In the morning, at noon or night? The truth is that, with a life full of activities and worries that we have, it is difficult to find a few minutes to sit down, relax a little and simply breathe, that is, meditate. What is the best time to meditate? The answer is very simple: the best time to meditate is when you have time and your occupations allow you space without interruptions. It is convenient for many people before the sun rises, at 5 or 6 AM, because the usual silence of that hour is added that the activities have not started yet. Other people find the ideal time for their meditation at night, once they have completed their routine tasks.
According to experts, the best time to meditate is between 4 AM and 4 PM, since the Earth’s position in this period favors the balance between the pineal and pituitary glands when sitting up straight. Whatever time you decide to do it, the truth is that try to be constant, consistent and practice meditation at the same time every day.
Now, to meditate, you do not need any special equipment or an expert yogi, or an enlightened one. All you need is a few minutes (5, 10, 15 or more, the ones you can have their benefits) in which you can be with yourself without interruptions.
Sit in a comfortable position, either on a chair or the floor, but with your back straight and your chin parallel to the floor. You can place your hands in a prayer posture or simply put them on your knees. Become aware of your breathing and try to make it deep and slow. Close your eyes as far as a slit of light still seeps in and let your thoughts flow without framing any in particular. Remember that meditation is observing your thoughts without judging or acting or focusing.
Meditating in the morning will give you mental clarity to start your day and you will find that your ability to concentrate on performing your tasks improves. Meditating at night will give you an opportunity to relax, unwind, and recap your day before bed.
You should consider something very important: you do not need a special atmosphere with candles, or scents or special music. While these items can help you relax, they can also be distracting, especially in the first few days of your practice. The best thing is that you try different places and times of the day to meditate and find the one that makes you feel better. It will be the ideal time for your meditation.
For many people, meditation is part of the routine to start the day and it is the only time of day that they consider doing it, both because of the special atmosphere in the morning and because of timing.
One of the clearest benefits of meditating as soon as you wake up is that it sets the tone for the day. Meditation in these first hours allows you to eliminate pressure and stress for hours to come, preparing the mind to face the challenges that await.
For those who want to enter into meditation, want to establish the practice as a daily habit or simply find it difficult to find the space to do it, the morning is the best time. And of course, if you want to start the day with a mindset to face it, that is too!
Meditation can be a great tool to deal with small daily complications. Taking short breaks to meditate, especially at noon or in the middle of the workday (during the lunch break, for example), helps maintain calm even on the most stressful workdays.
On a physical level, meditation at this time will help you relax your muscles after several hours in front of a screen. In addition, it will increase your ability to concentrate, creativity or have an open mind to the ideas of colleagues and the tasks of the day.
When you get home, meditating when the workday is over or in the evening is a favorite moment for many. The first reason is that it acts as a barrier between work and personal life, helping to leave the pressure of the office behind.
Meditation in the afternoon breaks the anxiety that has been generated during the day and allows you to enjoy the remaining hours with renewed motivation and energy.
This time is perfect for people who are very overwhelmed at work and who, in addition, begin to worry about the next day’s work in advance. If you need a reset to fully enjoy your personal life, try meditating when you get home from work.
This may come as a surprise, but bedtime is exactly the worst time of day to meditate. The reason? That meditation is the opposite of sleeping. Relaxing to get to sleep is the opposite of doing it to awaken consciousness and live more aware of what surrounds us.
For these reasons, at least one hour from going to bed, meditation should be separated by at least one hour, as it can generate confusion in our mind and conflict with sleep. Also, on a practical level, if we stop meditating for the last hour of the day, it is easier for us to skip it.
And you, have you already established your favorite time of day for meditation? Do you know when to meditate? If not yet, my advice is to try different times to see when it is most beneficial for you. In the same way, depending on the objective or the needs you are looking for, you can introduce meditations throughout the day.