An Upper School Study on Meditation

Is there any problem or crisis that wouldn’t benefit from simply slowing down and taking a breath...or five? Increasingly, we point to mindfulness as a powerful tool to help students manage stress and reduce anxiety — whether nerves about an upcoming test, an issue with friends, or adjusting to changes in the world around us. But how does it work? Before spring break, our Upper School biology classes conducted some interesting and strikingly relevant research by putting mindfulness and meditation to the test.

Curiosity Matters in Science

Do you remember taking your resting heart rate in class, running around for a few minutes, and measuring again? Although this common biology lab demonstrates how heart rate changes with respiration, there’s little to be curious about; the change is expected. The lesson lacks real inquiry-based interaction. Biology teacher Ms. Dana Young saw an opportunity to make this lab come alive for her students after the entire junior class meditated with counselor Ms. Sam Straub. Ms. Young challenged her students to test whether mindfulness shows immediate changes in our bodies as it seems to do in our minds.
“When I first mentioned this lab to my classes, I got groans. They didn’t think there would be much of an impact. But their doubts created an opportunity for real inquiry and discovery. If their data showed the connection, it would reinforce the real benefits of mindfulness.” — Ms. Young

The Mind Body Connection

Before beginning the lab itself, Ms. Young’s students used library databases to research peer-reviewed articles on mindfulness, respiration and cardiovascular health. Although there is a wealth of evidence on the long-term effects of meditation, there’s less available on the body’s immediate response. The lack of data in this area presented a perfect entry point for our students to conduct their own studies.
Severn School high school students taking blood pressure in the biology lab
Using sphygmomanometers to measure blood pressure.
On the first day of the lab, students practiced measuring their own heart rates, respiratory rates and blood pressure. As a group, they followed a five-minute meditation video and created a Likert scale to record their anxiety levels.
Severn School high school students taking blood pressure in a biology lab.
Ms. Young circulated the room to help her students take accurate measurements.
For the next three days, the class measured and recorded those same physiological variables and anxiety levels before and after meditating. Students collected data on themselves and compiled it as a group using ID numbers rather than names to protect the privacy of their results. They analyzed the group’s data and presented their findings. The data showed a clear connection between the body’s physiological response and meditation with a corresponding reduction in anxiety revealed by the Likert indices.
"We tell our students that they should be doing something, like meditation, and we show them research that someone else did. They are skeptical; they don’t often internalize a concept until they’ve seen it for themselves. That skepticism is exactly what makes them good scientists.” — Ms. Young
Screenshot of student research.
A sample research report from the study.

Take Time to Refocus and Recenter

When our upper schoolers conducted this study in February, news of the coronavirus still seemed a world away. They did not know how drastically our world was about to change and just how useful their study would prove to be. Just before returning from break and diving into remote learning, Ms. Young shared their findings with our teachers and students, “Over the next few weeks, I wanted to remind everyone of the power of taking a few minutes to refocus and recenter using meditation.”



Support From Our Counselors

As we navigate through the countless changes to our daily lives during the coronavirus outbreak, our counseling team has put together resource boards for students and their families. They are full of helpful links and strategies to support mental health and well-being along with important contacts should you experience a crisis or emergency. Click the links below and login to mySevern to access.


Students and parents can also contact our counselors directly. Click here for email and phone contact information for our Lower, Middle and Upper School counselors. 
Back

Lower School

Upper School