There have been many scientific studies on the benefits of meditation. The resources on this page were provided courtesy of Lars King, a Forward Steps subscriber and friend.
Scroll down to explore those from Lars and visit here to read 92 more reasons to meditate.
Meditation Improves Your Health by:
Increasing Immune System Function
See here about the effect of compassion meditation on neuroendocrine, innate immune and behavioral responses to psychosocial stress
Decreasing Pain
See here to learn about brain mechanisms supporting the modulation of pain by mindfulness meditation.
Decreasing Inflammation
See here and read about how mindfulness-based stress reduction training reduces loneliness and pro-inflammatory gene expression in older adults.
Meditation Boosts Your Happiness by:
Increasing Positive Emotions
See here for how positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources.
Increasing Ability to Control Emotions
See here for how a positive orientation towards suffering may be enhanced through compassion training and is thought to influence psychological functioning.
Decreasing Stress
See here a study that examined the effects of a short-term stress management program (mindfulness-based stress reduction MBSR) on health care professionals.
Decreasing Anxiety
See here a study designed to determine the effectiveness of a group stress reduction program based on mindfulness meditation for patients with anxiety disorders.
Decreasing Depression
See here to learn about the effects of mindfulness meditation on cognitive processes and affect in patients with past depression.
Meditation Benefits Your Social Life by:
Increasing Social Connection
See here how even just a few minutes of loving-kindness meditation increased feelings of social connection and positivity toward novel individuals on both explicit and implicit levels.
Even just a few minutes of loving-kindness meditation increased feelings of social connection and positivity. Share on XIncreasing Compassion
See here and learn how this study is the first to clearly show the power of meditation to increase compassionate responding to suffering, even in the face of social pressures to avoid so doing. In turn, it provides scientific credence to ancient Buddhist teachings that meditation increases spontaneous compassionate behavior.
Decreasing Feelings of Loneliness
See here how meditation can reduce loneliness in older adults and can have a positive overall effect on their health.
Meditation Changes Your Brain by:
Increasing Gray Matter Density
See here about mindfulness meditation which has been reported to produce positive effects on psychological well-being that extend beyond the time the individual is formally meditating.
Over the last three decades mindfulness meditation practices have been increasingly incorporated into psychotherapeutic programs, to take advantage of these benefits.
Increasing Volume In Area Related to Self-Control
See here about how a short program in mindfulness meditation produces demonstrable effects on brain and immune function. These findings suggest that meditation may change brain and immune function in positive ways.
Increasing Volume In Area Related to Paying Attention
See here for an interesting study into brain regions associated with attention, interoception and sensory processing that were thicker in meditation participants than matched controls, including the prefrontal cortex and right anterior insula. Between-group differences in prefrontal cortical thickness were most pronounced in older participants, suggesting that meditation might offset age-related cortical thinning.
Meditation Increases Your Productivity by:
Increasing Focus
See here a study that aims to demonstrate that, through mental training, increased control over the allocation of limited processing resources may be possible. The study corroborates the idea that plasticity in brain and mental function exists throughout life, and illustrates the usefulness of systematic mental training.
Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor. -Thich Nhat Hang Share on XIncreasing Memory
See here and read about students who did about an hour of “mindfulness training” for eight days and subsequently did better on their GRE (Graduate Record Examinations) as well as tests of working memory and mind-wandering.
Increasing Ability to Multitask
See here about a meditation group who reported lower levels of stress and showed better memory for the tasks they had performed, they also switched tasks less often and remained focused on tasks longer.
Increasing Creativity
See here to read some findings that support the belief that meditation can have a long-lasting influence on human cognition, including how we conceive new ideas.
Download your free ebook copy of Making the Most of Meditation.
Plus experience all the benefits of meditation for yourself.
What Kind Of Meditation Benefit Appeals To You Most?
8 questions. Discover which area of meditation may be most meaningful for you.
Calm & Stress Relief Seeker
You are naturally drawn to the calming side of meditation. Creating some space between yourself and the pressures of everyday life may be especially appealing to you.
The science discussed in this article explores meditation in relation to stress and anxiety, as well as other aspects of wellbeing. Your best reason to meditate may simply be to give your mind a regular opportunity to become quieter and more settled.
If this sounds like something you'd like to explore, you can also enjoy this Making the Most of Meditation free ebook, for ideas to help you get more from your meditation practice.
Focus & Mindfulness Seeker
You are especially interested in what meditation may do for attention, concentration and mental performance. You may enjoy meditation as a form of mental training rather than simply a way to relax.
