Five reasons meditation can be important for the elderly

By Your Health Magazine

Your Health Magazine

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Five reasons meditation can be important for the elderly

Meditation may feel like a relatively new phenomenon for many of us. Of course, it isn’t. It’s been around for thousands of years. However, ask a person in their 70s whether they partake in the activity and the chances are they’re going to say no.

As we get older, though, meditation could well be an activity that can really improve a person’s life for a variety of reasons. It’s why in many nursing care homes it’s offered to elderly residents as sessions, particularly for those who are going through certain health challenges.

But why can meditation be so effective for elderly people? What benefits can they gain from it? After all, they’ve lived a long life without it so far.

Stress reduction

The vast majority of people, no matter what their generation, take up meditation as a way to reduce stress. It’s a hugely powerful tool for this with practices such as mindfulness meditation or deep breathing exercises allowing seniors to focus their mind on the present moment and cultivate a sense of inner peace. This can reduce stress levels and have significant positive effects on physical health, including the lowering of blood pressure and the improvement of sleep quality.

Improve cognitive health

Maintaining cognitive health is a hugely important part of life as we get older and studies have shown that regular meditation can help support cognitive health. This is a result of meditation exercises stimulating the brain, promoting neuroplasticity and protecting against age-related decline.

By adding meditation to an elderly person’s daily routine, it can help promote long-term brain health and help slow conditions such as dementia.

Aid with emotional wellbeing

Unfortunately, as people get older they can struggle with a variety of mental health issues and emotional problems. Loneliness and depression are becoming more and more common amongst seniors and meditation offers a holistic approach to that, helping them explore their feelings and create a sense of inner calm.

It aids people in finding a balance, with the likes of gratitude exercises in particular helping develop feelings of self compassion and resilience.

Help manage pain

Chronic pain is a common issue among the elderly too and actually meditation can be hugely instrumental in managing that. You find that meditation can help with conditions such as arthritis, neuropathy and musculoskeletal disorders. While medication is the best course of action, meditation can complement that, with mindfulness pain management techniques helping older people have a greater awareness of their bodies, reduce pain perception and improve the ability to cope with the discomfort that chronic conditions can cause, helping improve overall quality of life.

Improve social connections

Finally, you’ll often find that meditation is taught in classes and being part of one can help form real bonds with like-minded people.

Group sessions can be a brilliant experience for people to come together and share experiences as well as support each other on their meditation journey. At a time where many older people could feel lonely, that’s hugely valuable and can create a real sense of belonging that can last for many, many years.