How Long Should You Meditate Daily to Get Effective Results?

The power of meditation is a unique experience shared by every practicing person as it leads to unexpected discoveries about yourself. One common and interesting question that I normally get is, “how long should I meditate?”

Many ask, will meditating for five minutes give you the benefits you want, or do you need to go for 90 minutes? Well, the real question is, do you want to meditate more, or do you feel the need to meditate based on what you read and hear?

Since we lead busy lives, we often feel rushed, and sitting still for more than five minutes can feel like wasting time. Nevertheless, we still acknowledge the practice of mindfulness; that’s why knowing the ideal amount of time to meditate is crucial.

So, let me get on to answering this question, and hopefully, I’ll give you a satisfactory answer.

What Are the Results of Consistent Meditation?

A daily meditation routine is important to establish momentum and condition your mind. I have been meditating since I was 17, and I can tell you that it has made a difference in my life. I can also tell you that there’s a huge difference between two months and five years of meditation.

To this end, the main benefits of consistent meditation surround how you live your life. You develop more peaceful thoughts and get to peace quicker because you know how peaceful feels.

The other benefit that you receive comes with spiritual development. Reaching the deep state of meditation comes with knowing it’s a place only you can go to, but you’re completely comfortable with it.

Consistent meditation comes with having the courage to live your life fully. You feel perfectly equipped with the courage to do something that no one else would dare do because your mind is adequately equipped to face any obstacles.

Apart from getting to peace faster, you also get to beat personal vices and upheavals that could otherwise be stumbling blocks.

How Long Should You Meditate?

A monk once told me that I need more time to reach the deeper states of meditation. I then reached out to a meditation expert, and his advice was to improve my practice and not set a time goal based on others.

For me, I have done as little as five minutes and as long as 90 minutes. I find that morning and evening meditation have different impacts. Morning meditation helps me clear any mental blockage, and I can compartmentalize the rest so that I have a great day. On the other hand, evening meditation washes away the day’s stress so I can sleep better.

For anyone starting their meditation journey, starting with five minutes each session then increasing it to 15 minutes is as much as you need to calm your mind. In Bodhipaksa of Wildmind Buddhist Meditation’s own words, “any amount of meditation is better than none.”

My best advice Is to try and increase the frequency and duration and see if it’s worthwhile for you. For some people, it also depends on your technique and goals. For example, if you’re practicing Vipassana meditation, one hour once per day is ideal for keeping your mood, motivation, and determination up for your daily grind. Nevertheless, that much time may not be sustainable as a habit.

Meanwhile. 15 minutes can be reasonable for many people leading busy lives while one hour can be the time you need to achieve a peaceful state of mind. In other words, trial and error will allow you to truly know what you need, beyond the common knowledge that you need daily meditation practice.

Here are the opinions of other experts on how long you should meditate.

• Giovanni Dientsmann, a meditation teacher at LiveAndDare.com, started with 20 minutes of meditation every day.
• Mindfulness In Plain English, by Bhante Gunaratana, advises beginners to start with 20-30 minutes session and gradually extend it to an hour after 12 months.
• According to Morgan Dix, who’s been meditating for more than 20 years,

if you find 20 minutes of meditation difficult when starting, it’s okay to start with 5-10 minutes.

Is 15 Minutes of Meditation a Day Enough?

It can be especially hard to quiet the mind in only fifteen minutes. But the beauty of it is that it can be done with practice. It won’t be easy at first since you may feel like you don’t have 15 minutes to spare. Many people obsess over the time, and your thoughts can easily turn into, “Is it ten minutes already? I have five minutes to go,” and so forth.

It’s better not to keep looking at the clock but to permit yourself and allow yourself the time to meditate. Keep in mind that a deeper practice does not mean more time. Hence 15 minutes should not be the goal. Rather, the underlying objective is to be clear about yourself and how you interact with the present.

How Long Does It Take for Meditation to Work?

There’s no concrete answer to when you’ll start reaping the benefits of meditation.

It can be a few weeks for some, while it can take one to two months for others. I know from experience that a daily practice of 15 – 30 minutes helped me achieve the results I wanted according to the goals I had set.

I’ll tell you this; meditation is a practice in patience. As a 17-year-old boy, I didn’t have any goals in mind when I first started, and it was a wait-and-see period for me. I started monitoring my days and found that I was no longer negative and uninspiring. I was more patient with people, and this took me about six months to say I was in a better place.

For you, it’s better not to think of a time frame but focus on getting better at relaxation. It helps to use some effort on your thoughts and breathing and then let meditation complete itself. The result you’re looking for will reveal itself in due time.

Final Thoughts

It’s important to sit in silence. But it’s not about how long, but about your intention and the effort you put in it. Meditation trains your awareness in comfortable surroundings. When you finish meditating, you drop the method but stay mindful throughout the day. You can look forward to carving out your day to meditate with daily practice.