30 Days of Meditation: What I Learned
Have you ever wondered if meditation could truly transform your life? I spent an entire month meditating daily to find out and here's what I learned.
The interest in meditation saw a huge spike in the western world just recently. I would even argue, mindfulness became not only a trend, but also a big market. There are tons of meditation apps out there and everyone seems to preach meditation these days.
And that is for good reasons, right? This ancient technique seems to be the magical antidote to what some experts refer to as the invisible mental health pandemic. Companies offer mindfulness sessions to their employees and many successful business leaders supposedly participate in multi-day retreats.
I, too, have been a strong believer ever since my late high school years. I've been meditating on and off for over 10 years, but unfortunately never really made a habit out of it. But, in 2024 I had a plan to change that. How? By meditating daily for a full month until it finally clicks. In this article, I want to share my expectations, learnings and advice for beginners. Additionally, we'll briefly look at the scientific evidence on the topic.
Why I Did It
To be honest, I didn't really have high expectations to begin with. While meditating always felt great, it didn't really eradicate any of my issues. I would compare it to a massage. As much as I enjoy the feeling itself, it's not going to magically cure all my neck pain.
Nevertheless, I was hoping for improvements in my mood and general anxiety patterns. Maybe also calming my mind a bit and being more mindful in every day life.
What Science Says About Meditation
Before I share my experience, I want to take a brief look at the scientific research on the topic. In preparation for my challenge, I read Altered Traits to get an understanding of what's actually scientifically proven and what's merely anecdotal or even made up.
If you're interested in in-depth reviews of all the books I read, consider subscribing to my newsletter where I share those regularly!
Research on meditation is actually quite new. While basically non-existent 50 years ago, the number of well-designed scientific studies on meditation is ever increasing year by year.
Generally speaking, meditation transforms four main neural pathways: stress reaction and recovery, compassion and empathy, circuitry for attention and sense of self.
There are several different forms of meditation and each affects different pathways and thus has different effects on each individual. The most popular ones are mindfulness and loving-kindness.
The studied effects can be roughly divided into two groups:
- Long-term effects:
- elevated gamma oscillation
- lower cortisol levels
- lower breathing rates
- reduced grey matter in certain areas of the brain
- slows shrinking of the brain as we age
- overall younger brains compared to controls of the same age
- Short-term effects:
- improved working memory
- reduced attentional blink
- reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines (helps healing psoriasis)
- reduced depression, anxiety and pain
- improved well-being for trauma sufferers, especially PTSD
Some short-term effects already show after just one session, while others require at least a couple of weeks. Long-term effects on the other hand require everything from multiple thousands to many tens of thousands of hours.
My Experience
Being positively biased, I didn't need much motivation to start this challenge.
That didn't necessarily make it easy, though. I've always struggled with sitting still and "doing nothing". Ironically, people often describe me as a haven of tranquility—if only they knew what was going on inside my mind.
Meditation, however, has always fascinated me. It feels active rather than passive, like an exercise for your brain. On New Year's Day, I started my challenge: meditating for 30 minutes daily. Most of my sessions were unguided, but occasionally I used an old app that you can't even download anymore (more on apps and guided meditation later).
The first few days were tough. Sitting still for 30 minutes made my back, neck, and stomach feel uncomfortable. I caught myself checking my watch way too often. But after about two weeks, it started getting easier. I could sit through the sessions without discomfort, and time seemed to pass faster.
My highlight came on day 22: I reached a state of light trance where my mind was calm, my thoughts were crystal clear, and everything felt simple and good.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to replicate that since.
Despite some challenges, I felt great after every session. I was undergoing SIBO therapy at the time, which caused bloating and gut discomfort, and I noticed that meditation helped relax my stomach and alleviate some of those issues.
What I Learned
Here are the five biggest takeaways from my month of daily meditation:
- It's not a magic pill: Meditation won't solve all your problems. Neither did it magically cure my anxiety disorder nor completely transform my life. If it would, everyone would be meditating already. But, it did make me feel calmer and more balanced. The effects are subtle but meaningful.
- 30 minutes is ambitious: Starting with 30 minutes might have been a bit much. A shorter session—10 or even 5 minutes—might be better for beginners. Especially if the alternative is not doing it at all.
- It gets easier over time: I was sceptical about this one at first, but it definitely is true. During my first days, each session felt endless, but after just two weeks it got considerably easier and eventually the 30 minutes went by in a brief.
- The goal isn't to stop thoughts: Lifetime yogis might achieve complete stillness, but for most of us, the goal is to notice when your mind wanders and gently bring your focus back. Our mind will always continue to wander, but we can train it just like a muscle and it will get easier and easier.
- Meditation ≠ meditation: Not all meditation is the same. There are many forms, from mindfulness to walking meditations, each with different goals and benefits. It's as if you would say "I practice sports" without specifying which one. You can meditate while walking! In western culture, we mostly refer to mindfulness practices when speaking about meditation.
Additionally, it also actually affected my physiological health. My resting heart rate trended downwards over the course of the month while my heart rate variability (HRV) went up slightly on average.
Practical Advice for Beginners
I am by no means an expert of any sort, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but I thought it'd be nice to share some of my reflections and thoughts and what I'd do differently if I would do the challenge again.
- Start small: There's no reason to go all in. Begin with just 5–10 minutes and build up. Overcommitting can hurt your relationship with meditation. Change your position or stop completely if it feels uncomfortable.
- Try different styles: As mentioned before, there are many types of meditation. Experiment with mindfulness, loving-kindness, or guided meditations until you find what suits you best.
Tip
Netflix and Headspace teamed up to create a beautifully animated documentary series on different meditation practices—worth checking out!
- Find a routine: Try out different methods, but eventually stick to one and build a routine after a while. Most yogis practice the very same technique for years or even decades. Going back to the sports example, you wouldn't really get better if you'd do a different type of sport every day, right?
For complete beginners, I recommend apps like Calm or Headspace to guide you through your first sessions.
Getting Started
Eager to try it out immediately? How about doing a little loving-kindness exercise from Altered Traits? Just follow these instructions:
First bring to mind someone you care about deeply and relish the feeling of
compassion toward that person, then hold the same loving-kindness toward all
beings, without thinking of anyone in particular.
If you need some basic breathing guidance, I built a super simple breathing app that provides visual cues for coherent breathing.
Conclusion
While some of the more radical claims about meditation may not be backed by science, regular practice has numerous proven benefits. In our fast-paced world, meditation is a simple yet effective tool to reduce stress and improve well-being—with virtually no side effects.
I thoroughly enjoyed my 30-day challenge. I probably won't stick to 30 minutes daily, but I plan to meditate at least three times a week and continue exploring new practices like Zen and walking meditations.
I encourage everyone to give it a try—you might be surprised by the impact it can have on your life.