The Guardian – Sally Weale
“The Cambridge students were randomly assigned to two groups. Both were offered access to the university’s usual support and counselling services, as well as NHS services. One of the two groups was also offered the mindfulness course, which consisted of eight weekly, group-based sessions, plus home practice including meditation, “mindful walking” and “mindful eating”. Researchers found the mindfulness participants were a third less likely to score above the threshold commonly regarded as meriting mental health support. Even during the most stressful period of the year, summer exams, distress scores for the mindfulness group fell below their baseline levels, as measured at the start of the study. The students without mindfulness training became increasingly stressed as the academic year progressed.”(more)