Improving Well-being Through Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Techniques

Written by Ella Sharp ’26

Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Practicing_mindfulness_promotes_creativity.png

When I first started college, I really struggled. My first semester was filled with intense anxiety, homesickness, and panic. It felt like I could do nothing as my mind kept spiraling further. I felt so alone in this experience, as it felt like everyone around me was adjusting without struggling as deeply as I was. It made me feel like no one would understand me, and that I would never be able to adjust to this new life. I didn’t know then that my experience was way more common than I thought, as the transition to college has been shown to impact first-year students in many different areas. A large issue is that, though many college students face mental health problems during the transition during the first year, many people may not be aware of the ways in which they can access mental health interventions. Many students may not feel like they have the time for a formal intervention, like therapy, but are unaware of other coping and well-being strategies. That’s where Mindfulness-Based Interventions come in.

A team of researchers from the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University implemented Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) within a required freshman seminar. MBSR, a Mindfulness-Based Intervention, was taught to these first-year students to try to decrease their stress levels while also helping them adjust to college. Researchers selected two first-year seminars to partake in MBSR sessions taught by a professional once a week for eight weeks based on the strategies found in the book Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Before starting the classes, the students filled out a questionnaire to gauge their mindfulness abilities. After eight weeks, they filled out this questionnaire again. They also filled out a separate questionnaire to gauge how well they adapted to college life. Finally, and probably the most interesting measurement, the researchers collected student saliva samples to test for levels of cortisol, which essentially showed how stressed the students were. Researchers compared the students in the MBSR classes to those in a class where the intervention was not taught.  

The findings of this study showed that this MBSR intervention can help reduce stress for first-year students and also help them adjust better to college. Specifically, these students had better personal-emotional adjustment than the students in the class without MBSR, meaning they could handle the emotions they experienced in a healthy way, even if they were really difficult. The researchers also found that the stress levels of the students in the classes where MBSR was taught were lower than those of students in a class where MBSR was not taught. These findings show that incorporating mindfulness into students’ daily lives is a great way to increase access to a simple mental health booster.

During my first semester of college, I joined a support group focused on enjoying the outdoors through mindfulness. Even though it was only once a week for an hour, I noticed a difference in my moods and thoughts. Mindfulness can be in the form of a class, like in the case of the present study, or a support group, like the one I attended, but it can also be entirely self-directed and informal. 

Here are some ways you can practice mindfulness:

1. Apps like Calm and Headspace:
   1. Offer guided mindfulness sessions, and many people choose to incorporate one of these meditations once a day
   2. Davidson College Academic Success Toolkit has information on downloading and using some other mindfulness apps
2. Journaling:
   1. Writing without judgment and paying attention to your thoughts and feelings in the present moment
   2. Greater Good Magazine – Berkeley has some articles on mindful journaling and other helpful mindfulness practices
3. Walking:
   1. Slowing down and noticing your surroundings
      1. Tune in to the rhythm of your breath, steps, and the noises of the world around you
   2. Try out the Davidson College Labyrinth and other mindful spaces on Davidson’s Campus  
4. Eating:
   1. Small tips: Focus on the texture, flavors, and pace of your eating
   2. Greater Good Magazine – Berkeley also has many articles on mindful eating 
5. Guided Imagery Meditation:
   1. Try out a few of Stanford University’s free audio meditations 

These seemingly small shifts can transform ordinary moments into greater self-awareness and stress relief opportunities. Even if it’s just five minutes a day, I would really recommend trying out a mindful activity, and I think it will make your day just a little better than it was before.

References: 

Ramler, T. R., Tennison, L. R., Lynch, J., & Murphy, P. (2016). Mindfulness and the college transition: The efficacy of an adapted mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention in fostering adjustment among first-year students. Mindfulness, 7, 179–188. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-015-0398-3