The Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation
Let’s talk meditation! This April sees the launch of our Better Balance Technique, in partnership with Business Mindfulness Coach Diane Titterton of Time To Flourish. According to a recent study by Hubstaff, 58% of employers will continue to work flexibly beyond the pandemic. Which means employers will need to continue to find different ways of keeping their employees engaged. The Better Balance Technique combines productivity methods to help people remain productive when they are working; with mindfulness and meditation to help people switch off from work and enjoy their home life. Bringing a better balance to people’s lives.
What are the benefits of meditation and how does it work?
Meditation has so many amazing benefits. Studies have shown that mindfulness meditation helps us to manage our thoughts and emotions better and increase our clarity and focus which in turn improves our ability to solve problems. The benefits of meditation are evident within a few weeks of practice.
Switches off the stress response
When our body moves into stress response the amygdala sends messages to the rest of the body to ensure the person is able to ‘fight’ or ‘flee.’ The adrenaline impacts us physically with a faster heartbeat, increasing blood pressure. Breathing becomes more rapid and our senses are heightened. The release of cortisol helps to restore the body’s depleted energy stores but when stress is experienced on an ongoing basis this can inadvertently lead to weight loss and a build-up of fat tissue. Cortisol can also affect your sleep having a direct impact on your physical and emotional wellbeing too.
Meditation helps the body switch out of the harmful stress mode and instead switch on the parasympathetic (rest and digest) system which allows our bodies to rest; effectively digest our food and lower our breathing rate.
Helps concentration and reduces anxiety
Meditation slows down the chattering mind and makes space to fully focus on the task in hand, or to enable the mind to rest and recharge. By bringing focus back to the present moment- rather than worrying about the future- mindfulness meditation can significantly reduce anxiety.
Improves cognitive functioning
Meditation actually builds gray matter in the brain. This builds clarity, focus and reasoning. More than ever in the “24/7” world within which we live, is it important to be able to focus. Our attention is constantly being pulled in lots of directions. By building gray matter we are enhancing our cognitive functioning. This makes us more productive and more focussed which allows organisations to see great benefits in the workplace of mindfulness meditation too.
Improves sleep
For a number of reasons sleep is improved through meditation. Quieting the mind helps to promote an inner sense of calm and helps us to relax in doing so. Cortisol stimulates wakefulness and alertness. With a quiet mind and the reduction in cortisol production through meditation, better sleep is promoted. In a 2008 Study at Stanford University Medical Centre, they found meditation could cut the wake time of insomniacs by at least 50%
Andy Puddicombe, a monk and co-founder of Headspace App has a great TED Talk called All It Takes is 10 Mindful Minutes https://www.headspace.com/andy-puddicombe
The Better Balances Technique combines Mindfulness Meditation with productivity techniques in a unique blend to help people be more productive while they are in work, and more importantly be able to switch off from work and regain a better work and home life balance.
To find out more, or to request our Better Balance Technique brochure please email Jennifer.rawlinson@flourishinmind.co.uk or check out some of our other blogs here for more about our work!
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