Just 5 minutes of mindfulness for mental health?     

Mindfulness meditation can have many mental health benefits.

For example, a review of 13 studies showed improvement in ADHD symptoms with mindfulness meditation (1).

41 trials show mindfulness meditation helped improve stress related outcomes such as anxiety, depression, stress, positive mood, etc. (2)

There are other studies showing benefits of mindfulness and meditation for mental health (3)

A recent study looked at the potential benefits on university students of engaging in just 5 minutes of mindfulness meditation at the beginning of a class (4).

What was the study design? (4)

  • 133 Students engaged in 5 minutes of mindfulness meditation at the beginning of class upto 3 days per week (4).
  • 13 faculty members teaching 19 different courses were trained to follow the mindfulness protocol and shared their course rosters with the researchers; they were also provided with support throughout the study (4).
  • Class sizes ranged from 7 to 430 students (4).
  • Pre- and post-test survey responses were collected from students taking courses from faculty who were trained to facilitate brief classroom-based mindfulness activities (4).

What were the results? (4)

  • Due to the program, students reported a decrease in stress and improvement in well-being as measured by Perceived Stress Scale and WHO-5 Well being scale, respectively (4).
  • 34% of students recounted the utility of mindfulness programming as most relevant in times of stress both inside and beyond class, and as useful when trying to “not become overwhelmed” and for recognizing when they needed “to take a minute to breathe.” (4)
  • 47% of students reported improved stress management outside of class (4).

What are some caveats?

  • This is a small study at 1 university and further study is needed to verify the effectiveness of a classroom based mindfulness program.
  • There are many mindfulness and mediation resources available that students can consider before or after class.
  • Not everyone might find mindfulness based programs beneficial; which could limit usability in the classroom.
  • Further study is needed before applying any 1 such program systematically on a large scale.
  • Brief classroom based wellness activities have the potential to benefit mental health. Students might be more motivated to explore such wellness activities further after learning about them in the classroom.
  • This study highlights the potential benefits of brief mindfulness activities on mental health even if it’s not every day.

What are some helpful resources for mindfulness and meditation?

By Ryan S Patel DO, FAPA

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Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative only. It is advised that you check with your own physician/mental health provider before implementing any changes. With this article, the author is not rendering medical advice, nor diagnosing, prescribing, or treating any condition, or injury; and therefore claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or injury caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material presented.

References:

  1. Poissant, H., Mendrek, A., Talbot, N., Khoury, B., & Nolan, J. (2019). Behavioral and Cognitive Impacts of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Adults with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review. Behavioural neurology2019, 5682050. doi:10.1155/2019/5682050
  2. Goyal M, Singh S, Sibinga EMS, et al. Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-Being [Internet]. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2014 Jan. (Comparative Effectiveness Reviews, No. 124.)Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK180102/
  3. Patel R. Mental Health For College Students  https://a.co/d/iXhbkAj
  4. JesseHonsky , Marjorie N. Edguer , Elizabeth R. Click , Suzanne Rusnak , Barbara Burgess Van Aken , Matthew A. Salerno & Kristen A. Berg (2023) Mindfulness matters in the classroom: A pilot study of a university-wide classroom-based brief mindfulness program, Journal of American College Health, DOI: 1080/07448481.2023.2237596

 

Mindfulness meditation vs escitalopram for anxiety

Mindfulness meditation has been shown to have various mental health benefits. For example, a review of 13 studies showed improvement in ADHD symptoms with mindfulness meditation (1).

Also, 41 trials show mindfulness meditation helped improve stress related outcomes such as anxiety, depression, stress, positive mood, etc. (2)

A review of 14 clinical trials shows meditation being more effective than relaxation techniques for anxiety (3).

A recent study looked at whether mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) was as effective as an anti-anxiety medication Lexapro (escitalopram) (4).

Who was in the study? (4)

  • 102 participants in MBSR and 106 participants in the escitalopram group, with a mean age of 33 years (4).
  • Participants were mostly female (4).

How was anxiety measured (4)?

  • Clinical Global Impression of Severity scale (CGI-S) was performed by blinded clinical interviewer at baseline, week 8 end point, and follow-up visits at 12 and 24 weeks (4).
  • Primary patient reported measure was the Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS) (4).

