**Medieval Meditaters**
Mindfulness: What impact does practicing mindfulness have on community college students?
Bishop, S. R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N. D., Carmody, J., Segal, Z. V., Abbey, S., Speca, M., Velting, D., & Devins, G. (2004) Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11(3), 230-241.
Davidson, R. J., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schumacher, J., Rosenkranz, M., Muller, D., Santorelli, S. F., Urbanowski, F., Harrington, A., Bonus, K., & Sheridan, J. F. (2003). Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosomatic Medicine, 65, 564-570
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A proposed model of mindfulness: Self-regulation of attention and adopting an orientation to one’s experience. TNL
Deckro, G. R., Ballinger, K. M., Hoyt, M., Wilcher, M., Dusek, J., Myers, P., Greenber, Beth., Rosenthal, D. S., & Benson, H. (2010). The evaluation of a mind/body intervention to reduce psychological distress and perceived stress in college students. Journal of American College Health, 50(6), 281-287. doi:10.1080/07448480209603446
Winser, B. L. (2013). An exploratory study of mindfulness meditation for alternative school students: perceived benefits for improving school climate and student functioning. Mindfulness, 5, 626-638. doi:10.1007/s12671-013-0215-9
In a study conducted in a rural alternative high school, the author found that mindfulness meditation may be an appropriate tool for at-risk students to use when navigating the unique challenges, they may face in such a difficult environment. RC
Stress among college students is a predictor for suicidal ideations and feeling hopeless. TNL
Brown, K. W., & Ryan, M. R. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 84(4), 822-848. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.84.4.822
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Oman, D., Shapiro, S. L., Thoresen, C. E., Plante, T. G., & Flinders, T. (2008). Meditation lowers stress and supports forgiveness among college students: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of American College Health, 56(5), 569-578.
Schure, M. B., Christopher, J., & Christopher, S. (2008). Mind-body medicine and the art of self-care: Teaching mindfulness to counseling students through yoga, meditation, and qigong. Journal of Counseling & Development, 86, 47-56
This study takes place in graduate level university course on mind-body wellness. By processing the journal entries of the 35 students within the course/study the authors were able to obtain useful qualitative data. RC
Findings showed training college students in meditation decreased overall perceived stress levels. The decreased stress levels persisted in a 2 month follow up, showing the effects lasted. (KJS)
Roberts, K. C., & Danoff-burg, S. (2010). Mindfulness and health behaviors: Is paying attention good for you? Journal of American College Health, 59(3), 165-173.
Caldwell, K., Harrison, M., Adams, M., Quinn, R. H., & Greeson, J. (2010). Developing mindfulness in college students through movement-based courses: Effects on self-regulatory self-efficacy, mood, stress, and sleep quality. Journal of American College Health, 58(5), 433-442
Mindfulness was shown to be negatively correlated with binge eating, activity restriction, poor quality sleep, higher stress, overall health, and days missed from school or work. (KJS)
Shearer, A., Hunt, M., Chowdhury, M., & Nicol, L. (2016). Effects of a brief mindfulness meditation intervention on student stress and heart rate variability. International Journal of Stress Management, 23(2), 232-254. Retrieved from http//dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0039814
Langer, E. J., & Ngnoumen, C. T. (2017) Mindfulness. In D. Dunn, Positive Psychology: Established and Emerging Issues (pp. 97-111).
Origins of mindfulness from Hindu and Buddhist philosophy to western civilizations. TNL
Scientifically shows by looking at brain symmetry and EEGs that mindfulllness meditation does help increase positive mood and decrease anxiety. (KJS)
The left-anterior side of the brain lights up when positive moods are shown, the research showed meditating helped light up those areas. (KJS)
It was also shown that it can increase the amount of antibodies and improve immune function. (KJS)
College students were surveyed throughout a semester with intent to find positive correlation with movement-based courses, such as Pilates, and mindfulness. The researchers concluded that there was a positive correlation, as mindfulness increased over the course of the semester. (KMS)
The participating students reported feeling more relaxed, having less insomnia and negative arousal, feeling more positive energy, and getting higher quality of sleep while engaging in more mindfulness. (KMS)
In conclusion, movement-based courses have been observed to increase mindfulness in college students, which has been shown to have positive affects on physical and mental health. (KMS)
The authors use of qualitative instead of quantitative data allowed them to gain a deeper understanding of how mindfulness-based stress relief training effected the student’s lives. RC
Ahmadi, A., Mustaffa, M. S., Haghdoost, A. A., & Alavi, M. (2014). Mindfulness and Related Factors among Undergraduate Students. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 159, 20–24. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.12.321
In this study the authors observe a group of students and faculty at the University Technology Malaysia. The purpose of this study was to observe the state of mindfulness among undergraduate students. RC
Practicing mindfulness has been shown to decrease stress and anxiety. RC
Mindfulness was shown to be positively correlated with perceived daily fitness activity, physical activity enjoyment and number of days people reported being physically active. (KJS)
