Date posted: 23/05/2017 2 min read

Using meditation to cope with stress

How to make time for, and use, meditation for stress management.

In brief

  • Meditation can enhance mental health and wellbeing.
  • Meditate to increase your focus, productivity and efficiency.
  • Five easy ways to fit meditation into your day.

Regular meditation can greatly enhance health and wellbeing, having a calming effect on the nervous system, boosting immunity and promoting cardiovascular health.  

Meditation allows the mind and body to rest, easing stress and anxiety, and helping bring the body back into a balanced state. Levels of cortisol (our stress hormone) in the body can be reduced through meditation.  

Meditation as a way of life

Meditation helps bring our brainwave pattern into an alpha state, which is a level of consciousness that promotes repair and healing. Meditation is also beneficial for calming and strengthening the mind, helping to improve concentration and lift mood by increasing the production of serotonin.  

Immune health is also boosted through meditating regularly. Meditation can increase the activity of good cells in the body.  Therefore meditation could reduce the risk of illness.  

Meditation is also good for the heart, by slowing down your heart rate and breathing, normalising blood pressure levels and encouraging your body to use oxygen more efficiently.  

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Five easy ways to fit meditation into your day

  • 1. Meditate in transit

    Whether you’re on the bus, a train or even a plane, being in an enclosed space offers a great opportunity to meditate. You can listen to guided visualisation meditations or breathing meditations on your smartphone via free apps.

  • 2. Meditate at your desk

    Plug your headphones into your computer and take a quick meditation break to clear your thoughts and refresh your mind.

  • 3. Meditation at lunchtime

    In your lunch hour, sit in a room or park for up to 20 minutes and meditate. Use a mantra, focus on your breath coming in and out, or download a guided meditation.

  • 4 Meditate in the car

    On your way to and from school, a sports event or to the shops, pop on a meditation CD and pick a track that is appropriate for the travel time ahead of you.

  • 5 Meditate in bed

    When the day is done, try a mindful meditation while lying in bed. Not only does this free the mind of stress, it relaxes the body and prepares you for a good night’s sleep. Alternatively, you can also listen to a guided meditation on your smartphone.

Promote a greater sense of calm and peacefulness

The application of meditation as a healing tool for both psychological and physiological conditions is infinite. 

All these practices can bring many benefits to your daily wellbeing, stamina and energy levels.

Oxygen is one of the most important nutrients in the human body, but often we breathe in a shallow and stressed way. So learn to breathe again and enjoy the flow of fresh energy.  

This article is part of an ongoing Balance column, offering tips for juggling work and life while also managing your mental and physical wellbeing. Have something you’d like this column to cover? Email the Acuity team now.     

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