VeryWellMind: How Long Should You Meditate?

“Start with short sessions that you can later extend once you get comfortable with meditating. It can be tempting to try and meditate for hours at a time when you first start, but it is much better to practice consistently with shorter sessions than trying to push yourself too hard in the beginning. Ideally, you should always feel a deeper awareness of self and perhaps even be refreshed and relaxed after your meditation session, not drained or exhausted.”

“Remember that this is a lifelong practice. It will take a while for the mind and body to find comfort in the art of meditation, so don't feel bad if it takes a long time to experience the full benefits. In fact, this is extremely common, and you should never feel discouraged if it takes time to see results.”

“According to a 2018 study published in Behavioural Brain Research, meditating for 13 minutes a day for eight weeks led to decreased negative mood state, enhanced attention, working memory, recognition memory, and decreased state anxiety. The study also found that participants who meditated for eight weeks had more significant results than those who meditated for four weeks.”

“A beginner might want to start out meditating for at least five minutes a day. Starting with only five minutes will allow you to get used to it. It will also help you commit to your meditation practice without creating too much pressure, which helps reduce stress levels, making meditation more accessible for beginners.”
“... If you're a beginner and looking to reduce stress, then 10 minutes should be enough. However, if you're looking to focus more on calmness and increased concentration, then up to 30 minutes might be better as you'll have time for some light stretches as well as breathing techniques.”

“Ideally, it would be best if you meditated at least once a day. Consistency is the most important thing to focus on for beginners. Studies have shown that people who meditate daily are more likely to stick with their routine and benefit more from meditation than those who don't.”

“The best time of day to meditate depends on several factors, including your schedule. Make sure you choose a time when you feel best and are most likely to adhere to your routine.”

“If you live with anxiety, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a type of meditation that might help you. Developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, this research-backed program is designed to be completed for eight weeks and involves daily 45 minute sessions to help you reduce stress and anxiety.”

“In terms of how often you should meditate, it's up to you. Some people benefit from sitting once every day, while others prefer a short session in the morning and another in the evening.”

“In terms of how long it takes to change your brain, the research is still emerging. However, a study published in the journal Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews found that mindfulness training can actually cause physical changes in the brain when used over a period of time.”


Read the full article here.

#Meditation #Time #Mindfulness

My take:

While you’ll never hear me claim to be any sort of expert with or on meditation, it is a practice that I have been doing for several years now. For me, it was a daily practice until I felt it worked best for me as-needed. Time-wise, I started with 5 to 10 minutes per session. And soon thereafter, I worked my way up to 30 minutes all the way to an hour. I realize that does seem like a lot of time (after all, an hour is an hour), but there is a flow state that you can get into with meditation that really does blur the passage of time for me. I can tell you right off the bat that years of meditation has had a direct effect on my mindfulness. And all of this put together has allowed me to read thoughts and emotions as they come in (and before they nest) which in turn has made it much easier for me to choose my reactions to various stimuli.

A question for you all:

Have you had any personal experience with mindfulness or meditation? If you have, what have your experiences been like? If you haven’t, why not?