The importance of formal versus informal mindfulness practice for enhancing psychological wellbeing and study engagement in a medical student cohort with a 5-week mindfulness-based lifestyle program.
PloS one January 1, 2021 Naomi Kakoschke, Craig Hassed, Richard Chambers et al. 49 citations
A 5-week mindfulness-based lifestyle course for first-year medical students was associated with improvements in mental health, perceived stress, study engagement, and dispositional mindfulness. Among 205 students who completed questionnaires before and after the program, all measured outcomes improved. Improvements were interrelated: reductions in perceived stress correlated with gains in other areas, and increases in mindfulness correlated with better mental health and study engagement. The amount of informal mindfulness practice (e.g., integrating mindfulness into daily activities) was positively related to all improvements, whereas formal practice (e.g., seated meditation) was only linked to increased mindfulness scores. The findings suggest that even a brief mindfulness program can benefit medical student wellbeing, especially when students engage in informal practice.