Using Mindfulness Meditation to improve Academic Performance and
Mental Health among Nursing Students
Nursing students report higher levels of anxiety than the overall population of college students, in part due to heavy course loads, rigorous exams, long hours of clinical experiences, and ongoing pressure to get good grades in a very competitive environment. The educational goals of the academic nursing program are to cultivate students’ creative and critical thinking abilities and promote continuous self-development (Song, Y., et al 2015). Thus, nursing students must not only endure burdensome theoretical learning, but also experience clinical practice. Myriad stressors exist in nursing students’ experiences, including meeting professional
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According to American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA) (2009), “one third of nursing students experience stress severe enough to induce mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.” Therefore, it is imperative that we address these high levels of distress among nursing students, since excessive anxiety in nursing students can have negative health, academic, and patient care outcomes, as well as impact future role transition into professional practice; including burnout and poor job performance (Foureur, M., et al., 2013). One method that has been investigated to improve nursing students’ mental health is mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness meditation is derived from Vipassana meditation in Buddhism, which is defined as a process of focusing one’s mind in the present moment, maintaining a nonjudgmental attitude, and detaching from destructive thoughts and feelings (Dryden & Still, 2006). Nursing Students can …show more content…
Variants of mindfulness meditation have been incorporated into Western psychology and have shown evidence of improving mental health (Goyal et al., 2014). For example, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs have been effective in alleviating depression, anxiety, and chronic pain (Kabat-Zinn, J., et al., 1992). Moreover, increased mindfulness has been found to be related to improved psychological functions, and it led to reductions in suffering; it has been shown to be an important predictor of depression in nursing students (Ratanasiripong et al.,
Foley (2016) recommends a method called The Doorway Assessment as a tool to help nursing students overcome the anxiety many of them experience on their first day of clinical. Foley (2016) describes The Doorway Assessment
As new nursing graduates begin the process of transitioning into the nursing practice. There are many challenges and issues associated throughout the transition. New graduates may embark on their journey through a graduate program or seek employment solo. The transition period may consist of challenges, that students will encounter during their journey. This essay will identify, discuss, and critically reflect on key nursing challenges that student nurses may face, throughout the process of the transition phase.
Impulse control and decision-making, both executive functions, are believed to center in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (Bechara, Damasio, Damasio, & Anderson, 1994). Damage to this area increases deficits in decision making (Bechara et. al.,1994). Research has shown that chronic heroin use negatively impacts an individual’s ability to restrain impulses, leading to lack of planning and decreased adaptive and social cognition (Pau, Lee, & Chan, 2001). Heroin is a powerful opiate that crosses the blood-brain barrier and produces potent euphoria (Pau, Lee, & Chan, 2001). Impulse control is defined as an individual’s tendency to act on arising wishes or urges (Murphy & Mackillop, 2012). Greater mindfulness has been shown to decrease substance dependent individuals’ urge to use substances (Murphy & Mackillop, 2012). Mindfulness focuses on the emphasis on staying in the present moment, the natural impermanence of things in an individual’s environment, and the awareness of actions such as noticing what is experienced without judgment or reactive behavior (Murphy & Mackillop, 2012). Research on the implementation of mindfulness techniques and their ability to decrease impulsivity is necessary in order to examine the ways heroin-dependent adults react cognitively, behaviorally, and physiologically to external stimuli.
OK. So you’ve heard, that meditation is beneficial for you, maybe you’ve read lists about the advantages of meditation. A ton of different kind of meditations are on-line, and you found several resources, articles, blog posts about the theme to select from. These articles state, that the meditation has countless benefits, which are also proven by scientific research. You can believe them, since eminent scientists carried out extensive research on this subject. And they suggest, you should try them, and of course you should practice it each day. Every day - or you won’t have those benefits.
