Mindfulness and Meditation…Do They Really Work?

Well…yes, they do really work. The fact is, science shows definite health benefits for people who use mindfulness and meditation.

Before we dive in, let’s just make sure we’re on the same page when we say “mindfulness” and “meditation.”

“Meditation” is the ancient practice of connecting the body and mind to become more self-aware and present. It’s often used to calm the mind, ease stress, and relax the body.

Practicing “mindfulness” is one of the most popular ways to meditate. It’s defined as “paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally.”

Mindfulness meditation is well studied in terms of its health benefits. I’m going to talk about a few of them below, and refer to it as “mindfulness” for the rest of the post.

The link between mindfulness and health = stress reduction

Have you heard the staggering statistics on how many doctors’ visits are due to stress? Seventy-five to ninety percent!

So, if you ask me, it makes a ton of sense that anything that can reduce stress can reduce health issues too.

Mindfulness reduces inflammation, reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and improves sleep. All of these can have massive effects on your physical and mental health.

I’ll briefly go over the research in three main areas: mood, weight, and gut health. But know that the research on the health benefits of mindfulness is branching into many other exciting new areas too.

Mindfulness for mood

The most immediate health benefit of mindfulness is improved mood.

In one study, people who took an 8-week mindfulness program had greater improvement in symptoms according to the “Hamilton Anxiety Scale.” They were compared with people who took a stress management program that did not include mindfulness. It seems that the mindfulness training was key to lowering symptoms.

Other studies show that mindfulness has similar effects as antidepressant medications for some people with mild to moderate symptoms of depression.

While mindfulness isn’t a full-fledged cure, it can certainly help to improve moods.

Mindfulness for weight

Studies show that people who use mind-body practices, including mindfulness, have lower BMIs (Body Mass Indices).

How can this be?

One way mindfulness is linked with lower weight is due to stress-reduction. Mindfulness can reduce stress-related and emotional overeating. It can also help reduce cravings and binge eating.

Another way it can work for weight is due to “mindful eating.” Mindful eating is a “non-judgmental awareness of physical and emotional sensations associated with eating.” It’s the practice of being more aware of food and the eating process. It’s listening more deeply to how hungry and full you actually are. It’s not allowing yourself to be distracted with other things while you’re eating, like what’s on TV or your smartphone.

People with higher mindfulness scores also reported smaller serving sizes of energy-dense foods. So it seems that more mindful eating = less junk.

Mindfulness about food and eating can have some great benefits for your weight.

Mindfulness for gut health

Recent studies show a link between stress, stress hormones, and changes in gut microbes (your friendly bacteria and other critters that help your digestion).In theory, mindfulness-based stress reduction could be a way to help prevent negative changes in the gut’s microbes.

Also, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) seems to be linked with both stress and problems with gut microbes. In one study, people with IBS who received mindfulness training showed greater reductions in IBS symptoms than the group who received standard medical care.

The research here is just starting to show us the important link between stress, gut health, and how mindfulness can help.

Conclusion

Science is confirming some amazing health benefits of the ancient practice of mindfulness meditation. For moods, weight, gut health, and more.

Do you regularly include it in your life? If so, have you seen benefits? If not, would you consider trying it?

Let me know in the comments below.

Relaxing Herbal Teas

There are many relaxing herbal teas that would be great after meditation.

Try any of these by steeping in boiling water:

  • Green tea (has a bit of caffeine, or you can choose decaffeinated green tea)
  • White tea (also has a bit of caffeine, or you can choose decaffeinated white tea)
  • Rooibos tea
  • Peppermint tea (or steep fresh peppermint leaves)
  • Ginger tea (or steep slices of real ginger)

Serve & enjoy!

Tip: You can add a touch of honey if desired.

 

BONUS Guided Meditation “Recipes” (videos, apps & podcasts)

How to Meditate video

How to Meditate in One Minute or Less Every Day video

Calm App

Insight Timer

Headspace App (free 10-day trial)

Daily Meditation Podcast

Hay House Meditations Podcast

 

References:

About No Limits

No Limits Fitness provides step-by-step programs to help busy adults get the body they’ve always wanted, without restrictive diets or time-consuming workouts, so they can lead more fulfilling lives. Life is a much better experience in a strong, healthy body!

