Higher-education students can sometimes find it challenging to manage stress, with about 77% of undergraduates reporting that they have experienced moderate to severe psychological distress, according to a 2024 American College Health Association study. With these concerns in mind, researchers in the are looking at innovative ways to solve rising mental health and attention concerns in the classroom.

Improving Academic Outcomes and Experiences

Steve Haberlin, assistant professor at the College of Community Innovation and Education is one of the college’s researchers studying the impacts of meditation interventions and other mind-body practices in the classroom.

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Haberlin first started incorporating meditation into his own academic life when he says he was a stressed-out undergraduate student. Having been introduced to meditation techniques as a child through martial arts, he already had a foundational knowledge of it. He learned that just 15 minutes of mantra repetition and meditation daily gave him the mental clarity he needed to navigate his academic responsibilities.

β€œAt my first professor job, I noticed when the undergrads first came into the classroom, they looked stressed out, unhappy and just tense,” he says. β€œI thought, β€˜I can’t just start teaching them; we need to transition into the classroom.’ That’s when I started trying mindfulness meditation, like ringing a bowl and having them just focus on their breathing or heartbeat for a couple minutes. I noticed it was starting to help them with their stress and prepare for class. Soon, other faculty wanted me to teach them.”

The results of incorporating meditation into academic life are promising. Haberlin has seen firsthand the positive effects mindfulness can have on students’ mental well-being from years of integrating the practices in his own classrooms, and he’s received positive feedback from former and current students. His latest publication in the Journal of American College Health found that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) show more conclusive evidence for reducing stress, decreasing anxiety and helping students control mind-wandering during lectures.

While research suggests a link between meditation and improved mental health, the correlation between mindfulness practices and academic performance is inconclusive. However, Haberlin says the indirect benefits β€” such as improved mental clarity and reduced anxiety β€” may naturally lead to better academic outcomes.

β€œMindfulness helps students with stress management, and while it might not directly boost grades, it certainly impacts their ability to focus and stay calm during stressful situations like exams or presentations,” Haberlin says.

Digital Mindfulness

The research has also been extended to graduate students. Haberlin, alongside Professor co-founded the Mindfulness Signature Research Group as a way for doctoral students interested in mindfulness research to collaborate and contribute to future research with like-minded peers.

Such research also examines ways that meditation and mindfulness are evolving. The use of technology, or β€œdigital mindfulness,” is a new area of meditation that Haberlin believes to be promising. It includes looking at how virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) can be integrated into meditation practices to better help students.

β€œTechnology has been blamed for mental health issues, but I believe it could also be the key to teaching students mindfulness and helping them maintain better mental health,” he says. “Students’ attention span has shortened, and they’re already used to being on devices. If you can link meditation training to the devices β€” which a lot of people have done β€” then it can be a good entry point.”

Whether through VR meditation environments or AI-driven meditation apps that guide students based on their individualized needs, the goal is to make meditation more accessible and engaging for today’s learners.

β€œWe’ve got a number of grant proposals for virtual reality meditation,” he says. β€œI’ve done a pilot with psychology students with a device called The Muse β€” a headband that provides neurofeedback through audio. As brain waves are starting to deepen or slow, you’ll get feedback as to whether you’re on the right track or not. There’s even AI now being introduced as a meditation teacher or mental health coach. I’m very interested in how we use those tools to help these digital learners deal with all the challenges that they face.”