Can this method reduce stress and anxiety in teenagers and children?

Transcendental meditation may sound to you like something difficult to implement.

But in practice it has clear rules.

A pediatrician and adolescent doctor and a veteran practitioner explains all the benefits of the method specifically for your children.

That's how it works

Dr. Maha Azmi Yosef

09/28/2022

Wednesday, September 28, 2022, 08:10 Updated: 08:30

• Share on Facebook

• Share on WhatsApp

• Share on Twitter

• Share by email

• Share in general

• Comments

  Comments

Today's children and youth are dealing with higher levels of stress, anxiety and depression.

A girl in depression (Photo: ShutterStock)

After the Second World War, children and teenagers probably faced a difficult reality, full of challenges and tensions.

However, when researcher Jeanne Twinge, a psychology expert at the University of San Diego, looked into the issue in depth, she saw that today's children and teenagers are dealing with higher levels of stress, anxiety and depression at a rate that is 5 to 8 times greater than the children of the Great Depression. ".

A document published by the American Psychological Association also points to an alarming trend according to which the stress levels in teenagers are similar to those felt in adults - something that should probably turn on red lights for anyone who cares about the future of the younger generation.

The modern world presents a long series of new challenges for children and teenagers - if it is higher expectations, tougher competition, addiction to screens and stimuli that are only increasing.

However, alongside all these, the world today also provides more opportunities than ever before to share knowledge and ideas - which may help us all find effective ways to make it easier for our children, empower and nurture them.

"To be focused and matter-of-fact you must be calm and alert"

Dr. Bill Stixrud is a clinical neuropsychologist specializing in ADHD and learning disabilities. According to him, in order to help children and teenagers, it is first important to understand the unique way in which their brains work. "The adolescent brain is very creative and adaptable, but also much more vulnerable .

We know that stress affects the brains of children and adolescents much more than it affects the adult brain - and that same stress can also change it in a way that will have long-term effects."

From an evolutionary point of view, he explains, one can certainly understand why this happens. Danger is designed to function in situations where a lion threatens to devour us or a flood is about to destroy the shelter. In such a situation, those who survived were the ones who could not deal with anything else but the danger that stood before their eyes. "But the area of ​​the brain that produces the stress response, does not really distinguish between stress due to Being late for work, a big test or dealing with a predatory animal."

A habit that helps reduce stress (Photo: ShutterStock)

For four decades, Dr. Styxrud followed the many and fascinating developments in brain research - and saw that in the field of education, there is an overwhelming agreement that the optimal state that enables proper learning is relaxed alertness.

When we are threatened, for any reason, the brain simply does not function in a way that allows us to do anything else."

Therefore, he recommends that every parent and teacher instill in children habits that will help reduce stress, stay more in a state of relaxed alertness and improve brain function - such as practicing transcendental meditation He even expands and says that "Given what we understand today about how Transcendental Meditation can improve the lives of children and teenagers, I think it is cruel not to teach them this or at least give them the opportunity to do so."

From mental health to social skills: this is how meditation helps children

Transcendental meditation spread around the world in the 1950s and since then no less than 600 scientific studies have been conducted on it in 250 universities and research institutes around the world.

Another of the fascinating studies on the subject was published back in 2008 and found that practicing meditation helped teenagers to significantly reduce the anxiety and especially the chronic anxiety they were dealing with.

A long series of other studies, which were also conducted on adults, found that the practice is likely to lead to an improvement in mood, to strengthening self-confidence and even to improving sleep, which is known to affect physical and mental health in a long series of aspects.

To enjoy the effectiveness of the Transcendental Meditation, it must be practiced twice a day - at the beginning and at the end of the day - after a short and basic instruction.

During the practice, which takes about twenty minutes and is performed while sitting comfortably, you close your eyes and use a mantra that helps you "dive" into the depths of consciousness - easily and without effort.

"We see how children who practice transcendental meditation twice a day at school experience improvement in all important areas," says Dr. Stixrud. "And one of the significant points here in my eyes is a significant reduction in reactivity.

When I talk to vulnerable children, I emphasize that they first need to build their resilience to stresses and strains - so that they can face challenges without running away or breaking down."

• health

• parenthood

• child's health

Tags

• meditation

• Teens

• Children

• stress

• anxiety

• depression