College students are prone to get stressed, overworked, or even burned out because of the many responsibilities they have to balance. We may all have 24 hours in a day, but it can still be quite exhausting to juggle all tasks at once without compromising our other roles as a person. With this, students need to be knowledgeable about how they can take a step back from everything to reflect, ponder, and meditate.
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Why Meditate?
Cardiologists have proven that meditation can work wonders, especially for human health. Dropping everything to focus and de-stress is something that most teenagers lack time for.
Meditation has been one of the recommended activities by doctors from different fields. It helps in many medical concerns, such as chronic pain, anxiety, and overall heart health. In addition to this, it also helps decrease metabolism, improves brain waves and neurological activities, and hones one’s learning and conscious perception.
Meditation is very accessible, and you can do it at your own time for free. Unlike other medical services, you have to pay a lot for such resources. However, through meditation, you can achieve balance and improve your quality of life without spending a dime or two.
“Meditation can be broadly defined as any activity that involves controlling your attention. Mindfulness is about focusing on whatever is happening moment-by-moment without being judgmental. In mindfulness meditation, you actively choose to control where your mind goes.” – Erin Olivo, licensed clinical psychologist.
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With stress taking over college student’s lives, it can be tricky to stop everything and de-stress through meditation. Although this is a valid thought, the effects of meditation can have a good impact on your well-being. Not only will you be more focused, but you will also feel more energized, elated, happy, and content. With these feelings present in your system, you will be able to perform and execute your daily tasks better.
Various Effects On A Student’s Life
Regularly practicing meditation can improve a student’s lifestyle, especially in a hectic environment such as college. By placing yourself in a more relaxed condition and lifestyle, things may turn out well for you and your academics. Here are some of its benefits.
Better Sleep Cycles
College can be massively draining for a lot of students, and meditation can help a lot with that problem. Instead of sleeping stressed or falling asleep while doing homework, it is recommended to take some time off and meditate when you start and end the day. Through meditation, you can improve your sleep cycles and calm your body in preparation for bedtime. In the morning, you will feel more rested, less groggy, and more active.
“I find that when my clients use mindfulness,” says Shelby Harris, PsyD, “it also helps them with stress and anxiety—two of the biggest reasons that people have trouble sleeping at night. She continues, “Even if you don’t suffer from insomnia, meditation before bed (and throughout the day) can help with both sleep quantity and quality.”
Improved Overall Health
The effects of meditation go beyond just physical health. Meditation can help improve certain aspects of the human body, such as mental health, emotional health, and psychological health. Coupled with proper exercise and diet, this can reduce stress and anxiety, alongside other negative emotions, making the body feel more at peace.
Dr. Nikki Martinez, PsyD, LCPC, says this about her meditation practice: “Just a brief meditation episode can rejuvenate us when we are feeling tired. Like biofeedback, meditation can help us to learn to control our own blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing. If we develop these skills, we can have control over the amount of stress we put on our body and quickly shut it down.”
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Efficiency In Academic Performance
Many scientific studies have proven that there is a correlation between students who take time off to have some quiet time and the effect on academic performance. It has shown that having this as a daily activity teaches the student how to handle stress better, resulting in a more efficient way of studying and improved academic excellence.
With many stressors present today, taking some time off and meditating will help college students. It can result in many positive effects on the mind and the body, as well as one’s grades. Hopefully, through this quiet time, you will see your lifestyle as a college student enhance greatly.