stress management

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 neurology, 2019, 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

 

Technology, Electronics, and Mental Health

With online classes, distance learning, homework time, and remote work; people are increasingly spending more time with electronic devices and technology than in the past.  This increased screen time for work, school may cause previously used screen time for leisure activities not as restorative; as this may increase total screen time and sedentary behavior.

Zhai and colleague’s review of 24 studies shows that too much screen time (> 6 hours per day) can impact depression (1).  Similar, a review of 31 studies concluded that sedentary behavior may also impact anxiety (2).

More devices are now available than ever before: computers, televisions, tablet pcs, smartphones, smart watches, etc.

While healthy technology use can have benefits of productivity, social connection, entertainment,  and improved health; unhealthy technology use can worsen our distraction,  isolate us socially, increase stress, expose us negative social influences; and negatively impact our health.

The American Psychological Association (3) offers the following strategies to use technology in healthy ways:

  1. Avoid distracted driving (3): APA advises us to turn off notifications and place your phone out of reach when driving.
  2. Avoid electronic devices before bedtime (3). Previous research showed blue light from electronic devices used at bedtime can impact sleep (4), stressful material on electronic devices can also interfere with our ability to fall asleep (3).
  3. When smartphone users turned off smartphone notifications, they reported lower levels of inattention and hyperactivity than they did during weeks when their notifications were turned on (3, 5).  Frequent notifications were also associated with lower levels of productivity, social connectedness and psychological well-being (3,5).
  4. Schedule time for email, when possible. People who checked email continuously reported more stress than those who checked email only three times per day (3, 6).
  5. Manage expectations (3). If possible, schedule time to check messages, email, notifications etc and if possible, let others (family members, boss, etc) know how often you do this, to help manage their expectations.
  6. While social media can help us connect with others, it can also impact feelings of sadness or depression (3, 7), other people may find it helpful. Consider how social media use makes you feel and adjust your use accordingly.
  7. Face to face interactions are important for mental health. The 2017 Stress in America survey found 44 percent of people who check email, texts and social media often or constantly report feeling disconnected from their family, even when they’re together (3). When you’re with friends and family, make an effort to unplug: consider silencing your phone and put it out of reach at dinnertime or during family outings (3).
  8. Disconnect: Instead of grabbing your phone during spare time, disconnect from electronics to reflect, recharge, relax; and collect yourself (3).

To counteract excessive screen time, sedentary behavior from remote work/learning, consider the following:

  • Periodic breaks away from the screen, even a few minutes per hour may help.
  • Stretching, walking during these breaks may be helpful.
  • Instead of mindless “infinite” scrolling, consider your goal before starting a device or program.
  • Consider time outside, in nature and other leisure activities for mental health.
  • Exercise, playing sports can also help address the negative mental health effects of excessive sedentary behavior and screen time.
  • Check out mindful technology use by OSU Digital Flagship

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. Zhai L, Zhang Y, Zhang D. Sedentary behaviour and the risk of depression: a meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2015 Jun;49(11):705-9. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2014-093613. Epub 2014 Sep 2. PMID: 25183627.
  2. Stanczykiewicz B, Banik A, Knoll N, Keller J, Hohl DH, Rosińczuk J, Luszczynska A. Sedentary behaviors and anxiety among children, adolescents and adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Public Health. 2019 Apr 30;19(1):459. doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-6715-3. PMID: 31039760; PMCID: PMC6492316.
  3. Ballard D. Connected and content: Managing healthy technology use. American Psychological Association.  https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-technology-use
  4. https://u.osu.edu/emotionalfitness/2015/07/17/blue-blockers-and-other-ways-to-reduce-electronics-induced-sleep-disruption-and-daytime-tiredness/
  5. Kostadin Kushlev, Jason Proulx, and Elizabeth W. Dunn. 2016. “Silence Your Phones”: Smartphone Notifications Increase Inattention and Hyperactivity Symptoms. In Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’16). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 1011–1020. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/2858036.2858359
  6. Kostadin Kushlev, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Checking email less frequently reduces stress, Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 43, 2015, Pages 220-228, ISSN 0747-5632, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.11.005.

(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563214005810)

  1. Lin LY, Sidani JE, Shensa A, Radovic A, Miller E, Colditz JB, Hoffman BL, Giles LM, Primack BA. ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SOCIAL MEDIA USE AND DEPRESSION AMONG U.S. YOUNG ADULTS. Depress Anxiety. 2016 Apr;33(4):323-31. doi: 10.1002/da.22466. Epub 2016 Jan 19. PMID: 26783723; PMCID: PMC4853817.

 

Strategies for a Successful End of Semester

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

In academics as with many other aspects of life, successful performance requires a series of steps over time that may or may not appear to be connected.

With multiple deadlines,  projects, exams,  etc all due around the same time; the end of the semester can be a high stress time for students.

Luckily there are a series of science-backed strategies that students can apply to be their best physically, mentally, cognitively, and emotionally to maximize chances of academic success.

What health related activities should I INCREASE my chances of academic success at the end of the semester?

Here are 5 things to increase:

  1. Improve your sleep because poor sleep and poor grades go together (with resources to improve sleep):

https://u.osu.edu/emotionalfitness/2017/12/31/poor-sleep-and-poor-grades-might-go-together/

  1. Fruit and vegetable consumption improves mental/emotional well-being:

https://u.osu.edu/emotionalfitness/2015/03/25/fruits-and-vegetables-might-increase-your-odds-of-mental-well-being/

  1. Consider adding these brainpower boosting foods: https://u.osu.edu/emotionalfitness/2015/04/30/food-for-academic-brain-power/
  2. Consider Practicing gratitude exercises to feel better fast: https://u.osu.edu/emotionalfitness/2018/05/31/gratitude-exercises-to-feel-better-fast/
  3. Improve stress management: https://u.osu.edu/emotionalfitness/2017/09/01/dealing-with-too-much-stress/

What health related activities should I DECREASE to improve my chances of academic success at the end of the semester?

Here are 5  things to decrease:

  1. Too much caffeine worsens stress level and brain function:

https://u.osu.edu/emotionalfitness/2017/04/19/study-caffeine-stress-and-brain-function/

  1. Excessive digital media usage can worsen inattention symptoms:

https://u.osu.edu/emotionalfitness/2018/08/30/digital-media-and-inattention-symptoms/

  1. Reduce/avoid alcohol intake because it can impact your academic performance:

https://u.osu.edu/emotionalfitness/2018/02/26/alcohol-and-grades/

https://u.osu.edu/emotionalfitness/2017/06/21/study-alcohol-might-cause-brain-changes/

  1. Cannabis can negatively impact your brain:

https://u.osu.edu/emotionalfitness/2014/11/17/marijuana-4-hidden-costs-to-consider/

  1. Nicotine use can increase depression and anxiety:

https://u.osu.edu/emotionalfitness/2015/04/15/does-smoking-increase-anxiety-and-depression-if-i-quit-will-i-feel-better/

Additional resources if your functioning is limited by your mental health, or if you need additional help:

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.