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Health Benefits of Morning Meditation

cartoon guy meditating at home

Mornings are a time when most people are rushing. Just getting out of bed and getting on with your day can feel like a lot. So, setting aside time for a consistent morning meditation routine may not feel like something you can do. However, numerous studies have shown that just a few minutes of mindfulness meditation in the morning can make you happier, healthier, and more successful. 

Please keep reading to learn more about how mindful meditation can help you lead a more meaningful and fulfilling life. 

Is it good to meditate immediately after waking up?

Yes, experts say that early morning is the best time to practice meditation therapies. This is the time of day when most households are quiet, allowing you to go into a deep meditative state. 

Morning meditation helps you start your day with a calm, focused mind so that you are centered the entire day and ready to take on the day’s challenges and make the most of the opportunities that come your way.

Why is meditation in the morning good? 

Research suggests that after just one week of daily morning meditation practice, you start to experience powerful benefits in both emotional and physical health, such as increased focus, more energy, improved sleep, reduced stress, and less pain

In the following paragraphs, we will describe some of the scientific benefits of daily morning meditation practice in more detail. 

What are the benefits of daily meditation practice?

Boosts Mood 

Early morning meditation can boost positive emotions such as optimism, contentment, happiness, relaxation, peace, hopefulness, and gratefulness.

Helps Control Negative Thoughts

One of the benefits of morning meditation is that it helps you gain better control over your thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Daily meditation practice can make it easier to control habitual thought patterns, especially the negative ones, and bring more positive energy into your day. 

Reduces Stress and Calms Your Mind

Daily meditation helps you start your day with a clear mind. It helps to calm your mind and reduce worry, stress, and anxiety

Meditation Activates the Parasympathetic Nervous System

The parasympathetic nervous system controls things like breathing rate, heart rate, and cortisol (stress hormone) levels. Morning meditation stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, slows your heart and breathing rates, and reduces cortisol levels. This results in stress reduction and a sense of relaxation and calm. 

Improves Productivity

Morning meditation benefits can extend to your work life. A consistent morning meditation routine helps you control your impulses and responses to temptations. This allows you to finish tasks more efficiently and do more during the day. 

Increases Concentration and Focus

Including even a few moments of meditation in your morning routine can help clear your mind and increase concentration and focus. You can say that a meditation morning routine is like having a mental spam filter activated that filters out wandering thoughts and distractions. 

Boosts Self-Esteem and Confidence

Regular meditation practice can help you filter out negative self-talk and lead to increased self-awareness and improved self-esteem and confidence.

Helps You Sleep Better

Meditation helps eliminate stress and anxiety, improves relaxation, reduces heart rate and blood pressure, and activates the parts of the brain that control sleep. These are all the positive ways by which meditation improves sleep quality. 

Improves Energy

One of the benefits of meditation is that it can improve energy levels, vitality, and zeal. Meditation helps you get better quality sleep and wake up feeling more energetic. A morning meditation routine also triggers the parasympathetic nervous system to release endorphins that energize you. 

Increases Relationship Satisfaction

Morning meditation reduces stress levels and improves emotional awareness. It helps you become more compassionate, mindful, and less judgmental in relationships. You can respond better to relationship stressors and communicate your emotions to your partner, family members, friends, and colleagues. 

Improves Your Sex Life

Daily meditation can help you develop patience, calmness, and sensitivity, translating into a more fulfilling sex life. 

Helps You Eat Cleaner

Sleep deprivation and stress are known causes of unhealthy eating habits. A morning routine that includes meditation can help reduce stress eating and cravings for unhealthy foods. 

Boosts Overall Health and a Sense of Well Being

All the scientific benefits of morning meditations listed above show that spending just a few minutes meditating in the morning can have huge health benefits and increase your sense of general well-being. Meditation has even been found to boost immune function and reduce physical pain, including chronic pain.

How long should I meditate to get morning meditation benefits? 

To get the various health benefits of meditation, you don’t have to spend much time meditating or wake up very early in the morning. Your meditative practice does not have to take up a lot of time at all—even a few minutes can lead to the release of energy-boosting endorphins that’ll make a big difference throughout the day. 

If you are not a morning person, start by dedicating just 5 minutes to morning meditations and work your way up to including 15-20 minutes of regular meditation in your morning routine.

Morning meditation practice: A few minutes can make a big difference

Research suggests that just 15 minutes of meditation has the same impact on your sense of well-being as an entire day on vacation. Consistent morning meditation can significantly benefit your physical and mental health. Best of all, daily meditation is very adaptable to different lifestyles. You can explore different meditation techniques to see what works best for you. 

If you’re convinced meditation is good for you but are not sure how to practice regular meditation, or you’re not a particularly disciplined person, a mindfulness meditation app is a good place to start. You can also sign up for professional meditation courses, where an instructor will guide you through the process.


References:

  1. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17439760.2019.1610480
  2. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2110998
  3. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.720824/full
  4. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2110998
  5. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/07-08/ce-corner