Corporate Fitness and Active Aging

First, let us define meditation. The term “meditation” refers to a variety of practices that focus on mind and body integration and are used to calm the mind and enhance overall well-being. How does less stress and better overall health sound? Several studies have demonstrated multiple health benefits, including reduced stress, anxiety, fatigue, depression, chronic pain, and disease severity for inflammatory bowel disease, and cardiovascular disease.

Things meditation can help with:

Boosts immune system
According to a study published by National Academy of Sciences, meditation appears to suppress damaging processes in the body while boosting cortisol levels, which helps the function of the immune system.

Reduce stress and anxiety
Stress reduction and anxiety reduction are two of the best-known benefits of meditation. A study published by the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry indicates that meditation helps reduce stress response and anxiety because it addresses anxiety disorder symptoms.

Slowing down the progression of Alzheimer’s
A recent study showed that a combination of meditation and breathing exercises can help slow down the development of dementia-related diseases. Other studies suggest that mindfulness meditation helps people cope better with the anxiety, stress and depression that often accompany memory loss.

Improves memory
Meditation training can enhance various cognitive processes, such as emotional regulation, executive control and attention, particularly sustained attention, according to a study done by Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Journal.

Helps stave off depression
Meditation can boost the mood and help people overcome depression, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Improves sleep
Mindfulness meditation appears to improve sleep quality and reduce daytime disturbance in people with chronic insomnia and older adults.

Are you excited about all these health benefits and want to get started today?
TRY THIS! It will only take 5 minutes…

Find a blank spot to stare at in front of you at eye level, as you begin to focus your attention on your breathing. Set a 5-minute timer. In through the nose, exhale through the mouth. As you look at that spot and take a few deep breaths, you’ll notice it is difficult to focus on that spot. When you begin to feel your gaze soften, exhale, and close your eyes. Sit here in silence with your brain until the timer goes off. Allow each thought to come and go, keep passing them along. The more you practice the more blank time you will find between the thoughts, but at the beginning you may have a constant flow of thoughts. Keep bringing your awareness back to your breathing. Think of these 5 minutes as a reset. When your phone is acting goofy, you turn it off and back on for a reset. This is a reset, to assist you in becoming more relaxed. You can practice this hourly or once a day. It may feel boring, and that is the point! We quiet off that part of the brain that is constantly firing and it allows more relaxation that will be a building block to unlock less stress, better health, and more intuition.

Did you know? An ongoing lack of sleep or poor-quality sleep increases your risk of health problems such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, and obesity.
Are you finding yourself…to be irritable? Having memory problems or being forgetful? Feeling depressed? Having more falls or accidents? Then you may not be getting a good night’s sleep.

Despite popular (false) belief, older adults need about the same amount of sleep as all adults, 7 to 9 hours each night. Unfortunately, many older adults often get less sleep than they need. One reason is that they often have more trouble falling asleep. A study of adults over 65 found that 13 percent of men and 36 percent of women take more than 30 minutes to fall asleep.

Here are some ideas and tips for helping get a good night sleep:

• Follow a regular sleep schedule. (Go to bed and wake up at the same times every day)
• Avoid napping in the late afternoon or evening. (Try limiting your day naps to 15-45 minutes)
• Develop a routine for bedtime. (Try to develop soothing bedtime rituals such as taking a bath, playing music or practicing relaxation techniques)
• Avoid electronics, as their lights may make it difficult for you to fall asleep.
• Keep your home at a comfortable temperature. (That is not too hot or too cold)
• Make sure your bedroom is quiet and dark and use low lighting in the evenings.
• Avoid eating large meals close to bedtime. (May lead to indigestion)
• Stay away from caffeine (coffee, tea, soda, chocolate) late in the day.
• Participate in regular exercise [150 minutes total a week]. (A study at Northwestern University found that aerobic exercise resulted in the most dramatic improvement in quality of sleep, including sleep duration, for middle-aged and older adults with a diagnosis of insomnia.)

Sleep problems not related to age**

At any age, it’s common to experience occasional sleep problems. However, if you experience any of the following symptoms on a regular basis, you may be dealing with a sleep disorder:

• Have trouble falling asleep even though you feel tired.
• Have trouble getting back to sleep when awakened.
• Don’t feel refreshed after a night’s sleep.
• Feel irritable or sleepy during the day.
• Have difficulty staying awake when sitting still, watching television, or driving.
• Have difficulty concentrating during the day.
• Rely on sleeping pills or alcohol to fall asleep.
• Have trouble controlling your emotions.

Evaluate your habits and implement some of the tips above into your routine to see if you can improve the quality of sleep. If you still experience problems with sleeping, speak with your doctor about your difficulties and share with them what lifestyle changes you have attempted to make improvements. Quality sleep is essential for optimal health and should be an open part of dialogue with your doctor!