Have you ever thought about just how much students manage to accomplish on a daily basis?
They get up when their alarm goes off even after staying up until midnight to finish their work. Then, they manage to catch the bus on time after shoveling down as much breakfast as possible in the twenty minute crunch time. In their classes, they complete exams and in-class essays. After all of this, they go to track practice or theater club. And finally, they go home to do their homework.
In the span of a day, students probably accomplish much more than many full-time workers do!
Meanwhile, they’re also spending time building relationships — with friends, teachers, teammates, lab partners, and classmates.
And while some students do get adequate breaks during the day, this certainly isn’t the norm.
Enter meditation, a free tool that can help students maintain their sanity even on those days where they have to complete ten hours’ worth of assignments in three hours.
Meditation: a tool to reduce stress
In an eight-week study, researchers found that participants who utilized mindfulness meditation reduced the inflammation that often occurs in response to stress (neurogenic inflammation).
Meanwhile, research has found that meditation may improve symptoms of certain stress-related conditions, such as IBS, PTSD, and fibromyalgia.
In a study published in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, researchers assessed college students’ stress and anxiety levels. They found that, after participating in a six-week yoga and meditation program, students had less stress and anxiety.
As a result, meditation can help students get better sleep
By mitigating stress, meditation may be the pathway to a good night’s sleep for students — a.k.a, mecca.
Researchers have proposed that meditating can lead to a decrease in cortisol, the hormone most often associated with stress. And of course, stress can inhibit our ability to get good sleep.
In a 2015 study, researchers assessed the impact of mindfulness meditation on adults with sleep issues. Subjects were assigned either six weeks of meditation or sleep education. The researchers found that participants in the meditation group experienced fewer bouts of insomnia and less daytime exhaustion.
Meanwhile, in another study, researchers analyzed the melatonin levels of experienced meditators directly after practicing. They found that, lo and behold, immediately after meditation, participants had higher levels of melatonin compared to after no meditation.
By engaging in meditation before bed, students can thus enhance their sleep quality, leading to increased energy levels and participation in class.
How meditation improves focus
In addition to lowering stress levels, a key for student success is improving focus.
In a study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, researchers found that people who listened to a meditation tape had both better focus and accuracy in completing a task compared to those who did not listen to the tape.
Meanwhile, another study compared experienced meditators to non-meditators. Subjects participated in a 30-minute meditation session and a rest condition, with data collected before and after each intervention. The results showed that meditation improved overall accuracy for all participants. However, experienced meditators had greater accuracy and efficiency in completing a visual task compared to the non-meditators.
One review even suggested that meditating may reverse brain patterns that contribute to mind-wandering, worrying, and poor attention.
So, this research tells us that regularly practicing meditation could help boost attention span and as a result, improve student performance.
The brain on meditation
While some attribute the effects of meditation to pseudoscience, research suggests that the practice actually significantly impacts certain parts of the brain. This could thus clarify how meditation can help students alleviate stress and improve their focus.
Meditation increases gray matter
For instance, studies have found that meditation can lead to increases in gray matter density in the hippocampus.
Of course, if you’re not a science fanatic, this might mean nothing to you. So let’s break it down.
- Gray matter is brain tissue that helps with information processing.
- Having increases in gray matter is often linked to enhanced learning, cognition, and memory.
Meditation disrupts the default mode network
After a long day at school and finally finishing their homework, most students crave some much-needed relaxation. But is this what actually happens?
In reality, after students stop doing tasks, even if they have full intentions to relax, their brains might not get the memo.
What is the default mode network?
In the brain, there’s something called the default mode network (DMN), which becomes active when we’re not performing attention-demanding tasks or when our focus is not on the task at hand.
When the DMN is activated, we begin thinking a lot. And our thoughts start wandering. We think about ourselves, others, the past, and the future, stopping to piece things together along the way.
In a study, Harvard researchers recruited 2,250 volunteers who reported at random times about whether they were thinking about their current activity or about something pleasant, neutral, or unpleasant.
On average, subjects reported that their minds were wandering around 47% of the time.
As you can maybe imagine, all this thinking often leads to ruminating, which is when we repetitively dwell on negative thoughts and feelings.
How is the DMN related to meditation?
One of the reasons why meditation can be so powerful is that it can disrupt the DMN. Across many types of meditation, practitioners aim to notice when their thoughts wander, and to then be able to release them.
Researchers have speculated that, when we practice meditation over a long period of time, we reduce ruminative thinking.
In fact, in a Yale study, researchers found that the default mode networks of seasoned meditators were significantly less active than those of beginner meditators.
Meditation reduces beta waves
Scientists have also discovered that, when we meditate, beta waves in the brain decrease.
Beta waves, in a few words, are a particular type of brainwave that become activated when we are awake and alert.
Significantly, high levels of beta activity is associated with higher levels of anxiety and stress.
Evidently, students have the opportunity to leverage meditation to decrease emotional distress. As a result, meditation can indirectly help them with coping in stressful situations (i.e., cramming the night before a huge physics exam).
How to meditate
Your meditation practice is going to be your own, which means that you can tailor it to your needs.
