Mindfulness has long been espoused as a mood-boosting, depression-busting practice; but can some zen time do more than just bolster your mind? On the surface, this sedentary activity might seem like it can do little to shrink your gut, but research has found that flexing your mental muscle (i.e., meditation) might have a knock-on effect on those unwanted kilos.
Meditation for Weight Loss: How Does It Work?
According to a 2017 review of a large collection of studies, it was concluded that frequent meditation sessions could yield an average weight loss of around 4.2kg. The study tracked mass fluctuations in a group of 560 people who were tasked with engaging in mindfulness-based interventions to start chipping away at their extra padding. A year later, another study found that meditation could curb unhealthy eating behaviours, too.
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Further research on the topic found that meditation could be an effective tool for treating binge eating disorder, one of the biggest drivers of obesity.
It seems that the strength of mindfulness is down to tapping into an enhanced state of awareness. Considering that most meditation sessions will clear your head and get more in tune with your body’s wants and needs (including hunger), the findings of these two studies start to make a whole lot of sense. However, it should be noted that in most situations, researchers were cautious about the findings of their studies, stating that additional R&D was necessary to confirm their conclusions.
Other Benefits of Meditation
Mindfulness doesn’t just have the potential to tip the scales. Daily sessions can also help in all areas of your life, here’s how:
1. Mindfulness Can Reduce Anxiety
A large-scale study found that a variety of different kinds of mindfulness strategies can help decrease anxiety levels. For instance, a yoga session might yield instant stress relief. Keep in mind that this research found that participants seemed to benefit from the combination of both mindfulness and physical activity, so it’s worth signing up for a yoga class to reap the full rewards of meditation.
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2. Meditation Can Prevent Depression
With depression rates reaching new highs, meditation could offer a solution to this global health crisis. Research has found that those who meditated daily for eight weeks were able to grow the amount of gray matter in their hippocampus. Cool, but so what? Well, other studies have shown that those suffering from repeated episodes of depression tended to have less gray matter in this important area of their noggins.
3. Meditation Could Help You Sleep Better
A 2015 study analysed the sleeping patterns of a group of participants battling with sleep issues. Participants were either asked to do six weeks of regular meditation sessions or sleep hygiene education. The result? The mindful sleepers experienced few insomnia symptoms than their educated peers.