Reduce Stress with Meditation

When you’re facing an overwhelming to-do list, you may find it hard to justify doing nothing for 20 minutes. But studies prove that meditation may actually make you more productive by reducing stress, increasing your capacity to focus and decreasing your tendency to pursue distractions.

If you’re under stress, you need meditation, says Ronesh Sinha, M.D., an internal medicine physician at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. “I prescribe meditation to most people,” Dr. Sinha says, “but I may not always use the word ‘meditation.’ Depending on the person and his or her background, I may call it rest, an adult time-out, time to disconnect or whatever other word or phrase resonates.”

How Meditation Changes Your Brain

A recent study in Health Psychology shows an association between increased mindfulness (a form of meditation) and decreased levels of the stress hormone cortisol. A host of other studies indicate that a regular meditation practice can increase the brain’s plasticity, making meditators more tolerant to stress and more empathetic, creative and productive than non-meditators.

Dr. Sinha began prescribing meditation to his stressed-out patients after discovering that “studies showed meditation helps the part of your brain that allows you to plan, be creative and keep your emotions under control.” In addition, he says, the same part of your brain becomes stimulated and then exhausted by multitasking and digital overstimulation. Once that happens, the more primitive parts of your brain, which are associated with increased irritability, anxiety and aggressive behavior, take over.

A 2012 study examined the effects of meditation training on multitasking and found that those who completed an eight-week mindfulness meditation course reported fewer negative emotions, improved concentration, better task focus and less task switching than those who didn’t receive training.

"Meditation takes productivity and creativity to another level," Dr. Sinha says. "That’s why many CEOs and professional athletes, including Michael Jordan, Lebron James and Derek Jeter, now meditate to help them achieve peak performance."

How to Meditate

Meditation benefits anyone at any age. Dr. Sinha suggests the following tips for beginning your own meditation practice:

1. Find a quiet corner of your house or backyard where you won’t be distracted. Sit comfortably on a chair or on the ground for five minutes with your eyes closed. Breathe slowly through your nose, if possible. Inhale deeply. Then exhale slowly, taking two to four times longer to exhale.
2. Focus on an anchor word that means something to you (for example, “peace,” “calm,” “breathe”) and repeat it silently to yourself. Start with five minutes and then gradually increase. Longer sessions, ideally 20 minutes or more, lead to greater benefits.
3. Make meditation a part of your exercise routine. If you work out for an hour, set aside the end of your workout to sit quietly. The post-exercise period already calms you down, so you’ll find the transition to meditation easier.
4. Remember, there is no “perfect” method. Every meditation session offers benefits, so don’t judge yourself. Your mind will wander or chatter. Calmly bring it back to your anchor word and breathe through it. Sitting quietly for even a few moments calms your hyperactive nervous system; over time, this will profoundly benefit your health.

Meditation Apps

Turn your digital devices into meditation coaches rather than mindfulness enemies. Check out these apps for beginning guided meditation practices:

• Stop, Breathe & Think (iPhone and Android) offers short, guided meditations tailored to how you’re feeling.
• Headspace App (iPhone and Android) trains your mind with a variety of guided practices using proven mindfulness techniques.
• 10% Happier (iPhone) teaches meditation geared towards skeptics in a straightforward technique.
• Pranayama App (iPhone) guides you to synchronize your inhale and exhale with calming sounds.