Research Benefits of Meditation

If you are anything like me, focusing on the present moment and staying on the task at hand can be incredibly difficult. Too often we are ruminating on past experiences or anticipating upcoming events, without realizing what is happening right in front of us.

Meditation is a way of training the mind to stay focused in the present moment. In fact, many experts refer to meditation as “exercise for the brain”, whereby the more it is practiced, the more benefits there are.?

Is it any surprise that celebrities including Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Katy Perry, and Oprah Winfrey are avid meditators, as well as former professional athletes Derek Jeter and Ricky Williams. Even Google has a meditation room at its main headquarters where staff can go to reset during the day.?

If you still need some convincing about the benefits of meditation, please keep reading…

Many people have the misconception that meditation is about “clearing the mind” or pushing away thoughts and feelings that come up. However, meditation is quite the opposite. It is actually used to notice our thoughts, feelings, and sensations, but not get swept up by them as we normally would.?

We all have a “monkey mind” of non-step internal dialogue that rarely quiets. To simply turn it off during meditation is nearly impossible. However, the practice of meditation allows us to exercise the parts of our brain that regulate our attention and allow us to refocus our attention on thoughts that are productive, rather than destructive. In other words, when we practice regulating attention during meditation, we are more able to regulate our thoughts during everyday life.?

The practice of meditation is becoming much more mainstream and is being adopted in nursing and medical school environments to reduce stress among students. There are also some veterinary schools offering mindfulness and meditation electives!

The reason for this is that there is ample research demonstrating the benefits of a regular mindfulness and meditation practice. Researched benefits among adults include:

• positive response to perceived stress
• improved attention span
• enhanced emotional intelligence and self-awareness
• reduced negative emotions and worrying
• increased emotional stability?
• enhanced curiosity and openness to new experiences?
• increased immunity and recovery from viruses?
• reduced chronic pain
• reduced depression and anxiety
• improved cardiovascular health
• improved sleep and energy

There is also research in the human and veterinary healthcare fields demonstrating the benefits of a regular mindfulness or meditation practice. These include:

• enhanced focus and calm among human nurses
• improved clinical performance and response to patient needs among human nurses
• increased self-awareness and self-care practice among medical students, physicians and nurses?
• reduced risk of professional burnout among human healthcare providers
• decreased perceived stress among veterinary school faculty and staff?
• lower depression and anxiety scores among veterinary school students?

If you are convinced of the benefits (or remain uncertain) and want to try it for yourself, please read this month’s blog post “Ten Tips for Starting a Meditation Practice ”. ?

To learn more about the many researched benefits of meditation and all the ways that you can start your own regular practice, please join me on Wednesday May 18th, 2022 (11:00 - 11:30 AM Mountain Time / 1:00 - 1:30 PM Eastern Time) for a Wellness Wednesday Live Session called “Meditation for Veterinary Skeptics”. You can register for this session via Zoom or join Facebook Live . The episode will also be recorded for those who cannot attend live, so please subscribe to my YouTube channel for notification when the recording is uploaded.?

I hope you are convinced to try meditation if you do not practice already and I look forward to hearing how it goes!

Sincerely, Marie?

PS - It’s not too late to join the 30-Day Mindfulness Challenge powered by CommuniVET. In addition to daily posts and biweekly Q&A sessions, participants are eligible for weekly book draws and a 60-minute one-on-one coaching session with me! To participate, visit: https://www.facebook.com/groups/30daymindfulnesschallenge .?