Brief Mindfulness Meditation via Video Streaming Improves Depression, Anxiety, and Perceived Stress Among Schoolteachers: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Kenjiro Tsubono, Sachiko Mitoku
Psychology in the schools (Print) July 9, 2025 DOI: 10.1002/pits.70040 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 375 |
| Population | Public school teachers recruited through paper flyers and social media |
| Interventions | Brief mindfulness meditation via video streaming Online landscape videos |
| Dose | 10-minute meditation videos daily for 4 weeks; 10-minute landscape videos daily for the control group |
| Duration | 4-week intervention |
| Measures | Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) |
| Topics | Anxiety Depression Meditation |
| Keywords | Education |
| Key findings | Among public school teachers, four weeks of daily 10-minute online mindfulness meditation videos significantly improved PHQ-9, GAD-7, and Perceived Stress Scale scores compared with daily landscape videos. More than 90% of participants intended to continue meditation practice after the study. |
Abstract
Schoolteachers are considered as one of the most stressful professions worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the effect of brief mindfulness meditation practice via video streaming on schoolteachers' mental health. Public school teachers were recruited through paper flyers and relevant social media. Participants were randomly assigned to either the meditation or the control group. Blind procedure was not performed. Ten‐minute online meditation videos were distributed to the participants in the meditation group, and they were instructed to practice meditation daily for 4 weeks. Online landscape videos (10 min long) were distributed to those in the control group, and they were instructed to watch them daily. Participants' patient health questionnaire‐9 (PHQ‐9), generalized anxiety disorder‐7 (GAD‐7), and perceived stress scale (PSS) scores were assessed before and after the intervention. A total of 375 schoolteachers were recruited, and 349 of them completed the post‐intervention assessment. Repeated measures ANOVA was performed. The result showed that the scores of PHQ‐9, GAD‐7, and PSS in the meditation group significantly improved compared to those in the control group. More than 90% of the participants indicated their intention to continue meditation practice at the completion of the study. Limitations and implications for future research were discussed.