How Meditation Improves Your Mental Health and Productivity

We live in a time where productivity and determination are needed to succeed and accomplish the things that are important to us. That applies whether you're self-employed, volunteer, work for someone else or are achieving goals around the home. All of these require you to maintain healthy work habits. That means knowing when and how to take a break to prevent burnout.
Luckily, there's a perfect way to destress and sharpen your mind so that you'll be ready to work when the time is right. It's a little something called meditation. There are numerous ways to do it and it can be done at any time during the day. For formal meditation, all you need are five solid minutes to yourself. Here are five ways that it can help.

Meditation Will Improve Your Memory

A huge part of meditation is strengthening the mind and building skills for self-regulation, resilience and being able to respond versus react. Doing so has tons of benefits, and one of them is improving how well you remember things. You'll no longer have to struggle so much to remember your to-do list.
Mindful meditation increases the blood flow in the brain, which results in stronger blood vessels for the cerebral cortex. Basically, with breath meditation, we practice following the breath as it passes through the body and use the physical sensations of breath to focus our attention on the present moment. If you practice this on a daily-ish basis, your memory will thank you for it.

You'll Find It Easier to Stay Focused

One of the most essential aspects of work is focusing on a task or series of tasks long enough to get something done. It sounds simple, but it's hard to put into practice. The human mind has a natural tendency to wander ~ 50% of the time! That's why it's considered a skill to sit down and focus attention on work long enough to be considered productive.
Pretty much any form of meditation can improve your ability to focus. After all, focusing is at the core of any meditative practice. All of them are about placing your attention on one thing, with the intention to bring the attention back to the object of attention (breath, body or the task itself). Meditate at least a few times a week and the act of single-tasking will become easier and more rewarding over time.

Your Imagination Will Flourish

Being an entrepreneur means that the success of your work or your business is entirely in your own hands. For example, freelance writers have to choose what to write about and who to submit it to before they can get consistent gigs. It takes a lot of imagination and creativity to know what kind of article will sell well and how to write that article.
It's a good idea to meditate before any serious writing or work sessions. Doing so will stabilize your mind and separate you from the stress that's poisoning it. It's also easier to come up with good ideas when your mind is clear. Your creativity will be at an all-time high then, which is exactly what meditation helps with.

It's a Great Way to Get Better Sleep

Good sleep can be so rare that it feels like a myth. It's unfair to work all day and fall asleep expecting good rest, only to wake up feeling as exhausted as you did the day before.
A session of meditation before bed is the perfect way to relax your mind and body, and lull you into the deepest sleep possible. It also prevents your mind from getting stuck in replaying the day or ruminating about tomorrow’s to-do’s. It's so much easier to sleep with a clear mind than a muddled one. Doing so will increase the quality of sleep as well. So try practicing breathing exercises before bed to get yourself some better sleep.There are many great sleep meditations in most mindfulness apps.

It'll Unclog Your Brain

Everyone's brains function a bit like a computer. All computers have memory banks that get filled up over time. When they get too full, the best thing to do is to clear them out. After that, your computer's performance will drastically increase.
Our minds work in a similar fashion. You can't just clear out your memories, nor should you want to, but you can get rid of the brain fog that makes stress so unbearable. A good bout of meditation will unclog your brain and make it easier to function when you've got a lot on your mind.

In Conclusion

If you've been unhappy with your mental state, meditation might be what you're looking for to improve it. Meditation is honestly a fantastic way to offset all of the negative side effects that come with being stuck in the Doing Mode of mind and constantly being productive.
Fortunately, there are so many different meditations to choose from. If you don't like the standard breathing exercises, there are plenty of other methods to choose from. Check out our website for many free meditations. Eventually, you'll find the one that produces the best results for you.