Stress, anxiety, depression and lack of sleep are all common issues among college-aged students. Now, what if I told you there was a way to improve such issues just by taking a simple ten to fifteen minutes out of your day to sit with yourself? Yes, I am talking about meditation.
Ultimately meditation is building a muscle in our brain which allows us to reconnect with life while establishing a presence. We live in a society where shit is always happening around us, but it is our job as human beings to appreciate life’s small moments. In college, we’re constantly overwhelmed between classes and homework, crowded dorm areas and even extracurricular activities all on top of current stressors. By adding these few minutes into our daily routines, we can benefit greatly.
Many wonder where do they start? Meditation is an individualistic process which means in order to find what works best for you, you must go through trial and error. Well, first there are many types of meditation; mindfulness meditation which allows us to be present with our thoughts, transcendental meditation with an assigned mantra, breath awareness meditation and the most common of them all is guided meditation. Beginners often start with guided meditation. This is a process in which an expert leads you. Many people struggle with how to start, so this is a great way to start incorporating meditation into your day. There is a wide range of platforms from which you can access experts. Some of my personal favorites are Guide to Meditation, a Netflix series, The Yoga Bunny’s podcast, on spotify, and the app Headspace, which gives you access to many experts.
Now you might ask, why would I do this? What will I gain?
Well, meditation has been used worldwide for decades amongst many cultures and religions. It has recently gained popularity as a usage of conventional medicine. The abundance of health benefits that stem from this process can especially help college students in and out of the classroom. Some ways in which we see benefits within the classroom are longer attention spans by training our brains to be present, improving our memory and having a higher academic performance. On the other hand, there is an abundance of benefits outside the classroom such as improved sleep patterns, coping with symptoms associated with mental disorders and improved concentration. This allows many individuals to feel less anxious and enhances both their physical and mental well-being.
In the end, we are all humans just trying to get through every day, so just take a second to be still. Something so simple can improve our lives extensively.