Effects of guided mindfulness meditation on anxiety and stress in a pre-healthcare college student population: a pilot study

Five to twelve minutes of daily guided mindfulness meditation over eight weeks reduced stress and anxiety and increased mindfulness in pre-healthcare college students aged 19–22. Students who meditated more showed greater improvements: those in the highest quartile (350–424 total minutes) decreased stress, state anxiety, and trait anxiety, while those in lower quartiles showed more limited gains. Heart rate variability also improved. The findings suggest that even brief daily meditation can benefit mental health, with larger doses yielding larger effects.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Objective: To identify the effects of guided mindfulness meditation on anxiety and stress in pre-healthcare college students. Participants: Students (n = 33, age 19–22 years) were tested between September and November of 2017. Methods: Students completed 5–12 minutes of meditation 6 days/week for 8 weeks. We examined differences in pre- and post-intervention stress, anxiety, mindfulness, and heart rate variability. Results: All variables significantly improved after the intervention. When broken into quartiles based on minutes of meditation, groups 1 (0–184 min, p = 0.044) and 2 (184.1–268 min, p = 0.042) significantly increased mindfulness after the intervention. Group 3 (268–350 min) significantly decreased state anxiety (p = 0.015) and increased mindfulness (p = 0.029). Group 4 (350.24–424.05 min) decreased stress (p = 0.003), state anxiety (p = 0.007), trait anxiety (p = 0.003), and increased mindfulness (p = 0.007). Conclusion: Five to twelve minutes of daily mindfulness meditation is associated with decreased stress and anxiety, and increased mindfulness with greater changes observed following more minutes of meditation.