It Boosts Your HEALTH

1 - Increases immune function (See here and here)

2 - Decreases Pain (see here)

3 - Decreases Inflammation at the Cellular Level (See here and here and here)

It Boosts Your HAPPINESS

4 - Increases Positive Emotion (here and here)

5 - Decreases Depression (see here)

6 - Decreases Anxiety (see here and here and here)

7 - Decreases Stress (see here and  here)

It Boosts Your SOCIAL LIFE

Think meditation is a solitary activity? It may be (unless you meditate in a group which many do!) but it actually increases your sense of connection to others:

8 - Increases social connection & emotional intelligence (see here and - by yours truly - here)

9 - Makes you more compassionate (see here and here and here)

10 - Makes you feel less lonely (see here)

It Boosts Your Self-Control

11 - Improves your ability to regulate your emotions (see here) (Ever flown off the handle or not been able to quiet your mind? Here's the key)

12 - Improves your ability to introspect (see here & for why this is crucial see this post)

It Changes Your BRAIN (for the better)

13 - Increases grey matter (see here)

14 - Increases volume in areas related to emotion regulation, positive emotions & self-control (see here and here)

15 - Increases cortical thickness in areas related to paying attention (see here)

 It Improves Your Productivity (yup, by doing nothing)

16 - Increases your focus & attention (see here and here and here and here)

17 - Improves your ability to multitask (see here and here)

18 - Improves your memory (see here)

19 - Improves your ability to be creative & think outside the box (see research by J. Schooler)

Emma Seppala writes:

By observing your mind, you realize you don't have to be slave to it. You realize it throws tantrums, gets grumpy, jealous, happy and sad but that it doesn't have to run you.

...

"I can't meditate" because

I can't clear my mind—no worries, while you're sitting there you'll experience the noisy chaos of a wound up mind that's unwinding: tons of thoughts, feelings and emotions. Don't worry about how you feel during, notice how you feel after and throughout the rest of the day

I can't sit still—that's ok, just sit comfortably, fidget if you need to

I get anxious—that's also normal, all the junk's coming up, learn some breathing practices to calm yourself down, exercise or do yoga before meditating

I hate sitting still—that's fine, then go for a walk without your earphones, phone etc; or start with yoga; or do breathing exercises…give yourself time to just "be" without constantly "doing" something

I tried and I hated it—there's not just one kind of meditation, there's a whole menu out there, look for the shoe that fits: mindfulness, Transcendental, compassion, mantra, Vipassana, Art of Living breathing practices, yoga nidra, yoga, insight, loving-kindness, tai chi etc...

I don't have time - if you have time to read an article about meditation all the way through, you have time to meditate. Think of all those minutes you waste every day on the internet or otherwise, you can definitely fit in 20 minutes here or there to give your life a boost! Gandhi is quoted as saying "I'm so busy today, that... I'm going to meditate 2 hours instead of 1."

She makes great points.

The whole article: 

http://psychologytoday.com/blog/feeling-it/201309/20-scientific-reasons-start-meditating-today

Nice!