Calm, an app as well as a goal of, I imagine, all individuals on earth. Calm is an app that seeks to fulfill mindful meditation for users. There are many published papers on the effects of mindfulness and meditation contributing to overall health. In this study, the 88 participants were full-time undergraduate students with an average age of 20.41 years in the intervention group and 21.85 years in the control group. Participants were eligible if they were at least 18 years of age, owned a phone, read/understood english, willing to be randomized and download the app, and scored 14 or higher on the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; which we all know well). The evaluated outcomes were stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion. These were evaluated by comparing baseline assessment results to 8-week assessment results. It was found that the intervention group did find a significant interaction between the calm meditation and perceived stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion. There was also a significance in the sleep disturbance for users of the app.
As we have navigated the mindfulness and meditation in our physiology lab, some have found similar effects in the short week of practice. Meditation is a great tool that can be used to improved overall well-being of an individual, especially long-term. I have found that mindful meditation helps my performance in sports and academics, improves sleep quality, and improved my mental health. So, if you're feeling overwhelmed get your zen on! Mindful meditation through calm or even any other app could truly benefit you.
If you have had similar findings or even opposing findings, comment with your experience!
Huberty J, Green J, Glissmann C, Larkey L, Puzia M, Lee C. Efficacy of the Mindfulness Meditation Mobile App "Calm" to Reduce Stress Among College Students: Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2019 Jun 25;7(6):e14273. doi: 10.2196/14273. PMID: 31237569; PMCID: PMC6614998.
Hey Gia.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this info! Personally, I have found it super difficult to get into a groove of meditation. The mindfulness and meditation weekly challenge in physiology lab was probably my least successful week because I was not able to quiet my mind and sit for an extended period of time. I want so badly to implement meditation into my daily routine because there are so many benefits. I found a study done on a group of pre-healthcare college students who chose to incorporate different levels of mindfulness and meditation into their daily routine. The researchers found that the group that meditated for the longest time, decreased stress (p = 0.003), state anxiety (p = 0.007), trait anxiety (p = 0.003), and increased mindfulness (p = 0.007).
It is interesting to see these results in in students who have similar experiences to us in physiology. I hope to one day prioritize meditation as it has shown to be a very helpful stress reliever.
Burgstahler, M. S., & Stenson, M. C. (2020). Effects of guided mindfulness meditation on anxiety and stress in a pre-healthcare college student population: a pilot study. Journal of American College Health, 68(6), 666–672.
Hey Maddie,
DeleteI remember listening to your podcast and you stating that it was pretty difficult for you. I truly think setting the timer everyday for meditation helped me a ton. It reminded me to take a moment, be present, and take care of myself. Although I didn't always listen to my timer (LOL) it did help me. I'm sure there are other ways that could help. I'll let you know!
Hi Gia thanks for providing some research on what we've been doing in lab! I've noticed that I had an easier time being mindful of my thoughts and emotions than actually sitting down and meditating. Although it was difficult, I've noticed that being mindful significantly improved my overall mental well being. I'm unsure if meditating did anything for me as I had a hard time really getting into it.
ReplyDeleteI found this 2014 review where researchers found little evidence that found that meditation actually improved stress and mental-health related quality of life. What was interesting however was that individuals who practiced meditation for at least 2.5 hours a week for 2-6 months found that their anxiety and depressive symptoms improved comparable to what would be expected from the use of an antidepressant. This is great as antidepressants often have unwanted side effects and meditation could be a great alternative. Although they did not find significant improvement in stress and mental-health related quality of life, I think that it could possibly be due to how short-term the studies were. Meditation is a skill that takes a lot of time to get right. I suspect that if participants were given more time there may be significant long-term improvements to stress and overall mental health.
Goyal, M., Singh, S., Sibinga, E. M., Gould, N. F., Rowland-Seymour, A., Sharma, R., Berger, Z., Sleicher, D., Maron, D. D., Shihab, H. M., Ranasinghe, P. D., Linn, S., Saha, S., Bass, E. B., & Haythornthwaite, J. A. (2014). Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA internal medicine, 174(3), 357–368. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.13018
Yeah, I totally agree with the medication! I feel that medication has become too readily available for everybody. It is almost as if instead of dealing with the emotions, we are numbing them. I am not saying that it is 100% wrong, some people do need them to help the chemical imbalance, but I think if our doctors would implement other tools such as meditation, it could be very beneficial.
DeleteI was planning on writing a blog about meditation but you beat me to it. It is okay though; I am glad that you are practicing meditation. Having practiced meditation for a few years now, I can attest that the quality of my life has considerably improved. I found it beneficial to meditate before any test or competition. I find it especially useful in obtaining self-awareness, mindfulness and being present in the now. I found an article that states that meditation decreases sympathetic overstimulation and reduces cholesterol and smoking. There is also a feedback loop that occurs during meditation in which a conscious connection is made to the deep-inner-self. On a cellular level, DNA controls all activities of the body. DNA can make RNA, and then to proteins which will eventually provide bliss, deep-inner-self connections and help rid the body of any stressors (Sharma, 2015).
ReplyDeleteIt was because of meditation, that an epiphany came to me. It told me that I needed to embrace fear by leaving my unfulfilled, financially secured, accounting job in order to pursue dentistry which was something I really wanted to do long before I obtained my accounting degree. I figured accounting would be a safe career choice and I was afraid of being rejected by dental schools if I decided to go that route. Eventually, meditation had allowed me to make a different career choice when working as an accountant. It has helped me embrace uncertainty. I believed that if I didn’t partake in this career change, my mental maturity would be greatly hindered. I remember vividly the day I quit my accounting job. I was terrified, but I never felt more liberated in my entire life. Meditation has also helped me embrace this mindset that rejection is always better than regret. That it is better to try than not to try at all, and not to be afraid of any failures because after all, life is all about learning from our failures.
Sharma H. (2015). Meditation: Process and effects. Ayu, 36(3), 233–237. https://doi.org/10.4103/0974-8520.182756
This is amazing! It is awesome that you have been able to implement mindfulness and meditation into your life for years. It is hard enough to do it for just a month! I would love to do meditation for much longer than I have in the past and see how it could help me make important life decisions. In the short amount of time that I have meditated, I have found that I have been less stressed and ultimately so much happier. I think with finals coming up I need to meditate double time lol.
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