Intermediate students studying at various private and government junior colleges in Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh, have shown better signs of relief from of anxiety, stress, depression and sleeplessness after practising meditation for one hour a week for 16 consecutive weeks.
This was revealed in a survey conducted by the Multi-Disciplinary Research Unit (MRU) and Model Rural Health Research Unit (MRHRU) established at SV Medical College under the aegis of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Department of Health Research and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare which carried out various medical research activities in the State.
The questionnaire-based survey was given to 250 students in 2019. The MRHRU, which conducted various researches in the State for the past few years, came out with their findings on Monday, June 27, and one among them was the impact of practising meditation for relieving stress, anxiety and others.
The pilot research survey carried out by MRHRU aims to reduce the stress factor in students and improve their academic excellence. Based on the pilot research study findings, the survey will be taken up on a larger scale, the MRHRU officials said.
MRHRU Research Scientist Venkata Prasad Upadrasta, who was also an integral part of the research study conducted on intermediate students, said the Mindfulness Yoga part of the Ramakrishna Mission, trained the intermediate students in meditation for the survey. "Interestingly, students in the controlled study group have shown better improvement in anxiety, depression, stress and other disorders after taking training in meditation."
Speaking to TNIE, senior physician who also deals with psychiatry, Dr Krishna Prashanthi, said, "It is 100 per cent true that meditation is going to calm down the brain and help students to build their morale. Besides meditation, the peer support, psychological and social support from parents will help students to a greater extent in dealing with suicidal tendency."
Citing research examples, Krishna Prashanthi said Dr DK Sahay, a renowned senior physician and his team from Hyderabad conducted research two decades ago and found that meditation truly benefits in relieving stress and anxiety in humans.
"It is important to counsel parents more than students as they play a pivotal part in grooming their child. At the fag end of the day, not the exam results but the humiliating words and stress given by their parents break the emotional threshold in students and provoke them to commit suicide. So, parents should compulsorily practise meditation," Krishna Prashanthi opined.
Head of the Department of Yoga National Sanskrit University (NSU) based in Tirupati, Prof Lakshminarayana stated that students suffering from anxiety, depression and stress should practise yoga and meditation every day to have positive results.
"We can witness improvement in a short span among normal individuals. However, students, in particular, experiencing psychological stress should partake regularly in the meditation and do pranayama to overcome the stress," Prof Lakshminarayana explained.