The article explores research into attention, focus, memory and the brain, including findings related to mental training and the ability to allocate attention. Your natural interest suggests that the mental side of meditation may be particularly motivating for you.
If you'd like to take that interest further, you can also enjoy this Making the Most of Meditation free ebook, for ideas to help you get more from your meditation practice.
Happiness & Emotional Wellbeing Seeker
You are most attracted to the emotional benefits of meditation. You may be looking for more positive feelings, greater emotional balance or simply a little more happiness in everyday life.
The article explores research involving positive emotions, emotional control, stress, anxiety and depression. Meditation may therefore appeal to you as a way of creating more awareness around your emotional life rather than trying to ignore difficult feelings.
If you'd like to explore this side of meditation, you can also enjoy this Making the Most of Meditation free ebook, for ideas to help you get more from your meditation practice.
Connection & Compassion Seeker
You are especially interested in the way meditation may influence our relationships with ourselves and other people. Connection, compassion and feeling less isolated may be particularly meaningful to you.
The article explores research into social connection, compassion and loneliness, including findings associated with loving-kindness and compassion meditation. Your result suggests that meditation may be most rewarding for you when it becomes something that reaches beyond your own inner world.
If you'd like to explore this further, you can also enjoy this Making the Most of Meditation free ebook, for ideas to help you get more from your meditation practice.
Explore This Idea Further
Optional prompts to help you make the ideas your own.
I use AI as a thinking companion, not as a replacement for my own thinking. These prompts are simply another way to explore the ideas in this article and see how they might apply to your own life.
You don’t have to use AI to benefit from them. You can copy a prompt into a notebook, write about it in your journal, talk it through with someone you trust or simply sit with the question and see what comes up for you. If you do use ChatGPT or another AI tool, treat its responses as a starting point for your own thinking.
You remain the person who decides what is useful and right for your life.
How to use these prompts: Choose the one that appeals to you, copy the complete prompt and paste it into ChatGPT or another AI tool. You can answer its questions and continue the conversation as you go.
1. Apply This To My Life
Use this prompt when you want to connect the article’s ideas about meditation with something happening in your own life.
I’ve just read the Forward Steps article “Benefits of Meditation Based On Science.” Use that article as your primary source and foundation for this conversation. Help me discover which of the meditation benefits described in the article could be most personally useful to me right now — such as reducing stress or anxiety, improving emotional control, increasing happiness and social connection, strengthening focus or memory, or supporting creativity and productivity.
Ask me a few relevant questions about my current circumstances before giving me personalised guidance. Then help me understand how the article’s ideas could relate to my life and what I might gain from exploring meditation.
Keep your suggestions grounded in what the article actually teaches rather than replacing its message with generic self improvement advice. Build thoughtfully on my answers as we continue rather than giving me one large response and stopping.
2. Reflect More Deeply
Use this prompt when you want to explore more deeply what the article’s ideas about meditation might mean for you.
I’ve just read the Forward Steps article “Benefits of Meditation Based On Science.” Use that article as your primary source and help me think more deeply about what it says about meditation and its possible effects on health, happiness, emotions, social connection, the brain, focus, memory and creativity.
Rather than simply summarising the article, help me notice which ideas stand out to me and why. Ask me thoughtful questions that could reveal assumptions, possibilities, patterns or areas of my life I have not considered. Respond to my answers with further questions and observations that deepen the conversation.
Keep the reflection practical, encouraging and grounded in the specific ideas presented in the article. Don’t turn it into a clinical or overly psychological exercise, and don’t replace the article’s message with generic self improvement advice.
Stay grounded in the article and build on my answers as we go.
3. Turn It Into Action
Use this prompt when you are ready to turn one of the article’s meditation ideas into a simple next step.
I’ve just read the Forward Steps article “Benefits of Meditation Based On Science.” Use that article as your primary source and help me turn the meditation benefit that seems most relevant to me into a simple, realistic next step.
First, help me choose which benefit from the article I most want to explore — for example, greater focus, less stress, better emotional control, increased positive emotions, stronger social connection, improved memory or greater creativity. Ask me a few questions if you need to understand what would be most useful in my life.
Then help me create a small practical plan based on the article. Keep it simple enough that I am likely to follow through, and focus on progress rather than perfection. Build on my answers and help me adjust the plan as we go rather than overwhelming me with too many actions at once.
Keep the plan grounded in what the Forward Steps article actually teaches and do not replace its message with generic self improvement advice. Help me finish the conversation with one clear next step I can take.
Tip: You don’t have to use all three. Start with the one that feels most useful to you right now.
Hi, I'm Thea Westra at Forward Steps (forwardstepsblog.com)
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