What was the intervention? (4)

  • Participants were randomized 1:1 to 8 weeks of the weekly MBSR course or the antidepressant escitalopram, flexibly dosed from 10 to 20 mg (4).
  • MBSR group was taught MBSR as a manualized 8-week protocol with 45 minute daily home practice exercises, weekly 2.5-hour long classes, a day-long retreat weekend class during the fifth or sixth week (5).
  • Participants were taught several forms of mindfulness meditation, such as breath awareness (focusing attention on the breath and other physical sensations), a body scan (directing attention to one body part at a time and observing how that body part feels), and mindful movement (stretching and movements designed to bring awareness to the body and increase interoceptive awareness) (4,5).

What were the results? (4)

Participants who completed the trial at week 8 showed noninferiority for CGI-S score improvement with MBSR compared with escitalopram (4)—meaning MBSR was as effective as escitalopram.

What are some caveats?

  • This is the first study to compare MBSR to medication (4).
  • The study did not use commonly used instruments to measure anxiety in clinical settings such as GAD-7, Hamilton rating scale for anxiety or the Beck anxiety inventory, etc.
  • Participants had any anxiety disorder, not a specific type of anxiety disorder such as generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder etc (4) which make it difficult to generalize results for other populations.
  • Participants (4) were mostly female in the 30’s which makes it difficult to generalize results for other populations.
  • MBSR is a specific type of manualized meditation taught by qualified instructors (5) and it may be difficult to find qualified instructors or qualified classes in your area.
  • In addition to work, school, and life obligations, people may find it difficult to schedule 45 minutes of daily meditation plus 2.5 hours of weekly class plus a day long retreat.
  • Different people may benefit from different types of meditation, and this area is being further researched.
  • Practicing meditation regularly may lead to improved benefits, and some people may see benefits with shorter duration of meditation.
  • Some people may find that mindfulness or too much mindfulness may worsen their symptoms (6), so you should check with your mental health professional if MBSR is appropriate for you.
  • Some mental health conditions may not be appropriate for MBSR, check with your mental health professional.

Want to learn more about meditation?

If you would like to be notified about future posts on strategies to improve your mental health, enter your email above.

By R. Ryan S Patel DO, FAPA OSU-CCS Psychiatrist

Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative only. It is advised that you check with your own physician/mental health provider before implementing any changes. With this article, the author is not rendering medical advice, nor diagnosing, prescribing, or treating any condition, or injury; and therefore claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or injury caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material presented.

References:

  1. Poissant, H., Mendrek, A., Talbot, N., Khoury, B., & Nolan, J. (2019). Behavioral and Cognitive Impacts of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Adults with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review. Behavioural neurology2019, 5682050. doi:10.1155/2019/5682050
  2. Goyal M, Singh S, Sibinga EMS, et al. Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-Being [Internet]. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2014 Jan. (Comparative Effectiveness Reviews, No. 124.)Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK180102/
  3. Montero-Marin, J., Garcia-Campayo, J., Pérez-Yus, M., Zabaleta-del-Olmo, E., & Cuijpers, P. (n.d.). Meditation techniques v. relaxation therapies when treating anxiety: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Medicine,1-16. doi:10.1017/S0033291719001600
  4. Hoge, Elizabeth A et al. “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction vs Escitalopram for the Treatment of Adults With Anxiety Disorders: A Randomized Clinical Trial.” JAMA psychiatry, e223679. 9 Nov. 2022, doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2022.3679
  5. Santorelli  SF, Kabat-Zinn  J, Blacker  M, Meleo-Meyer  F, Koerbel  L. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Authorized Curriculum Guide. Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Revised 2017. Accessed December 14, 2017. https://www.bangor.ac.uk/mindfulness/documents/mbsr-curriculum-guide-2017.pdf
  6. Britton, W. B., Lindahl, J. R., Cooper, D. J., Canby, N. K., & Palitsky, R. (2021). Defining and Measuring Meditation-Related Adverse Effects in Mindfulness-Based Programs. Clinical Psychological Science9(6), 1185–1204. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702621996340