Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a technique for avoiding distracting thoughts and promoting a state of relaxed awareness.

“Students have been experiencing increased levels of stress and it’s impacting their academic performance,” said Laurent Valosek, lead author of the study and Executive Director of the Center for Wellness and Achievement in Education.

According to the American Psychological Association,31% of teens reported feeling overwhelmed and 36% reported feeling fatigued as a result of stress.

Over a third of teens reported that their stress level increased in the past year, while around half of teens don’t feel they are doing enough to manage their stress.

These findings in this new study are consistent with past research on TM showing benefits related to emotional health and intelligence.

69% of students below proficiency at baseline, improved at least one performance level at post-test compared to 33% of the control students.

This is particular finding is interesting because the control group is doing sustained silent reading, This suggestes that introducing meditation to the school day may be more effective in improving academic outcomes than additional time spent reading.

Source: Medindia