How long should You Meditate? Discover the Mind Body Benefits of Daily Meditation. Plus, the surprisingly short amount of time it takes to see results!
How Long Should You Meditate?
It has been conclusively proven that meditation benefits our mental as well as physical health. The awareness around meditation has increased in recent times, and over 35 million Americans have genuinely considered practicing meditation. It helps reduce stress, combat depression and anxiety symptoms, and provide greater control over our emotions. However, just like working out daily needs discipline, one needs to practice meditation regularly to achieve results. It is what brings us to the next question – how long should you meditate? Are five minutes a day enough? Is there a threshold for a minimum amount of time one needs to practice meditation daily?
Clinically speaking, in Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction therapies, mediation is usually recommended for 40 to 45 minutes per day. Similarly, the recommended duration for Transcendental Meditation is around 20 minutes twice daily. Meditation-based intervention to calm the mind and body is recommended for 20 minutes a day. The breath focused meditation, namely, Shamatha mediation, often practised by Tibetan Monks, typically lasts for 10 to 15 minutes. Like in physical workouts, there is no magic figure as to how long you should meditate to get results. As long as you’re completely invested in meditation when practicing, and it challenges your mind, body, and spirit enough, it should be fine.
What does Science Say about How Long You Should Meditate?
Research conducted by Dr. Amish Jha showed that practicing meditation for 12 minutes a day showcased cognitive improvements. The amount of information available online can be confusing for a beginner. It is why it is important to taste the experience firsthand. In due course, you’ll be able to decipher what is benefitting you more. Some guided meditations last for one to five minutes, whereas some guided meditation sessions can last for more than an hour. With that said, it is completely fine if you wake up in the morning and meditate with a still mind for just a minute.
The perfect answer to how long you should meditate also depends on the purpose of practicing meditation. Some people want to enhance their overall well-being and lifestyle, while others try to overpower symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. Ideally, when mental health issues are concerned, one should try and lengthen their mindfulness and meditation practice to at least twenty minutes a day. It is the ideal timeline for the mind and body to align and achieve balance.
However, try out different durations and see what works best for you. Just because a 2 minute guided session was energizing doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give long meditation sessions a try. Moreover, typically most people meditate once a day in the morning, but that doesn’t mean you can’t meditate any other time throughout the day.
Meditation works like energizing pills as well as an anti-depressant. It would instantly calm you down, pull you together, reconcile your confidence, regulates your breathing pattern, and maintains optimal blood pressure. Meditation has become the second-most popular mind and body practice in the United States today! So, the question you should be asking is not how long you should meditate but have you meditated today?
How you can get started with meditation today.
Many meditation practices exist today, but which one is right for you? If you are just starting out, you might find a guided meditation series to be the best starting point. Guided meditations take the guesswork out of the practice. Just hit play and let the narrator help navigate your practice. More still, these meditations are tailored to a variety of subjects. Easily find guided meditations that focus on success, managing stress, loving-kindness, mindfulness and more!
Get started today with our free” Quiet Mind” guided meditation series. Shed stress with this deep relaxation series in as little as 5 minutes a day!
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