Clinical confidence, and independence are two components of nursing practice such that cannot be perfected through classroom education, self-study or by reading the evidence based literature. Throughout my nursing education, I have struggled with as many of clinical instructors have put it “being too hard on myself”. Morrell & Ridgway (2014) highlight how students’ perception of a lack of knowledge often contributes to ongoing anxiety. My tendency of being highly critical of my abilities, and having a consistent sense of anxiety associated with practicing independently has been an ongoing challenge for me. Reflecting upon how I have coped with the challenges of developing, and maintaining clinical confidence is
Buddhist Guided Meditation | Beginning Buddhist MeditationCount the many benefitsBuddhist Guided Meditation is among the most ideal ways to maintain and preserve mental, spiritual and physical health, cleansing yourself of the troubles, worries and emotional toxins that plague you on a daily basis. By meditating, you can achieve a rare sense of newness and wholeness (much like a vigorous round of exercise), a sense of fulfillment (much like nourishing food) and a rare, complete sense of renewal and revitalization (like the feeling produced by a good night’s sleep, or by a session of intense reflection). In other words, you can achieve a multitude of positive effects by way of one simple, essential practice. Meditation is a daily practice that costs you nothing, and that can bring you a good deal of relaxation, enlightenment, elation and fulfillment. Many people report their lives changed as the result of this transformative practice;
Introduction Graduate registered nurses are the future leading force within the nursing profession. It is vital that newly graduated nurses’ transition from student nurse to registered nurse in a supportive and clinically safe manner, providing a holistic approach within patient care, as well as the nurses’ own physiological longevity. Newly graduated nurses may be unequipped with coping mechanisms, posing serious issues once faced with complex patient care scenarios, overwhelming workloads and an unpredictable workplace environment which may induce emotional distress (Bolden et al., 2011). The concept of reflective practice as a tool for nurses will be explored, which once applied can act as a supportive framework, as well as a continuous
Mindfulness and Christian Devotional Meditation Mindfulness, derived from Buddhist, is a meditation aimed at creating more self-awareness with acceptance and self-compassion as the primary focus. Fernando Garzon, PsyD, contributed an article to Society for Christian Psychology on the differences between this popular practice in Psychology as well as Christian Devotional Meditation. Although both appear beneficial in treating patients and helping them overcome negative emotions, Christian Devotional Meditation looks at God and Scripture as well as self-experience. Although many Christian Psychologists are trained in mindfulness meditation for behavioral training, stress reduction, or acceptance and commitment therapy with observable results,
10-Minute Mindfulness appeals to me because I am at a time in my life where peace and
Oshita, D., Hattori, K., & Iwakuma, M. (2013). A Buddhist-based meditation practice for care and healing: An introduction and its application. International Journal Of Nursing Practice, 15-23. doi:10.1111/ijn.12040
Buddhism is a spiritual tradition that focuses on self-spiritual development. There are million of people worldwide who practice this religion. Buddhist do not believe in one personal god. Buddhist seeks to reach a state if “nirvana” to the Buddhist this means a perfect place of peace and happiness like Heaven. Nirvana is the highest state to attain, this is a state of enlightenment which means a persons desire and suffering will go away.
Mindfulness meditation is a type of meditation that “has also been associated with enhanced activation in brain regions involved in attention, perception, memory, and empathy, suggesting that it may, in fact, contribute to higher levels of psychosocial functioning. ”(Marks, 2008. pp.216) Mindfulness-based stress reduction has been studied as a treatment for many types of anxiety experienced through an athletes’ performance. “The potential implications for human performance are profound: Neural correlates data indicate significant enhancements in areas that facilitate attentional control, emotion-regulation, and the perception of others’ actions and intentions.
There was a study conducted by Gibbons, Dempster, and Moutray (2011) that addressed stress, coping and satisfaction in nursing students by taking a deeper look into how different stress sources and coping resources affected the stress and psychological well being of the students. The findings suggested, “initiatives to promote support and self-efficacy are likely to have immediate benefits for student well-being”(Gibbon et al., 2011). The most helpful finding when applying the study to myself was considering eustress, instead of negative stress as an important way to encourage and support self-efficacy (Gibbon et al., 2011).
Meditation is systematized in many religions of the world in some form or other. It is in existence since old times. It is believed by many that Socrates practices meditation. So did the Neo-Platonist philosopher, Plotinus. But meditation as a technique for higher control over the mind and body is not known to have survived during the middle ages.
Throughout history, Buddhist monks and the eastern religion have been performing meditation, but recently, many people in different societies have been practicing meditation for relaxation and health purposes. Meditation is a practice that allows someone to train their mind to be in a state of consciousness that aids their mind and body in a positive way (Aldahadha). Meditation is about paying attention, focusing, and being extremely relaxed. It strengthens a person’s creativity and performance while enhancing relationships (Aldahadha). Meditators find that during meditation, their body and mind can freely absorb what is around them; this allows a person to have less anxiety. People that meditate are more direct, absorb life easier, are less tense and stressed, have increased memory and learning, are happier, have better cognitive skills, produce positive changes in gray matter density in their brains (related to memory and learning), and have increased emotional regulation as well as increased self-awareness ("The Science behind Meditation, and Why It Makes You Feel Better"). Someone that meditates on a consistent basis also has an increased attention span and has better physical health ("The Science behind Meditation, and Why It Makes You Feel Better"). Another positive effect of meditating is that it decreases someone’s chances of psychological disorders ("The Science behind Meditation, and Why It Makes You Feel Better").