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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Ohio U chapter.

Meditation is a great way to help relieve stress, stay focused, and more. It can also help benefit your mood, relationships, and self-compassion. After one of my professors introduced my class to guided meditation, I found it to be a great way to relax. Guided meditation is a type of meditation that is led by an instructor and is a great way to relieve stress. This is different than unguided meditation, which is where you meditate without an instructor. While this can be a great way to meditate, I found that having someone guide me through it helped me reach relaxation easier. There are a lot of different ways to access guided meditation online through different apps like Headspace, which is free. Spotify also offers different guided meditations as well. I started using Headspace which can be customized to what resources you need. Here are some of the great benefits that come with meditating:

Stay focused

Meditation can help you stay focused as you learn more about your mind. Meditation is found to help you stay on task and concentrate better.

Release stress

Taking time out of your day to simply clear your head and breathe can do a lot to help with stress and anxiety. Spending five to ten minutes a day where you don’t focus on what is going on in your life can help you not feel overwhelmed. Meditation also acts as a great way to manage stress and can be a great resource to use.

Improve sleep

Meditation can improve your quality of sleep and helps lower blood pressure. Meditations that focus on breathing can be a great way to calm your mind.

Meditation also works best the more you do it, rather than how long you do it. It is also recommended to pair it with a daily activity to help you remember and easily add it to your daily routine. Once I got into the habit of meditating, it became a great part of my day. Getting started is easy, but making it a part of every day can be difficult. I want to encourage you to start meditating and see the positive effects it can have in your life.

Elizabeth Cutler is a sophomore English Education major at Ohio University. In her free time Elizabeth enjoys writing, hammocking, painting, and spending time with her dog.