We know, we know. You can’t possibly imagine giving up your morning cup of coffee, or midday coffee, or brunch with a friend coffee. But hear us out for a minute. New studies are coming out boasting about the benefits of meditation that increase our energy and boost our mood. We’ve all heard of meditation, but many of us don’t practice it, or may not even be sure how to actually do it in the first place. With our hectic lives, we often forget to slow down, take a minute, and breathe. If meditation could make our lives a bit better, and even help us reduce our caffeine intake, we had to find out all the details!

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Our minds are constantly bombarded with thoughts, different tasks we need to do, and other everyday stressors. Meditation is gaining popularity to help calm our minds and busy lives so we aren’t always thinking about the next thing that needs to get done. It helps to ground us, calm our minds, and lower our stress levels. More than that, it activates a section of the brain that makes better choices and helps to remove negative thoughts we may have. A Harvard Medical Researcher, Dr. John W. Denninger “meditation trains the brain to achieve sustained focus, and to return to that focus when negative thinking, emotions, and physical sensations intrude — which happens a lot when you feel stressed and anxious.”

We all aim to be happy and fulfilled in life, and meditation can help us get there. There are so many perks of meditation, it would be a waste not to just try it, right? So if you want to reduce your stress, get a better night’s sleep, feel less anxious, and increase your focus, take a moment and sit in silence and just breathe. When we think of our health, we usually think about training our bodies at the gym, but it’s important to train our minds as well. There’s really nothing you can lose, and only things you can gain.