Why meditate? Benefits and subjective aspects for the continuous practice by college students

Abstract

Objectives: Knowing the motivations for the meditation practice of college students; explore the benefits and the subjective aspects that contribute to the persistence or discontinuity of the meditative practices. Methods: Qualitative research was conducted, with a 12-week audio meditation intervention for Brazilian university students, conducted from October to December 2020. Data generation was performed through characterization questionnaires at the beginning, middle and end of the intervention; data analyses were conducted through thematic categories and simple descriptive statistics. Results: The 25 participants were predominantly young females, having as main expectations for the meditation practices the following: dealing with anxiety, relaxing, and improving sleep quality. The main factor contributing to the persistence in continuing the meditative practices was the perception of the benefits, such as self-knowledge, feelings of well-being, relaxation, improved sleep quality, coping with anxiety and concentration. Meanwhile, the factors contributing to the discontinuity of the meditative practices were related to the organization of the schedule and daily routines, access to the internet and fatigue. The most cited benefits (self-knowledge and meditation habits) contributed to the perception of triggers that cause emotional imbalances and the acquisition of coping strategies for anxiety and stress. Final considerations: Most of the participants stated that they already had other self-care habits, which have contributed to the regularity of the meditation practices. The intervention, with meetings along several weeks, was also a positive factor in promoting more regular meditation practices. Therefore, meditation practices have shown to be an accessible tool for in person and at distance interventions, being also a way to improve mental health in college. Additional research should be performed to understand the socioeconomic influence on the meditation practice, and the potentiality of implementing meditative techniques as a healthcare strategy in the university context.