MUSCAT– In our fast-paced world of deadlines and offsets, stress and stress-related medical issues are gradually emerging as the silent killers of today. If not brought under control, stress can lead to chronic physical issues like migraines, high or unstable blood pressure, diabetes, and many more. While different people have different resolutions for this new year, if you work and function in a high-stakes stressful environment, your primary resolution should be to curb your stress and get it under control before it starts to have alarming physical and mental consequences.

An age-old practice that has been around for thousands of years, with visible calming effects, is meditation. Doctors say that just meditating for a few minutes can have a positive effect on one’s mental health, and is known to help recover from a whole day’s worth of mental fatigue. Originally meant as an exercise to help deepen the understanding of the sacred and mystical forces of life, meditation can produce a deep state of relaxation and a tranquil mind. All you need to do is close your eyes, focus your mind, and try to gradually eliminate the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. If it helps, you can also play a piece of calming music, or sounds of nature to aid your meditation. ASMR videos available on YouTube also help you focus while meditating. 

Not only does meditation help calm you, but it also improves your overall well-being. Meditation can be really helpful for students as well, since they are under as much stress as adults are, and their mental health should be a bigger concern for guardians. Moreover, meditation can help improve their capability to concentrate on their studies and extracurriculars, along with helping them cope with stress. Some research in the medical field also suggests that meditation can also have a physical and mental calming effect on patients suffering from anxiety, asthma, chronic pain, depression, and heart disease and that it can also help with sleep problems as well.

So, start your year right– meditate!