This is how long you should meditate for the best results

Meditation has many benefits. Depending on your optics, meditation can be used to strengthen spiritual connections, manage anxiety, or relax before an important activity. Still, when you’re just starting out, it is difficult to know how long to schedule each session and whether or not it will work.

There’s no single answer and it all depends on how long you meditate, but according to Healthline, there are four factors you need to consider in order to measure how effective a meditation session is: frequency of practice, duration, adherence to guidance, competence, and enjoyment.

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Various studies found that the more people meditated, the more effective it was. It was also important how consistent the people were and how repetitive. Finally, how competent the people were at their meditation session was also important, which means that while time and commitment are important, focus is also crucial.

An important study done on meditators with little experience found that meditating 13 minutes a day for eight weeks was enough to experience negative moods, increased attention span, better memory, and less anxiety.

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Thirteen minutes sounds like a long time to inexperienced meditators, which is why competence is also important. Headspace explains that it usually happens when it feels like spending too much time meditating. “If the session feels and continues to feel unbearable and we cannot discover the source of that resistance, then it is not time well spent.” The session should feel a little challenging, but not unbearable or demotivating.

If you are a beginner, start slowly with 3-5 minute sessions. Be consistent with your practices and allow yourself to extend this time in a way that feels organic and intuitive. Once you hit the 10 or 15 minute mark, you will see noticeable improvements.