Why Meditate If We Can Just Sleep? Here Is The Difference

Recently someone asked on Reddit: “how is meditation is different from sleep?” Their justification was that “sometimes I feel better when I take a nap than to meditate.”

If meditation was as easy as sleeping then we would have unlocked our highest selves and wouldn’t need a spiritual evolution. So how is meditation more than beneficial than sleep? Let’s find out.

Sleep Is Only For Rest

Rishikesh Yogpee / Unsplash

Rishikesh Yogpee / Unsplash

“You’re comparing apples and oranges. Sleep is for rest. Meditation is an awareness/consciousness exercise.” – LarryLonn / Reddit

Sleep alone can’t alleviate stress. It simply provides us with enough rest that we’ll have the energy to cope. This is because stress happens from increased levels of cortisol that can disrupt sleep and promote fatigue, cloudy thinking, depression and anxiety. Meditation, on the other hand, has been shown to decrease those levels of stress.