Recent Posts

By Chava Cruz 07 Mar, 2024
There are six fundamental movement patterns that every good program will include. Push, pull, hinge, squat, lunge, and loaded carry. These are all everyday movements that our bodies need in order to function more efficiently. Push Incorporating a variety of push exercises like the bench press, shoulder press, triceps presses and push-ups will help strengthen your upper body muscles. These exercises primarily target our chest, shoulders and triceps. Don’t want the wings under your arm that shake real bad when you wave? Start pushing.  We use push movements with tasks as simple as pushing doors open and pushing grocery carts to more difficult tasks like lifting ourselves up from a seated position. Pull Pull exercises are the counter to push, creating a balance. They primarily target our back, biceps and rear delts. It is crucial to have just as many pulls in your plan to avoid injury and overuse of your upper body muscles. Some popular pull exercises include bent over rows, single arm row, lat pull downs and trx rows. Aside from your muscles getting stronger, these exercises will improve your posture and help you pick things up like kids and animals. No kids or animals? You still have to pick up groceries or laundry, nice try. Hinge Hinging is something we do often without realizing it. It primarily targets our hips, lower back, glutes and hamstrings. Some of the most common hinge exercises are deadlifts, kettlebell swings, and hip thrusts. Performing hinge movements will help improve your stability, flexibility and hip mobility on top of strengthening your lower body. The more mobile and flexible you are, the easier it is to move. Hinge exercises will also stabilize your core muscles which is the root of everything. Daily tasks that mimic the hinge movement are bending over to lift heavy objects and bending to prepare to sit or stand. Squat Similar to pull being the counter to push.. The squat is the counter to hinge. You shouldn’t have one without the other. It’s kind of like having a plate of food without the silverware. You could do it, it’s just going to get messy. Squats primarily target the quads, hamstrings and glutes. Some of the most common types of squats include goblet squat, back squat, front squat, overhead squat and sumo squat. Performing these exercises will strengthen your lower body muscles and improve your core and stability. Daily tasks that involve squats include lifting heavy objects (after you’ve performed a hinge to go and get it), sitting down and standing up. Lunge Everyone's favorite, lunges. Aside from creating rock hard quads, the lunge is essential to a functional body and injury prevention. Reverse lunges, forwards lunges, lateral lunges and split squats are all examples of what you can incorporate into your program. Imagine falling and not being able to get back up. Not everyone wants to rely on life alert. Practicing and staying consistent with lunges will help allow you to avoid a fall in the first place because of the stability they create, but also to be able to actually get yourself up off of the ground when you need to. Loaded Carry Ah, loaded carries. You either hate them or love them but either way you’re going to be stuck doing them at some point. Loaded carries create a strong core which in return helps with your balance and stability. They will also improve your grip strength. Carrying groceries from the store to your car becomes a lot easier the more you practice these. Different types of carries include farmers, suitcase, racked, overhead, and mixed. We carry things every single day and we do it in different ways depending on the object. Include a variety of carries in your program so you’re prepared to carry anything. Conclusion Performing all six of these movement patterns every week will ensure that you are moving better day to day. The better we function and move properly, the better we feel and the healthier we will be. If you would like to meet with one of our experienced personal trainers to discuss incorporating these 6 movement patterns in your training program, click on the button below to schedule a free consultation.
By Juan Perez 16 Feb, 2024
We can totally relate. Almost everyone who has access to a smart watch or fitness tracker has at some point assessed the quality of a workout by the number of calories burned. You’ve pushed yourself to finish a difficult workout and that number is just staring you in the face. And you’re first thought is…that’s it? Despite my best efforts, on a very regular basis I’ll hear someone comment with a disappointing tone about the number of calories they just burned. Fitness wearables on the whole are positive. These devices provide valuable biofeedback and insights into our activity. People wearing fitness tracking devices tend to focus on increasing their healthy activities. I’m a huge advocate for heart-rate training and my intention with this post isn’t to discourage the use of fitness tracking devices. I do however want to raise public awareness that Calories Burned is the worst metric you could track with your workouts. Now that I’ve made my claim, here are the top 5 reasons why you should stop paying attention to the number of calories burned in your workout. Fitness Trackers Don’t Accurately Measure Energy Expenditure In 2017, Stanford University studied the seven most popular fitness devices. While six out of the seven measured heart rate within 5% accuracy, none of the devices accurately measured energy expenditure (calories burned). The most accurate device was off by 27% and the least accurate was off by 93%. These devices are based on a formula that doesn’t take into account your individual metabolic rate, the muscles you’re working or the weight you’re using. In early 2024, we had someone wear two fitness trackers while working out on equipment that also calculated calories burned. The reported calories burned on the fitness trackers differed by more than 300 and the fitness equipment was significantly lower than both wearables. Burning More Calories Doesn’t Mean Better A well-rounded fitness program will include both strength training and conditioning that incorporates both high and low intensities. Focusing exclusively on maximum calorie burning would be the nutritional equivalent of only eating foods with higher amounts of Vitamin C. There are other vitamins, micronutrients and macronutrients needed for optimal nutrition. Imagine driving your car in such a way that you