For the Meditation-Curious 🧘‍♀️

Science-backed benefits of meditation👇

I’ve been talking a lot about mindset, and one of the most common questions coming up is: 

How do I change my mindset? 

There are lots of ways to go about this, but one science-backed way is through meditation! 

Research shows that meditation literally changes the brain to:

✔️ Calm the “lizard brain” (amygdala)

✔️ Reduce anxiety

✔️ Manage eating behaviors

✔️ Increase pain tolerance

✔️ Improve sleep

✔️ Relieve stress

If you’re meditation-curious, you can dip your toe in (just 5 minutes a day!) with an app like HeadSpace of Calm.

References

Review of research by the NIH. 

Goyal M, Singh S, Sibinga EM, et al. Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174(3):357-368. [link]

Kral TRA, Schuyler BS, Mumford JA, Rosenkranz MA, Lutz A, Davidson RJ. Impact of short- and long-term mindfulness meditation training on amygdala reactivity to emotional stimuli. Neuroimage. 2018;181:301-313. [link]

Prescription Medication Trends in the US

Prescription drug use in the US is at an all-time high ➡️

A new study out of Penn State shows that Americans can expect to take prescription drugs for about half their lives—a little more for women and a little less for men.

Does that bother you?

Some of the medications that are being prescribed more than ever include blood pressure medications, cholesterol-lowering medications, and antidepressants.

For example:

A girl born in the US in 1996 could expect to take antidepressants for 5.55 years of her life, but by 2019, that number jumped to 12.52 years.

This👆is just one of the many sobering statistics from the study.

I am not against medications, but there are often less invasive and more effective ways to support health, and many of the most commonly prescribed meds treat conditions that respond dramatically to lifestyle.

Prevention is truly the best medicine—starting with food, water, movement, and rest.

↗️ Share to your stories to spread the word!

Reference

Ho JY. Life Course Patterns of Prescription Drug Use in the United States. Demography. 2023;60(5):1549-1579. [link]