The implementation of mindfulness may reduce the severity of stress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in adolescents, new research shows.
According to a group of researchers at Colorado State University, their new findings involved participants from a US-based mentoring program. The participants were surveyed right before the pandemic occurred, without any prior knowledge that the coronavirus was to spread in the U.S.
As the COVID-19 pandemic impacted academic institutions nationwide, researchers turned to online tools to survey the participants throughout the mid part of the year.
In their survey, researchers assessed the impact mindfulness exercises had on their well-being amid the pandemic. Their psychological health, as well as consumption of news coverage pertaining to the pandemic, were also assessed.
The findings showed that mindfulness helped the young participants cope with the impacts of COVID-19.
“Overall, these initial findings suggest that by helping teenagers to cultivate and practice mindfulness,” the Colorado-based research team concluded in their report.
“They may feel more capable of coping with the impacts of COVID-19, as well as other chronic stressors.”
