In today’s hectic lifestyle, finding time for your health and overall well-being is difficult, but that doesn’t mean we can’t pick up new healthy habits for our good. Meditation is one such practice that has helped many people. If done right, it can do wonders for you too.
Regular meditation practice helps us to cope with difficult situations. The practice relieves us from day-to-day physical and mental stress and brings the clarity and focus needed to carry out daily activities easily.
You can also incorporate meditation practice as a regular habit with a little patience and willingness.
When is the Best Time to Meditate?
The best time to meditate can differ from person to person, as there is no right or wrong time to meditate and when you meditate, it depends on your lifestyle, daily routine, and responsibilities.
The ideal time to meditate is determined by what benefits you want to gain from your meditation practice1. You can also sit for meditation at different times of the day and see what works for you.
1.1. Morning Meditation
Morning hours are one of the best times for self-care practices. There are almost no distractions.
The mind is fresh, well-rested, and relaxed after a night’s Sleep. One is not yet thinking about to-do lists and other daily responsibilities.
Practicing morning meditation during the early hours can reap maximum benefits. You have the clarity and focus needed for a mindful meditation session. The quiet early morning hours help you focus and bring clarity to concentrate on meditation fully.
Morning meditation can help set a calmer and relaxed mood for the rest of the day and help you better prepare to deal with different situations with ease.
Studies have shown that mantra-based meditation and inhale-in and exhale-out meditation in the morning can positively impact mental health and decrease hypertension.
1.2. Lunch Hour
Sometimes, it isn’t easy to find personal time due to the morning rush hours and busy office schedules. A lunch break can be an apt way to meditate in such a case.
If you are in the office, step away from your desk or cubicle to find an empty office room to meditate, and if you work from home, try to find an open and quiet corner in your house.
Midday meditation can help you prepare and re-energize you for the day ahead. Nowadays, many offices provide meditation or yoga rooms for employees to recharge and de-stress2.
Giving employees time and space to decompress after morning rush hours can greatly enhance their creativity and efficiency.
Guided meditations can be a great tool for afternoon meditations, and you can also set a timer to use during the lunch break.
1.3. After Work
For most people, work is the most stressful part of their lives, and they feel the most tensed and drained at the end of a workday.
Due to different challenges, meetings, and other tasks, a lot of physical and mental tension accumulates during the day, which can lead to compulsive and unhealthy habits like overeating and lack of physical activity.
To decompress and unplug yourself, even a short meditation session3 can bring immense benefits and help you switch from work to personal life. It can improve your mood and recharge you to have a good time with your family and loved ones.
With regular practice, it can transform your personal life. Otherwise, work-life tensions4 can seep into your quality personal time. Over time, the much-needed clear boundary between the two is blurred.
Mindfulness meditation at work can prevent burnout one may feel when overworked. It can center your mind, saving you from procrastination and having negative associations with your work or workplace.
1.4. After a Workout or Exercise
Mini meditations after a workout session can be a boon. One may feel exhausted after hitting the gym, but you can center and realign yourself with meditation. It will help calm your nerves, boost stamina, and aid muscle building and recovery.
A few minutes of meditative state can reduce chronic pain and lessen the fatigue one may experience after exercise.
By doing so, you consecutively take care of your physical and mental well-being. Meditating in the same corner as you work out will help anchor the relaxed response to the space you use for the workout area.
1.5. Evening Meditation
As evening approaches, all day’s work and responsibilities have been handled.
Meditating in the evening can help you wind down for the day and relax. It can be especially beneficial if you contemplate the day’s events or have trouble falling asleep.
Meditating in a quiet space before bedtime has significant benefits and can lower your blood pressure and decrease your heart rate, which is necessary if you want to fall asleep easily. It can also improve your sleep quality.
A better sleep quality makes you feel well-rested and refreshed the next day. Studies have shown that mindfulness meditation before bedtime can improve sleep quality in people with insomnia5 or sleep issues.
You can use meditation before bed to practice gratitude and reflect on the entire day’s events. Bedtime meditation can prove to be a healthy habit for people who have chronic insomnia and other sleep disorders.
1.6. When You Feel Stressed
Practicing meditation can bring enormous benefits when feeling stressed or going through difficult life situations.
It can assist you in making conscious choices rather than being compulsive and overwhelmed by things bothering you.
Developing a new habit of meditating when tense or feeling anxious can make you more self-aware. It can make you more active and responsible instead of passive and avoiding difficult situations.
