Background

According to the ACHA-NCHA II at the University of Rochester in the Spring of 2014:

• Within the last 12 months, stress affected 48.7% of students academic performance
• Anxiety affected 23.4% of students academic performance
• 87.8% of students have not been diagnosed or treated with depression
• 86.7% of students have not been treated with anxiety

Literature Review

• In 2004, stress was most commonly identified impediment to academic performance¹
• Stress-management and well-being promotion programs based on daily meditation observed not only decreases in distress, anxiety, but also improved immune function and reduced blood pressure and heart rate¹
• 73% of the fifty-seven studies analysed in a review showed significant reductions in overall stress scores, supporting potential effectiveness for Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction in reducing college students stress, anxiety, and cortisol levels²
• A freshman undergrad psych course at Lesley University stated improvements in academic achievements, enhanced self-acceptance, improved self-care, and overall stress reduction³

Healthy Campus 2020 Goals:

• Reduce the proportion of students who report their academic performance was adversely affected by stress in the past 12 months
  • Baseline in 2010: 27.4%
    • 2014 at Rochester: 48.7%
  • Target: 24.7%
• Reduce the proportion of students who report that their academic performance was adversely affected by anxiety in the past 12 months
  • Baseline in 2010: 18.3%
    • 2014 at Rochester: 23.4%
  • Target: 16.5%

Discussion

These statistics and findings warrant some type of implementation of a stress-reduction program at the University of Rochester. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) has been proven to have significant benefits for the mental well-being of university students. Meditation is a big component of MBSR, and as a meditation leader for Satsang Meditation Club, I wanted to investigate how a campus-wide meditation program would benefit the student body. In this, my goals were to alleviate not only the stigma to meditate on the U of R campus, but also to improve students academic performance, mental health, and motivation to practice self-care in a stressful environment. In all, I ended up choosing the library as the location for these events to reach students who are currently studying, who are likely to be stressed, and may not acknowledge the need to take a break.

Bibliography:

1. Oman, D., Shapiro, S. L., Thoresen, C. E., Plante, T. G., & Flinders, T. (2008). Meditation Lowers Stress and Supports Forgiveness Among College Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of American College Health, 56. Retrieved January 30, 2017.

2. Bamber, M. D., & Schneider, J. K. (2016). Mindfulness-Based Meditation to Decrease Stress and Anxiety in College Students: A Narrative Synthesis of the Research. Educational Research Review, 18, 1-32.

3. Wall, J. M. (2014). Finding an Inner Voice through Silence: Mindfulness Goes to College. Journal of College and Character, 15, 133-139. Retrieved March 10, 2017, from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1041249.