Cheli, S., De Bartolo, P., & Agostini, A. (2019). Integrating mindfulness into nursing education: A pilot nonrandomized controlled trial. International Journal of Stress Management. https://doi-org.cwi.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/str0000126.supp (Supplemental)
Increased levels in mindfulness correlated with decreased levels of burnout in nursing students. (KJS)
Higher levels of stress are linked to headaches, anxiety, depression, colds, pain, and sleep disturbances. TNL
6 – 90 minute training sessions about cognitive behavioral intervention (CBI) and relaxation response (RR) yield optimal results in stress reduction. TNL
Findings also showed an increase in the level of forgiveness the students had, as well as a decrease in the level of rumination they were experiencing. (KJS)
Mindfulness is not a relaxation technique but a certain awareness of ones feeling and streams of thought. TNL
Benefits of mindfulness may lead to qualities of patience, non-reactivity, wisdom, and compassion. TNL
Mindfulness may lead to a reduction in rumination, depression, and anxiety. TNL
Meditative practices have resulted in a increase in academic performance, concentration, perceptual sensitivity, reaction time, memory, self-control, empathy, and self-esteem. TNL
Physical disease from stress may include: cardiovascular disease, exacerbation of autoimmune disease, accelerating aging, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, hopelessness, sleep disturbances, increased rates of athletic injuries, and the common cold. TNL
Stress may lead to rumination which may deplete energy and compounds stress. TNL
How studies of mindlessness lead to the development of mindfulness. TNL
Fear of the future; mindful vs mindless. TNL
Participants with increased heart rate variability showed increased control of stress and anxiety management. RC
Researchers used animal therapy as a control, as it is a commonly practiced stress management tool in many colleges. RC
Many students reported positive physical changes. Such as increased flexibility and healthy weight loss. RC
Researcher also observed different ethnicities us of mindfulness. RC
The author used questionnaires and concept mapping as away of obtaining needed data. RC
The relaxation response (RR) is essential for calming the nervous system and is typically triggered by verbal or physical cues and allowing thoughts to pass by. (KMS)
Researchers found that using RR and cognitive behavioral interventions (CBI) to rewire the way we think about things, were shown to reduce stress and anxiety in college students. (KMS)
The study revealed that meditation impacts the immune system in positive ways. In summary, people who practice mindful behavior and meditation develop stronger immune systems. (ML)
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It was conducted through randomization. Brain activity was measured through a series of tests during meditation. (ML)
Furthermore, brain activity was tested after four months of a program focusing on meditation. (ML)
College undergraduates engaged in a two 8-week training programs which emphasized mediation and tested coping methods. (ML)
Participants varied from ages 18 through 24. Each participant was selected through randomization. Overall, the study concluded with 44 participants who were predominantly age 18. This is interesting to explore as many people who are 18 years old are first entering college and getting use to living on their own. (ML)
Rumination is the process of reflection which typically involves negative thoughts about a situation. Over analysis of thoughts can have negative effects on people. (ML)
Groups receiving treatment were exposed to a dog for an hour throughout the course of 4 sessions each week. (ML)
Compared to the control group which did not interact with the dog or complete mindfulness training, the treatment groups appeared less stressed. (ML)
Additionally, another group was expected to completed a mindfulness training program. (ML)
Huston, D., Garland, E., & Farb, N. S. (2011). Mechanisms of mindfulness in communication training. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 39(4), 406–421.
The study strives to examine how mindfulness impacts community college students who are attending communication courses. ( ML)
The authors compared how students taking introductory communication courses utilized mindfulness and learned it versus students who did not have courses with mindfulness lessons. (ML)
In conclusions, students who learned mindfulness techniques developed better communication skills and were less likely to engage in negative emotions such as blame. (ML)
The researchers in this study wanted to look at how multiple mindfulness techniques affects counseling students, while at the same time, instilling skills that the future counselors will need. KMS
Despite gathering qualitative data, they found no noticeable differences in the students open-ended questions at the end of the study. The trend they found was positive reactions to the mindfulness exercises. KMS
Based on student responses, it seemed that the mindfulness techniques used improved physical, mental, emotion, and spiritual health. KMS
Barrington, J., Weaver, A., & Brebner, K. (2019).
Exploring Mindfulness in Relation to Alcohol and Cannabis Use among First Year University Students. College Student Journal, 53(2), 163. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.cwi.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=137158702&site=ehost-live&scope=site
KMS
Researchers wanted to find the relationship between mindfulness and substance abuse among college students. KMS
They found a negative correlation between mindfulness and problematic substance abuse. The more mindfulness a student engaged in, the less they would use alcohol or cannabis. KMS