Meditation is an ancient practice that cultivates a calm and focused mind. But what happens when individuals who have never meditated before engage in short meditation exercises?

To explore this, researchers randomly divided a group of participants aged 18 to 45, with no prior meditation experience, into two groups. One group engaged in daily 13-minute guided meditation sessions, while the other group listened to podcasts for the same duration (control group). This continued for a total of 8 weeks.

The researchers examined how meditation impacted how they felt, memory, attention, and emotional regulation. They also measured the stress hormone cortisol using the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST).

The findings were fascinating! After 8 weeks of short daily meditation, the participants felt calmer, and improved attention, working memory, and recognition memory. They also exhibited lower stress levels during the TSST test. Notably, the changes in emotional regulation due to meditation had a more significant impact on their emotional well-being than on their cognitive performance.

This research suggests that even relatively short daily meditation exercises can yield positive effects, even for individuals who have never meditated before.

So why not try meditating for a few minutes each day and see how it can help you? It can be just as valuable as longer and more intense meditation practices!