Meditation, Really?
While many seniors may be skeptical when it comes to the health benefits of something like meditation and mental wellness, this is usually due to exposure or misunderstanding more than anything else. However, mediation has been shown to correlate with a number of physical, mental, and spiritual health improvements.
Furthermore, meditation can actually be a quite easy and simple activity to learn how to do properly. Even something as small as taking a moment out of your day to reflect and be mindful can go a long way in improving one’s overall health and happiness. For seniors specifically, meditation can go a long way in helping one cope with cognitive decline, grief, or mental health conditions like depression and anxiety.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at three ways mediation may benefit the health of seniors specifically.
- Meditation May Improve Concentration, Memory, and Focus
Meditation has long been thought of as an extremely effective exercise for keeping the brain sharp and active. In fact, many medical experts are now recommending meditation as a helpful tool in increasing neuroplasticity, which can go a long way toward staving off cognitive decline and symptoms of dementia associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
One particularly effective form of meditation in this regard is guided meditation. This is meditation that requires you to focus your attention and energy on transporting yourself to a relaxing environment, usually with the help of visualization techniques.
These techniques often include elements such as imagining yourself at the beach, focusing on calming sensations like the sound of ocean waves, the feel of warm sunlight on your skin, and the gentle tussle of your hair in the salty sea breeze.
With time and practice, it is possible to heighten your ability to concentrate and focus in an effort to manually relax yourself and your body’s vital functions. In turn, this can have the long-term benefit of improving your body’s ability to carry out the job of keeping you alive and well.
- Meditation May Help Aging Bodies Better Manage Digestion and Circulation
Speaking of your body’s job of keeping you alive, vital functions like digestion and circulation are incredibly important aspects of this. It’s no secret that the normal effects of aging can often make it more challenging for our bodies to operate as healthily as possible. Luckily, there is evidence that meditation can improve this as well.
For example, as we age, our body’s ability to properly digest food may become compromised, potentially leading to problems down the road, including Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or something as serious as diabetes or heart disease. Though meditation is not meant to replace any form of medication prescribed to treat these conditions, it can be extremely beneficial in helping you manage them.
Meditation is a great resource for reducing stress, which can often be a contributing factor in many of the aforementioned conditions. By calming body tension and tightness, it is possible to lower your blood pressure, leading to better blood flow and less intestinal constriction.
- Meditation May Help Seniors Cope with Mental Health Conditions
Many seniors are often plagued by mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. Often this is a result of loneliness or having to routinely face the reality of getting older.
Meditation is quickly becoming a trusted mental health tool among psychologists, as it has been shown to help seniors cope with stress on a whole different level than traditional therapy.
The common meditation technique of mindfulness relies heavily on techniques that more easily allow you to become aware of negative feelings and emotions, helping you manifest them in a way that often makes them much easier to tackle.
As a result, those who meditate regularly often report a greater feeling of freedom and positive energy in everyday life. This is a huge part of what makes meditation one of the best ways to treat depression and anxiety.
What are some other ways seniors can improve their overall health and happiness?
Though it can indeed be a useful tool in staying physically and mentally fit, it’s important to remember that meditation should not be considered a replacement for modern medicine prescribed by your doctor or another healthcare professional.
Another useful tool for improving and maintaining your health and happiness is Medicare Advantage, also known as Medicare Part C. If you are a senior and are currently enrolled in Original Medicare (Parts A and B), there is a chance that not all of your essential healthcare needs are covered.
With a Medicare Advantage plan, you will usually get more comprehensive Medicare benefits, including dental, vision, and hearing care, as well as many other possibile coverage, such as prescription drug coverage, non-emergency transportation to and from doctor’s appointments, and more!
Are you interested in exploring your Medicare options? If so, don’t hesitate to contact the Medicare Advantage experts and licensed insurance agents at MedicareInsurance.com today for a more detailed consultation.
