Does Meditation Help College Students With Anxiety?
Written by Srinidhi Viswanathan
Edited by Chloe Chou
September 26th, 2023
Edited by Chloe Chou
September 26th, 2023
Health and Wellness
For most students, college is a time for learning and growing as a person, but according to the 2019 National College Health Assessment, 65% of college students feel overwhelming anxiety, and 45% feel depressed to a debilitating point. In order to determine how this issue could be addressed and resolved, scientists from Grand Valley State University in Michigan have been looking into methods of reducing stress and increasing mental wellbeing in college students. They have determined that one such method could be meditation.
A core component of meditation is mindfulness. Some important ideas of mindfulness include paying attention to what is happening now and accepting the situation. Happiness is subjective and can be influenced by mindfulness. Using these concepts, researchers wanted to know if meditation, a technique used to achieve calmness, is effective in increasing mindfulness and happiness and decreasing anxiety.
The researchers used two groups in their study: college students enrolled in a meditation course and college students enrolled in another non-meditation class. Three surveys were given before and after the courses ended. Based on the results, students enrolled in the meditation course showed an increase in happiness and mindfulness. However, students that were in the non-meditation course showed an increase in anxiety. Scientists are now looking into why meditation and mindfulness programs are so effective, and how this data would apply to larger, more diverse populations. The data is encouraging; there are ways for students to increase happiness and reduce anxiety in college, and it can be as simple as enrolling in a meditation course.
Image Source: “Four Students Study Flatlay Photo” by “Matthew Henry” licensed under Burst Some Rights Reserved