It’s not just school stress. It’s nervous system stress. 

Higher levels of emotional control, optimism and empathy than students who were not instructed in the mindfulness span¹⁶

Fewer behavioural problems and aggression amongst students¹⁷

Improvement with metacognition and ability to maintain attention. These students also showed improvements in memory, planning and organisation¹⁸

Increased impulse control¹⁹

Mindfulness-based interventions have been linked with enhancements in well-being and self-regulation across a broad range of research and theory²⁰

Both meta-cognition and emotional well-being are highlighted as important learning themes within UK educational policy and curricula²¹, yet there are very few evidence-based school programs promoting meta-cognition which can be delivered by school teachers for younger children.²²

As we continue to learn that many adult diseases have their roots in childhood exposure to stress and trauma, it is essential to intervene with primary prevention strategies to reduce their negative effects among children and youth. This trial provides convincing evidence that high-quality school-based MBSR instruction for youth in urban public schools is feasible, acceptable, and leads to improvements in psychological symptoms, coping, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Improvements in these domains may ultimately reduce the negative impact of stress and trauma experienced in childhood and adolescence and lead to significant positive shifts, when imagined over the life course.²³