Can Mindfulness Meditation Improve Short-term and Long-term Academic Achievement in a Higher-education Course?
Michael F. S. Baranski, Christopher A. Was
College Teaching April 25, 2019 DOI: 10.1080/87567555.2019.1594150 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Higher-education students |
| Interventions | Mindfulness meditation Relaxation |
| Dose | 6 min |
| Duration | Seven lectures plus a cumulative exam |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Education |
| Key findings | Six minutes of mindfulness meditation before seven course lectures did not improve short-term quiz scores or long-term cumulative exam performance compared to relaxation. |
Abstract
Abstract Mindfulness meditation involves focusing one's attention on the present moment in a non-judgmental way. Several recently published investigations have demonstrated that a brief session of mindfulness meditation, practiced before a higher-education course lecture, can improve performance on a quiz over lecture content given immediately following the lecture. It is less clear how mindfulness meditation, practiced before multiple course lectures, impacts performance on quizzes over time as well as on a cumulative exam over all lecture contents. The present experiment compared a mindfulness meditation group to an active control group; each practiced 6 min of mindfulness or relaxation prior to seven course lectures. Following each lecture, a quiz was given over lecture contents to measure short-term academic achievement. A cumulative exam was later given over all lecture content to measure long-term academic achievement. In contrast to prior published investigations, there were no effects of mindfulness meditation on academic achievement. Given these promising yet inconsistent effects, future work should explore the moderators (i.e., individual differences; duration, frequency, and style of meditation practice) of mindfulness meditation's salutary benefits.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 6
- The integration of meditation into higher education: a systematic literature review. Journal of American College Health January 15, 2025
- Improving learning from instructional videos in primary education: the use of a mindfulness meditation Current Psychology May 28, 2025
- Contemplative Practices in a Teamwork Setting: A Preliminary Study on Mindfulness Meditations and Interpersonal Skills Mindfulness February 24, 2025
- Mindfulness matters in the classroom: A pilot study of a university-wide classroom-based brief mindfulness program. Journal of American College Health July 25, 2023
- The Effect of Mindfulness Meditation on Academic Performance of Students Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research 2022
and 1 more in the library
Cites 7
- Mindfulness Training Improves Working Memory Capacity and GRE Performance While Reducing Mind Wandering Psychological Science March 28, 2013
- Investigating the phenomenological matrix of mindfulness-related practices from a neurocognitive perspective. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. Emotion February 6, 2012
- Women Benefit More Than Men in Response to College-based Meditation Training. Frontiers in Psychology 2017
- Does mindfulness training improve cognitive abilities? A systematic review of neuropsychological findings. Clinical Psychology Review December 1, 2010
and 2 more in the library