difficult to systematically research complex concepts such as these, there is evidence that meditation can help us to develop a better understanding of our thoughts and beliefs, which then gives us the ability to look at things from a different perspective and to better understand and regulate our emotions and behaviour. Different types of meditation do this in different ways.

#9 - Becoming a better person

Prosocial emotions such as kindness, empathy and compassion and helping behaviours are what makes our communities grow and thrive. Meditation has been shown to increase self-reported prosocial emotions as well as observed behaviour (such as real-world helping behaviour).

#10 - The fountain of youth? Meditation & healthy ageing

Meditation appears to promote healthy ageing across a range of areas, from delaying cognitive decline, preserving brain structure and function, mental and physical well-being, sleep quality and general quality of life. There is also some emerging evidence that meditation may actually help preserve the length of telomeres. Telomeres are the protective ends of our chromosomes and appear to be impacted by lifestyle choices which can lead to premature ageing. If you want to boost the age-busting benefits of meditation, make it a moving meditation or pair it with yoga!

So there you have it, 10 great reasons to get meditating.

The great thing about meditation is that pretty much anyone can do it, anywhere, and it usually doesn't require any special equipment.

Even a few minutes a day can make a difference to your mental, emotional and physical health, increasing your quality of life.

Not sure where to start? You can start with some simple guided meditations from the web or one of the meditation apps like insight timer or headspace. Or get in touch and we can find the right training course for you, to get you meditating with a practice that works.

Want to learn to meditate? Find out about upcoming courses and events, click here.

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I'd love to hear your experience of meditation. Let me know in the comments below if you have experienced any of the above benefits (or any others not on the list) for yourself.