MEDITATION – What is the best time?

Ancient Indians always emphasized on the need to meditate during early morning hours just before sunrise. Not just the Hindus, even Muslims start their day’s Namäz, at that time. Apart from religious reasons, are there any scientific reasons for choosing this time for meditation? 

Unless you are working in a night shift, you normally work during the day and take rest during the night. At night, the brain shuts down its shop (well, almost!), which we call sleep. During sleep, most of the brain activity comes down. 

And when you wake up in the morning, there will be fewer activities in the brain as compared to what you would otherwise find during busy day hours. Less brain chatter means that the brain is more amenable to modulation.

Also, during early hours, there will be less external hustle and bustle, fewer distractions. The body will also be fresher after a good night’s sleep.

So, if you are a beginner meditator, still in the process of developing focusing skills, it will be easy to focus the mind during these conditions as compared to any other time of the day. Even if you are an accomplished meditator, it will be easier for you to sink into deeper states of meditation as compared to any other time.

A short meditation just before you sleep may also be useful since meditation has a potential to calm you down and prepare you for a good night’s sleep. But never make it a habit to meditate whenever you have problems getting into sleep. Our brain is such a habit former that it associates sleep with meditation and the next time when you try to meditate, you will invariably fall asleep!

If you are a religious person, you can use meditation as a form of prayer – of course, without the usual list of demands – before you retire for the day. 

That brings us to the question – Is there a role for God in meditation? Let us see that in the next post.

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