Over the past few months, I’ve been hearing more and more accounts of people using meditation to successfully manage their worries or distress. There’s also plenty of research support for the effectiveness of meditation in relieving a wide range of other symptoms. Given both the research and the anecdotal evidence, I’ve been wondering why still more people aren’t meditating routinely.

In a recent blog, I considered the common misunderstandings about meditation that might be holding some of us back from practicing it. To sum up, meditation doesn’t need to be formal or perfect, and many options take 10 minutes or less of your time. Most forms of meditation are not tied to any religion. They focus on mindfulness as a method, but the results go beyond mindfulness of the present moment toward a deeper sense of calm.

Many readers may already be aware that various forms of meditation exist and are designed to help with different types of distress. So, how do you choose the meditation that has the best chance of working for you?

Sleep disturbances can include trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up hours earlier than intended. Meditation has been shown to make it easier to fall asleep and to improve the quality of sleep, including more restorative sleep. (Cleveland Clinic, 2023; NIH, 2019)

These are usually guided meditations that are narrated by psychotherapists or life coaches. They help you quiet distracting thoughts and ease into a relaxation response.

Meditation has been demonstrated to be as effective as antidepressant medications for the relief of anxiety. (Hoge, et al., 2022) This is significant because certain medications that are technically antidepressants are commonly prescribed to treat anxiety.

Two common subjects or themes of guided meditations for........

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