maximized the RPMs of your engine. You wouldn’t expect the engine to last and you shouldn’t drive your body that way either. Strength Training Matters Too Focusing on calories burned usually leads to focusing on conditioning (commonly referred to as cardio). For reasons mentioned earlier, fitness trackers don’t capture the entire picture when it comes to strength training. Adding lean muscle to your frame with strength training will improve your metabolic rate which allows you to burn more calories on a daily basis. While conditioning workouts tend to burn more calories in a given workout, this comparison doesn’t tell the entire story. Conditioning workouts won’t help you increase your lean muscle tissue or the number of calories you burn when you don’t workout. This is one of the reasons strength training should be included in your fitness routine. Improved Efficiency Results In Less Calories Burned When you regularly perform a given exercise, you tend to improve your efficiency with that exercise. As your movement quality improves, your body requires less energy to perform the same amount of work. If calories burned is the ultimate metric, you’re looking at continually increasing the amount of exercise you do just to burn the same number of calories. Someone who has been exercising for less than one month will burn significantly more calories performing walking lunges (or any other exercise) than the person who has been exercising for 5 years. The goal is to get better so you can improve your efficiency and movement quality. The Constrained Model of Total Energy Expenditure In his book Burn, Herman Pontzer describes his findings from research on the Hadza, a tribe of hunter gatherers. His research has blown the lid off everything the fitness industry THOUGHT it knew about burning calories. It turns out that we burn calories in a very narrow range...regardless of our physical activity. Hunter-gatherer tribes were only burning a few hundred calories per day more than a sedentary desk jockey. When we burn additional calories with our training, the body takes away energy from other areas such as reproduction, digestion, recovery, etc. You can't burn a never-ending amount of calories in a day because it requires both time AND energy to turn your food into the ATP your body can use as fuel. This also explains why simply adding more exercise doesn't equate to weight loss...even when caloric intake is controlled. What To Focus On Instead of Calories Burned As mentioned earlier, we are huge advocates of heart rate training, and we recommend using Morpheus. These devices take several metrics into consideration in determining your daily recovery score which then impacts your heart rate zones for the day. Morpheus also provides you with weekly targets for the 3 heart rate zones. This ensures you are building an aerobic base without compromising your recovery with too much higher intensity work.  Training at the right volume and intensity for you as an individual produces the best results with the Minimum Effective Dose.
By Juan Perez 08 Feb, 2024
Accountability Accountability is something adults often forget we need just as much as children and teenagers do. The older we get, the less people we have holding us accountable for our own actions. That might just be your missing piece. In health and fitness, most people need someone to hold them accountable along the way because it’s easy to make excuses or blame our busy schedules and have no one to check us. Here are a few different ways to stay accountable in order to reach your health and fitness goals. Set Specific Goals Sit down and figure out what specific goals you want to accomplish. When you set your goals, make sure they are measurable and realistic. Track your progress and be considerate of any time frames you give yourself. Want to workout 5 times a week but can’t even get to the gym consistently three times a week? You are already setting yourself up to fail. Want to run a half marathon at the end of the month but haven’t been running at all? Need I say more… Oftentimes people assume if they dive headfirst that’s the only way they are going to succeed. When the truth is quite the opposite. It’s like when a smoker tries to quit smoking cold turkey. It just doesn’t work. Set a plan and take the steps necessary to achieve it. You can’t skip steps and expect the reward. Seek Support Support from friends, roommates, family or even co-workers can help keep you on track. If you live with others, their lifestyle is likely to affect yours. Having the support of people within your household will only make your journey easier. If you need to change your nutrition habits, living with people who buy junk food at the grocery store is going to make things a lot more challenging for you. Having support and partnering up with a co-worker or friend could be a good way to stay accountable. Accountability partners work together on similar goals; sometimes people just need that buddy with them for an extra push. However, this can go downhill quickly when one drops off. If your friend has been having just as much trouble as you have been, partnering up is not going to make the difference. Remember we want to set ourselves up for success, so find someone who’s already motivated and doing it themselves. You are the average of the people you spend your time with. Surround yourself with people that bring out the best in you. Hire A Coach If you’ve tried the points mentioned above and failed, it may be time to find a quality trainer. And be sure to research before you go picking one. There’s plenty of fish in the sea. But that doesn’t make them all great for you. Hiring a coach is arguably the best way to stay accountable when you are serious about your fitness goals. A good coach will call you if you don’t show up for a session. A good coach will check to see if you did your “homework” whether that be filling out your nutrition log or doing the at home workouts you said you would do. A good coach will do everything in their power to keep you in check… And that makes all the difference. Nobody wants to disappoint others. Many people just like to know that they have someone else who cares about them and their goals. The accountability and push a coach can give you is sure to set you on the best track to achieving those milestones. If you want to see if the personal trainers at No Limits Fitness would be a good fit for you, click the button below to schedule a free consultation.
Show More
Share by: