Meditation Helps Stressed Out Teens
Meditation is Effective Coping Mechanism for Teen Stress
Although many people assume teen-age years are carefree and fun-filled, stress is a constant companion of teens. The American Psychological Association has reported that the stress experienced by American teens not only rivals that of adults, but surpasses it, making teens the most highly-stressed segment of our population. Teens report the highest level of stress during the school year, often feeling overwhelmed, sad or depressed as a result of stress. Teens’ lives include juggling hectic schedules of after-school activities, jobs, homework, and family obligations. It is no surprise that teens say they feel tired or fatigued. Almost half of the teens surveyed did not believe they did enough to manage their stress or were not sure if they did. A simple and effective coping mechanism is meditation. A regular practice of just minutes a day delivers multiple benefits.
Meditation relieves Eating and Sleep Problems
Teens stress may result in issues involving eating habits, such as overeating or skipping meals. Eating problems are often caused by stress or sleep deprivation. Studies have shown that meditation is an effective method to relieve stress, relieve eating disorders, relieve cravings, and effective in treating insomnia.
Stress in teens often manifests in disrupted sleep habits. Studies agree that teens require more hours of sleep than adults, but few teens get the 9ΒΌ hours recommended by health experts such as the National Sleep Foundation.
Stress makes matters worse, because stress can interrupt what sleep hours teens do have, further robbing them of much needed rest. All these issues are compounded when technology enters the picture and impacts teens physically. Screen time, whether on a computer, tablet, TV, video games, or cell phones, often consumes a large number of non-school hours. The light from these screens stimulates a part of the brain that disrupts much needed sleep. Sleep deprivation impairs one’s ability to be alert, pay attention, solve problems, retain information, cope with stress, and can cause food cravings. In light of teens’ widespread sleep deprivation, many doctors favor delaying the start of classes until after 8:30 a.m. to protect the health of students. Read more about it here.
Meditation can help the body restore itself in a way that can mimic sleep. Studies have shown that meditation can refresh the body and mind as much as sleep, even showing a higher degree of alertness after a meditation compared to a Power Nap. While a nap during school hours may be impractical, a 15 minute meditation may not only be possible, but can be a group practice, providing not only benefits but mutual support among the students.
Improve Attention, Memory, and Test Scores – Relieve SAT, College Admission, and GRE Stress
Within our highly competitive society, American teens face increased pressure to perform well academically in order to pave the way to successful college admissions. Teens face ongoing social pressures as well. A regular meditation practice stimulates parts of the brain helping students with academic skills such as reading comprehension, while it provides physical benefits, relieves symptoms of stress and promotes relaxation. Meditation also improves attention spans, mental clarity and focus, memory, and promotes a general sense of well-being. In addition, a recent study linked Meditation practice to improved test scores, such as SAT’s and GRE’s. Students showed improved memory capacity and improved test results after just two weeks of Meditation. Read my blog on Meditation and test scores. A study of college students showed that those who meditated on a daily basis not only did better academically, but were better adjusted socially, had more friends, and reported being happier than those who did not meditate. These benefits are also available to high school and younger students. A recent study showed that fourth and fifth graders who were taught meditation had improved in mathematics.
Life-long Benefits of Meditation
Meditation offers teens an excellent tool to help cope with the pressures of their school routines. Meditation is easy to learn and easy to practice, and will provide a valuable life skill to handle future stresses for many years to come. According to the APA, high stress and ineffective coping mechanisms remain ingrained in American culture. Yet an effective coping mechanism can be found in meditation. Contrary to popular belief, meditation is a simple practice and just minutes a day can provide benefits. High school and college students could benefit immensely by learning to develop a regular meditation practice – as could all students of Life. Meditation can benefit parents, too, in terms of support for teen children and of course, to relieve their own stresses and sharpen their mental skills.
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