Longer Meditation Sessions Equal Greater Benefits
How I learned this mindful lesson and why you’ll want to.
The length of time that you meditate in each session can have a powerful effect on the kind of experience you have and the level of benefits achieved. Although we can attain rewards for our mental, physical, and spiritual health with short sessions in as little as one minute, and I use these heavily in my own life as well, you can increase those benefits by investing more time.
I had been meditating for decades when I learned this lesson. For many years I had begun each day with a round of deep breathing exercises for 8 to 12 minutes followed by a 10 to 20-minute mindfulness-based meditation and the benefits were abundant. This helped me manage stress, anxiety levels, and mood, increased creativity, inner peace, and feelings of well-being, and greatly enriched my quality of life. I thought I was getting all that I needed.
However, in the summer of 2018, I was going through a major emotional loss in my life and I felt the need for some heavy-duty self-nurturing and decided to enroll in a mindfulness-based stress reduction class. I had wanted to take this class for some time to broaden my horizons and acquire the certification that would come with it as well so this was the perfect time to achieve two goals at once.
While I was taking this class we were required to meditate for a full 30 minutes on a daily basis. I was shocked to discover how much difference this made in the benefits I experienced. My level of relaxation and stress relief were significantly higher and they stayed with me longer throughout the day and spilled over into all areas of my life. It took more to ruffle my feathers and I had a higher threshold for frustration.
I now had greater levels of calmness, contentment with life and myself, inner peace, well-being, and compassion for myself and others. I felt more grounded, happier, and deeper life satisfaction. I developed a closer and more supportive relationship with myself and a stronger connection to my spiritual roots. Creativity bursts that I often experience during meditation were much bigger. All of this was taking place despite the fact that I was in the midst of grieving the loss of a relationship so I was pretty impressed.
The difference in benefits from the increased length of the session was so profound that I continued to meditate for 30 minutes every morning once the class ended and I continue to do so to this day. It used to seem so hard to make the time for a 30-minute meditation, but the rewards were so great that going back to my shorter length was not even considered or desired. My brain was hooked.
From that time on, allowing 30 minutes for my morning meditation became my number one priority and takes little effort. It’s so rewarding and satisfying that I look forward to it with joy. It’s the first thing I do before I begin my day, other than a quick run to the bathroom upon waking.
Sometimes I go for 40 to 60 minutes. However, I don’t see any drastic differences in benefits by going longer than 30 minutes. So it seems that you can reach the optimal level of benefit with 30 minutes.
Although my observations are anecdotal, and there isn’t a lot of research out there on what length of time is optimal when meditating, there is some research that supports my findings.
If 30 minutes seems daunting to you, then work up to it slowly, increasing your length of time in small intervals and approach it as you do with all meditation, as a curious observer on an adventure to explore unknown territory and see what happens.
That is not to say that I don’t appreciate or practice shorter meditations as well, because I do — they have their own value. Meditation is most effective when done frequently, not just once a day. So, I have a variety of different lengths that I use depending on how I feel, the situation at hand, time available, etc.
However, my thirty-minute morning meditation sets the tone for my day. It enables me to begin my morning in a calm, centered, relaxed, serene, and peaceful manner, which I can then carry into my daily activities and interactions.
But as the day goes on, the effects begin to wear off a bit, so I use what I call mini-meditations which consist of one, two, three, or five minutes here and there scattered throughout the day to recharge the meditation battery and bring the benefits back to life. And this is what I encourage my clients to do as well in my work as a health coach to get the most out of meditation.
Start your day with 30 minutes of mindfulness-based meditation and you just might find that you enhance your health and well-being, live a deeper, richer, fuller, and more meaningful life with less stress, anxiety, and tension.
