Mental health is important. Through proper self-care, mental health can be maintained and even boosted. An excellent self-care practice is meditation. When most people hear of mediation, they picture a person sitting cross-legged on the ground with their eyes shut, but this is not the only way mediation can occur. Meditation can be taking time out of the day to read a book you enjoy, it can be going for a relaxing car ride, it could be going for a walk, or it could be any way that enables you to clear your mind and find happiness. Incorporating meditation into your daily routine can help your mental health. Meditation can:
Reduce Stress
Day-to-day life can be pretty stressful. With busy schedules and many responsibilities, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed. Carving out a little time every day — or even every week — can help to ground yourself and clear your mind of current stressors. While meditation may not remove your stress entirely, it is an excellent way to give your mind a minute to catch up and rest.
Boost Confidence
Meditation often involves repeating mantras or positive words and phrases. Whether said in your head or out loud, these positive words can greatly improve your confidence and outlook on life. Reminding yourself of your value and abilities through meditation can help to boost your confidence and make you feel proud of yourself.
Encourage Emotional Health
When juggling many responsibilities in life, it can become difficult to remember to consider and express your emotions. Meditation gives you time to reflect on and process your emotions. It’s important for your mental health to deal with any feelings you might have and encourage happy emotions.
Increase Attention Span
Recently, society has adopted a very fast paced way of living. This had led to a decrease in individuals’ patience and their length of attention spans. Practicing meditation reminds you to slow down and enjoy every moment. It gives your brain a chance to “reset” and not expect immediate results. Meditation can increase your patience and attention span thus boosting your mental health.
Dr. Barbara Edwards, a Princeton M.D. internist practices at Penn Medicine Princeton Health in the Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center.