Giving teens mindfulness classes at school to boost well-being is largely a waste of time, a major British study has found.
The technology that encourages people to meditate and live in the moment was no better than what schools were already doing for mental health.
Many students were not that interested in the method and called it “boring”.
The experiment involved hundreds of teachers and thousands of students from 85 different secondary schools.
Researchers say the results, published in a journal called Evidence Based Mental Health, are disappointing but useful.
It suggests that while mindfulness can still help some students, making it universally available in schools is doomed to fail.
Other interventions that might help, such as tackling deprivation and better targeting mental health support, should be explored, they recommend.
It’s an approach that aims to help people focus on what’s actually happening, rather than worrying about what happened or could happen.
Proponents say it can help people enjoy life more and better understand themselves instead of getting caught up in harmful, negative thoughts.
The students received mindfulness lessons during a school year. They were also asked to continue the technique at home – but very few did.
Fellow researcher Prof Mark Williams of Oxford University said that on average, students practiced mindfulness just once during the 10-week course.
“It’s like going to the gym once and hoping you’ll get fit,” he said. “But why didn’t they practice? Many found it boring.”
Many of the teachers, meanwhile, said they found the mindfulness training beneficial for their own well-being.
dr Dan O’Hare of the British Psychological Society said: “It is important not to think of mindfulness sessions as a panacea and a ‘off the shelf’ product that can only help teenagers and their teachers become ‘more resilient’ without considering all other influencing factors , such as B. the school environment.
“Nor can we ignore the fact that teenagers and teachers have endured two incredibly difficult years, and given the circumstances we live in and the stressors that come with it, it’s perhaps not entirely surprising that the cohort in the studies saw this.” not a big boost in their well-being.”
dr Julieta Galante, from the University of Cambridge, said the research shows how important it is to collect evidence to find out if an intervention really works: “The mindfulness-based program tested in this study was found to be effective based on a few small studies, and in some Schools have already started to implement it. But we need to be very sure of the benefits before introducing a universal health intervention.”
Prof Stella Chan, expert at the University of Reading, said: “The results do not completely rule out the potential of mindfulness-based therapy for young people; like any therapy, it works for some people, but not all.” The important questions are who can benefit, when, and how.”
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