How Long Should You Meditate For Each Day?

One of the most common questions I hear when it comes to meditation is: “How long should I meditate?”

If you’re someone who’s mind easily wanders, it might feel impossible to learn how to meditate, but don’t freak out, because I’ve got your back.

Here’s the thing, you don’t have to meditate for hours and hours each day, there’s actually a whole art to figuring out exactly how long you need to meditate for in order for it to be effective for you, and it’s totally okay if it’s different than someone else.

Meditation and Its Effect on Mental Health

It’s important that we see the importance of meditation and its benefits to mental health.

We are all so focused on staying physically healthy that we’ve forgotten that taking care of our mental and spiritual health is just as important.

What Is Meditation?

Before I dive deep into the process of meditation, it’s important to discuss what meditation is exactly.

It’s a buzzword that gets thrown around commonly in today’s times, where people are more aware of the importance of mental and spiritual health.

Meditation Defined

To put it simply, meditation is defined as a series of techniques and practices that allow you, me, and everyone else to reach a heightened state of concentration and awareness.

It’s all about taking care of your consciousness and shutting out the problems even for just a limited amount of time.

Nearly every culture out there has its own form of meditation.

Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism — you name it. It’s commonly used for religious purposes. However, it is more commonly used as a means to take care of our psychological beings.

Meditation can be done in many different ways. Some people even come up with their own spin on it.

Most commonly, meditation is done simply by closing your eyes, concentrating, and sitting down. Meditation can be anything so long as it keeps you calm and focused.

Many people will also focus on something specific to prevent their minds from wandering.

You could focus on your steady breathing or have a mantra that you repeat over and over again, just as a few examples.

How Long Should I Meditate For?

While the process of meditation varies from person to person, I highly suggest meditating for more than just a few minutes per day.

The Right Timing For Meditation

There’s really no “right” amount of time when it comes to meditation. Some people say that you should do it for ten minutes, others stress 45.

The main thing is to find out what works for you. If you’re not a super patient person and hate sitting for long periods of time, you most likely won’t be able to meditate for 30+ minutes at a time.

In this case, you’ll want to take things slow. Start with 5 minutes, and as you get more comfortable, gradually increase the amount by 5-minute intervals or so.

Eventually, you might reach a point where you can go no further, which is where you’ll want to stop.

Take into account your schedule, as well. If you only have 30 minutes to spare and can go that long, then go for it.

By weighing the amount of time you have with the amount of time you’re comfortable meditating, you’ll be able to reap the many benefits of meditation.

The Benefits Of Meditation

You’re probably asking yourself whether it’s really worth taking out a few minutes of your day to meditate.

Personally, I think it’s worth it. There are benefits to meditation that can completely change your daily mood and perspective on life.

Reduce Stress And Negative Emotions

One of the main purposes of meditation is to reduce stress. Stress leads to all kinds of health problems, both mental and physical.

You might become depressed or get frequent headaches. As meditation reduces your stress, it’ll help you to fight against these issues.

Increases Focus

If you’re like me and you live a goal-driven lifestyle, then it can be hard trying to achieve multiple dreams at once.

It’s so easy to work hard, but it’s a lot easier to get overwhelmed by what’s in front of you. Taking on more than you can handle is a common issue.

By meditating, you can increase your focus on certain tasks. Meditation teaches you the value and merits of taking your time.

It allows you to put your attention on one task rather than being tempted to multitask ineffectively.

Improves Mental Capacity And Patience

Lastly, I’ve found that meditation has helped me increase my mental capacity. It has made me more creative, more focused, and more patient.

Be it for work or for my leisurely activities, I’m able to do more with fewer thanks to meditation.

With a little meditation, I think everyone is capable of improving themselves as well.

These benefits seem a lot, but in truth, these are just the tip of the iceberg. To put it simply, meditation brings out the better you.

That’s a lot for something that you do in your spare time.

A Final Word

Meditation is a lot more important than you think. I used to be a skeptic when it came to meditation but it has certainly changed me in more ways than one.

It doesn’t take an entire day to meditate.

As I’ve said before, you can achieve the benefits of meditation with just a few spare minutes, then gradually increase it as you get more comfortable.

This amount of time doesn’t take out much from your day but the benefits of doing it regularly will last a lifetime.