While there are several different types of meditation — with each usually having fundamental goals — here are some basic steps you can use to get started and familiarize yourself with the practice. 
Basic steps:
- Get comfy!
- You may find that this means wearing loose clothing that doesn’t have buttons or itchy material.
- Find a (quiet) space.
- Find a comfortable gaze or close your eyes.
- Notice your breath. Try taking some deep breaths if it feels good.
- Check in with your body.
- Consider doing a body scan, where you observe all your physical sensations from head to toe.
- Continue observing your breath.
- Notice any thoughts that come to mind.
- Yet, as much as possible, try to let them pass by.
Meditation for beginners: tips for students
1. Set a time limit — start with baby steps
If you were just starting out on your running journey, you likely wouldn’t run ten miles on your first day. Like running, meditation takes some getting used to, some patience, and persistence.
This is why it’s usually best to start slow and then work up to increasing the duration of your sessions.
Everyone’s different, but a good place to start may be anywhere from five to twenty minutes. You can start with one time duration, and see if that works for you. If not, that’s okay, too! You’ll get it eventually.
2. Prioritize consistency
It seems that a major key to sticking with something is consistency. When we’re consistent, we’re more likely to see progress. And when we see progress, we’re more motivated to further improve.
The more consistently you meditate, the quicker you’ll feel comfortable. And once that ease sets in, you’ll likely begin to more clearly recognize the benefits of meditation.
Tips for a consistent practice:
- Create a schedule and put it somewhere you can see it.
- Send yourself reminders on your phone or stick them around your home.
- Tell someone about your meditation practice for accountability.
- Have meditation session reflections where you do a recap (either in a notebook or in your head).
3. Find a quiet space
At the end of the day, you really can practice meditation anytime, anywhere.
However, often, we find that silence really is key to bringing our minds and bodies to stillness.
As research demonstrates, background noise can easily distract us, as it activates the same brain region as the sounds we choose to focus on.
(Of course, you can practice wherever you want. Just know, if you meditate for your first time ever, and you’re able to do it in the middle of Times Square on a Friday afternoon, you should know that you may be a real superhero.)
4. Try guided meditation
Often, experts recommend using guided meditation before trying it on your own.
With guided meditation, someone, whether through audio or video, is guiding you through the practice. Often, they’ll just be walking you through the basic steps of meditation (and, usually, in a calm/soothing voice).
As you may discover, when you have a voice to follow, it can be easier to focus on your body rather than your thoughts, compared to doing it in complete silence.
Another benefit here is that the expert typically will remind you at times that it’s okay, and completely normal, for your brain to wander. This not only is reassuring, but it also helps you bring your mind back to the present moment!
Recommendations: guided meditation channels
5. Be kind to yourself and don’t set expectations
As humans, we naturally tend to create expectations around anything and everything.
Whether or not it’s happening consciously, on any specific day, you’re setting some expectations for yourself.
Maybe these are work expectations — aiming to complete a certain number of tasks or perhaps finally starting a task you’ve been putting off.
Or maybe these are more general expectations — getting to bed at a certain time, waking up at a certain time, eating a certain amount of food, etc.
Having expectations isn’t inherently negative. However, when you cling too tightly to them, you may run into difficulties. Because when you don’t fulfill those expectations, you’ll spend too much time and energy rebuking yourself. Consequently, the emotions that accumulate may obstruct your focus on achieving your goals.
In meditation, having too many expectations can set you up for frustration. Take some time to imagine physically detaching yourself from any preconceived notions about meditation, and accept that finding your groove in meditation may take some time.
Show yourself some grace and keep in mind that starting a meditation practice is like starting any other new endeavor — it’ll take time and patience!
6. Observe your breath
It seems that whenever someone engages in a conversation about meditation or mindfulness, the topic of the breath comes up.
In reality, the objective in meditation isn’t to control or alter your breath, but to observe it.
And one of the major reasons for this is that doing so can help you take your awareness away from your wandering thoughts, and bring it back to your body and the present moment.
You’ll notice that, when you observe your breath during meditation, you’ll have an easier time shifting your focus — and in turn a more powerful session.
Final thoughts
Although research is somewhat limited, strong evidence points to the immense power of meditation as a tool for students. It not only aids in stress reduction but also significantly boosts their productivity.
As you embark on the journey of meditation, you’ll see that thoughts will inevitably arise. However, the ultimate goal of this process is to observe these thoughts without allowing them to occupy much of your mental space (basically, acknowledge them, but let them pass.)
In my experience, meditation has guided me in quieting these thoughts and finding stillness in the present moment. As someone with a particularly active mind, this practice has been incredibly helpful — especially during times where winding down is essential, like before bed.
Indeed, meditating can be challenging at first, even for the most zen amongst us. When we’re so accustomed to entertaining every thought that crosses our mind, it feels quite alien to RSVP ‘No’ to the invitation to ruminate on that moment three years ago when you accidentally referred to your teacher as ‘mom.’
But, like anything new, persistence leads to increased comfort. And the reward is that you’ll have access to tap into this powerful tool that you can utilize at any moment where you need to drown out the peanut gallery of thoughts taking up too much space in your mind.
