Introspection may be a cure for frantic students suffering from beginning-of-the-semester blues.
A recent study, conducted by researchers from The Johns Hopkins University, found that 30 minutes of mindfulness meditation every day might help reduce anxiety and depression.
In mindfulness meditation, participants focus their attention on the present and do not judge themselves or what is around them, according to the UF Counseling & Wellness Center’s website.
Dr. Madhav Goyal, Johns Hopkins assistant professor of medicine, and his team tested the effects of meditation on about 3,500 participants’ mental health, attention and behaviors like substance use, sleeping and eating.
“Meditation is an effort to help us be more aware of ourselves on a subconscious level,” Goyal wrote in an email.
UF professionals said they agree with the findings of the study and hope it will bring answers to victims of anxiety.
“Anxiety is like a rocking chair,” said William Chen, a UF health education and behavior professor. “It’s not going to get you anywhere.”
Chen said mindfulness meditation helps people focus on their inner selves, which could help break the cycle of depression and allow people to restore their energy and mental power.
“A 30-minute break from all distractions and daily hassles would help tremendously,” Chen said.
At UF, the CWC offers mindfulness meditation groups each semester for students.
Students who have participated in these groups have experienced improvements in anxiety and depression, a decrease in impulsive behaviors and an increase in concentration, said Mei-Fang Lan, a CWC clinical assistant professor.
Each semester, the CWC offers at least three groups called Taming the Anxious Mind that always fill up quickly, she said.
Lan explained that meditation does not have side effects like antidepressants, but in order for it to work properly, a routine is necessary.
“Some people want immediate results or a quick fix, and they don’t have time,” she said. “Most people, if they find time, they will see the benefits — that’s why mindfulness is so popular.”
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 1/28/2014 under the headline "Study shows mindful meditation may help reduce depression"]
