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This is a guest post by Tiffany Fuller from illumiflow.

If you have heard of meditation, then you have probably also heard about its many benefits. Meditation is a go-to for relieving stress, anxiety, and depression. While meditation does support a healthy and happy mind, it also affects other aspects of your physical and mental well-being that might surprise you. Here is a list of five lesser-known benefits of meditation and why you should probably add a little mindfulness to your day.

Hair restoration

This one might surprise you, but meditation can support hair loss by decreasing stress and improving your sleep quality. Lack of sleep and exposure to high levels of stress can cause hair loss known as telogen effluvium. This type of hair loss can come suddenly but is reversible if you address your stress, and you can also use hair restoration methods like LLLT to restore your hair loss. LLLT is a holistic remedy for hair loss that uses light therapy to regrow your hair. This at-home treatment is easy to use, and you can even treat your hair loss while meditating. LLLT has also been clinically studied and works in as little as four months to help restore your hair loss. When you add the stress-relieving benefits of meditation, with the hair-boosting benefits of LLLT, you will love the results for both your body and your mind.

Drug relapse prevention

Although you should attend a rehabilitation program for long-term success, meditation is quickly growing as an essential part of addiction recovery. You see, meditation helps bring mindfulness and awareness to your thought patterns, trauma, and anxiety– which all play a role in addiction. Meditation also helps you move inward and truly understand why you make your choices and decisions. The internal thought process and added awareness can help you to rewire your brain and bring more intention to your daily decisions and thoughts.

Pain relief

If chronic pain is a part of your everyday life, then you should give meditation a try. An overview of several meditation studies has found that meditation positively impacts pain response and quality of life. Not only does meditation help reduce pain, but it also addresses the anxiety and depression that often come with chronic pain. Living with chronic pain is extremely debilitating, so these promising studies on meditation are a welcomed relief.

Combating memory loss

If you want to keep your mind sharp and your memory intact, give meditation a try. While you might be eating fish, doing crosswords, and improving your sleep for a healthy brain, meditation has earned its place in your memory improvement routine. While meditation might seem simple, it has been shown to improve memory loss, increase attention span, and even improve the memory of dementia patients.

Increasing grey matter

The frontal cortex of your brain is responsible for your reasoning and memory. The frontal cortex tends to shrink as you get older and the gray matter in your brain is less prominent. Gray matter helps your brain process information, so it’s essential to keep the amount of gray matter in your brain healthy and increase it as you age, not the other way around. Studies have found that meditation can increase gray matter, especially as you age. In fact, through the power of meditation, you could have the brain capacity as someone half your age. That’s pretty incredible!

How can you start meditating?

If you are new to meditation, you might be wondering where to start. In all honesty, the only good path to meditation is the one that works for you. We all have different needs, and the great thing about mindfulness is you can easily adapt your practice to support your personal goals. For some, that means twenty minutes or more per day, and for others, it might be meditation retreats and yoga studios. You see, mindfulness doesn’t really fit into a box. It is an open and easily personalized practice.

The good news is, there are many resources available out there to support your meditation journey, including these three tips:

1. Try just ten minutes a day of meditation.

You don’t need to spend hours a day meditating to reap the benefits. Just ten minutes a day is a great start. You can also break up this time between your morning and evenings or, of course, try out ten minutes all at once. It is a great idea to find a relaxing space in your home or even your backyard to establish your meditation routine. This helps your mind associate this space with relaxation and mediation.

2. Grab some essential oils to promote relaxation.

Essential oils have a relaxing effect on your mind, so they are a great way to set the tone for your meditation practice. You can grab just one scent or grab a blend for a more calming effect. As mentioned above, having a set space and even scent connected to your mediation practice is a great way to help your mind relax and dive deeper into meditation. You can also try incense, soft pillows, and dim lighting to get your mind in the mood for meditation.

3. Try a meditation app or video.

If you need a little extra support in your meditation practice, try out an app or video. Youtube has some great free options, and you can also try apps like Calm or Headspace to stick to a routine and have more guidance for your practice. Some people prefer quiet meditation; others like guided meditation, so try exploring the different options to see which one works best for you. You can also check out a local yoga studio, they often incorporate meditation and breathing into their yoga classes, and many offer meditation classes on their own too.

Now you know that meditation can not only help with a healthy mindset but also improve your memory, reduce dementia symptoms, and even support hair growth. While meditation is still being researched, these well-documented benefits are an amazing reason to add mediation to your wellness routine, just remember to take your time and stick to a mindfulness practice that feels good for you. Take the pressure off and explore everything meditation has to offer.

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