Stress Awareness Month some facts about reducing stress and increasing wellbeing

Published on March 31, 2022

Published by Karina Grant

This April is Stress Awareness Month. My intention in this blog is to provide you with some inspiring facts about reducing stress and increasing wellbeing.

The current stress statistics are shocking. You may also find the statistics citing meditation as an antidote to stress, even more shocking.

If you practice mindfulness or any type of meditation you will not be shocked by the latter. A regular practice has so many positive benefits that it is no wonder that an estimated 200 – 500 million meditate globally.

How high are stress levels today?

According to the largest known study of stress in the UK 74% of people have felt so stressed they have been overwhelmed or unable to cope.

If you are experiencing high stress then the proven benefits of meditation mentioned below will hopefully encourage you to try it out for yourself.

Exciting facts about meditation

Proven positive benefits in just 10 days

A study conducted at the Stanford University of Medicine showed that meditation can lead to a 30% decrease in stress related symptoms that can lead to serious illness. In one study, guided meditation was shown to reduce stress by 14% and reduce irritability by 27% in just 10 days.

Meditation improves anxiety levels 60% of the time.

In “project meditation”, after meditating for 6–9 months, almost two-thirds of those prone to anxiety managed to reduce their anxiety levels.

Meditation relieves the symptoms of insomnia 75% of the time.

The majority of people with insomnia who meditated on a daily basis were able to fall asleep more quickly. In fact, 75% of them needed only up to 20 minutes to doze off. Additionally, 91% of insomniacs reduced or eliminated their use of sleeping medication.

Mindfulness meditation can reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder 73% of the time.

A study (NCBI) examined the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for treating PTSD in veterans. 73% of them showed reduced symptoms.

Meditation may lower blood pressure 80% of the time.

Scientists have found out that practicing meditation (Meditation 24-7) is beneficial for hypertensive patients. 80% of them lowered their blood pressure and needed less medication thanks to meditation. Additionally, 16% of them were able to stop taking their medications for hypertension.

Practicing meditation can increase your attention span after only 4 days.

In addition, a study (ScienceDirect) showed that practicing mindfulness meditation for a short time may enhance visuospatial processing, working memory, and executive functioning.

When we go on holiday we take our minds with us

In essence, daily meditators feel like they have taken a restful holiday from their mind and are able to approach life from a more balanced perspective.