Can Yoga and Meditation Practice Motivate Teenagers to Adopt a Healthier Lifestyle: An Epidemiological Study.
Saumya Subramanian, Anuradha Rajaram, Pravin Sangle, Dipika Mahapatra, Divya Kanchibhotla
Clinical child psychology and psychiatry July 1, 2026 DOI: 10.1177/13591045261446334 (opens in new tab) via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractTeenagers aged 13–19 who practiced yoga or meditation showed significantly better positive affect, global health, and cognitive health compared to peers who did neither. The study of 425 Indian adolescents found no significant improvement in psychological stress or sleep problems. Lifestyle choices also appeared better among those who practiced yoga or meditation.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Epidemiological study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 425 |
| Population | Teenagers aged 13-19 in India |
| Interventions | yoga meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Lifestyle choice Mental health Teenagers Yoga |
| Key finding | Teens who practiced yoga or meditation had significantly better positive affect, global health, and cognitive health than those who did not. |
Abstract
BackgroundThe rapid technological growth and the ease of access to Internet to the current generation population (Generation Z, alpha) right from their early days of life, has its both advantages and disadvantages. The present epidemiological study evaluates the impact of yoga and meditation practices on the teenagers' mental health and lifestyle choices.MethodsThe total sample size is 425, of age group 13-19, 237 were practicing either yoga, meditation or both, while 188 practiced neither meditation nor yoga. Several different parameters were assessed via the PROMIS pediatric forms. Several lifestyle habits were also assessed using subjective questions.ResultsOur study has demonstrated that teens who practiced yoga and meditation had a significantly positive effect on the parameters such as positive affect (p value <.001), global health (p value = .03) and cognitive health (p value = .02) compared to their peers who did not practice any yoga or meditation. It was also shown a negative effect on parameters such as psychological stress experiences (p value = .06), sleep related problems (p value = .41).ConclusionsAlong with the mental and cognitive health, the decisions and choices made by the teenagers who practice yoga and meditation are shown to be better than their peers in this Indian epidemiological study.