In the long run, this can help you reset your nervous system6 and not enter a fight-or-flight instinct, thus making you more aware of the present moment instead of thinking about the past or the future.
2. Benefits of Meditation
The ancient practice of meditation has proven to be a very potent tool with many benefits. People use meditation as one of the ways to become the best versions of themselves.
2.1. Enhances Ability to Focus
Meditating can help develop resilience and inner strength and boost focus if done right. Some people need help concentrating on the task and find that their mind wanders off repeatedly.
Meditation can increase your attention span and make you more efficient in performing different tasks.
2.2. Regulates Emotional Health
Meditation can help regulate emotions, benefiting interpersonal relationships, social anxiety, and overall emotional health.
2.3. Boosts Immune Function
When practicing meditation, your mind and body become calm and relaxed. This activates the immune system and decreases cortisol production.
The immune system can then perform necessary vital processes in the body.
2.4. Helps Reduce Stress Levels
The most common reason behind practicing meditation is to reduce stress. It helps control and manage stress-related problems like depression, fatigue, eating disorders, and anxiety.
2.5. Improves Sleep
Sleep is one of our body’s most significant biological processes, and if we don’t get enough good quality sleep, we become irritable and lethargic.
A sleep-deprived body becomes more prone to infections like the common cold because the immune system also suffers.
Daily meditation can greatly enhance your sleep quantity as well as quantity. It can treat you if you have trouble falling asleep by making you feel relaxed.
3. Tips for Daily Meditation Habit
We all know that meditation is the most important thing, but practicing it daily may seem unrealistic given how packed our days are with things to do.
But with a few tips, we can ensure that meditation gradually becomes a part of our lives.
- As you begin your meditation journey, be patient with the practice, try to meditate for a short session, and gradually increase the duration.
- In the beginning, choose a meditation pose that is comfortable for you. Avoid choosing difficult poses. Doing so can save your experience as you can only sit for a short while. With practice and more flexibility, you can gradually select other meditative poses.
- Initially, you can use a thin meditation cushion or pillow to give you the necessary support to sit comfortably for meditation.
- You can use a meditation app of your preference to assist you in learning the practice. It will give you reminders so that you can attend your training.
- Try to meditate in the same place at the same time every day, and this will help your mind and body associate that particular time and space with a relaxing and calm response. It also enables you to settle down into meditation much more easily.
- Keep your meditation space clean and clutter-free. Prefer sitting in an airy and open place for a better experience.
- Avoid using your mobile phone to check messages and emails, and don’t get up during the practice.
4. Why Meditation is Important?
It’s easy to feel lost in the fast-paced world and need to remember to take care of important things; therefore, it is vital to make meditation a priority in our lives. It not only brings mental balance but also gives overall health benefits.
Mental health issues are on the rise worldwide, and meditation can be a small step to ensure our well-being. Thus, it is essential to consider making meditation part of our daily routine.
- Farias, Miguel, et al. “Adverse events in meditation practices and meditation‐based therapies: a systematic review.” Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 142.5 (2020): 374-393. ↩︎
- Hablado, Kurt, and Mitchell Clark. “A State of De-Stress: Examining the relationship between subjective well-being, self-compassion, and empathy.” Adv Soc Sci Res J 7.5 (2020): 412-26. ↩︎
- Fazia, Teresa, et al. “Short-term meditation training fosters mindfulness and emotion regulation: A pilot study.” Frontiers in Psychology 11 (2020): 558803. ↩︎
- Anne Bardoel, E. “Managing Work-life tensions: the challenges for multinational enterprises (MNEs).” The Palgrave Handbook of Family Policy (2020): 603-624. ↩︎
- Riemann, Dieter, et al. “Insomnia disorder: State of the science and challenges for the future.” Journal of sleep research 31.4 (2022): e13604. ↩︎
- Teufel, Christoph, and Paul C. Fletcher. “Forms of prediction in the nervous system.” Nature Reviews Neuroscience 21.4 (2020): 231-242. ↩︎
Last Updated on by Sanjana
The beauty of meditation lies in its flexibility, so you find the time that suits your rhythm and brings you the most peace and joy. Whether it is the quiet dawn, the hustle of midday, or the calming of night, make each moment your sanctuary.
I’ve started doing a little bit meditation and believe me I’m seeing great results already. This article also helped me a lot to understand things better in a easy way.