ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1573407
This article is part of the Research TopicPublic Health Strategies to Improve Mental Health in the Education Sector: Perspectives and ApplicationsView all 24 articles
The Role of Meditation in Coping with Stress during the COVID-19 Lockdown: A Cross-sectional Study of Undergraduates in India
Provisionally accepted
- 1JAGANNATH INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT SCHOOL, Delhi, India
- 2Institute for Meditation & Inner Harmony (IMIH), Lisle, IL, United States
- 3Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States
- 4Hindu College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi, India
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Abstract Background: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted mental health worldwide, particularly among college students. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of regular meditation practice on stress and well-being during the COVID-19 lockdown in college students from Delhi, India. Methods: Data were collected from April 22 to June 3, 2020. Participants included college students aged 18–26, divided into two groups: those with regular meditation practice and those without prior meditation experience. Stress levels were measured using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). Statistical analyses included group comparisons and regression models to examine the relationship between meditation frequency, duration, and stress levels. Results: Compared to the meditation-naive group, participants in the meditation group reported significantly fewer adverse effects of the lockdown on their mental and emotional well-being. Stress levels were lower in the meditation group, and both the frequency and duration of meditation sessions were inversely associated with stress. Conclusions: Regular meditation practice appears to mitigate the negative impact of lockdown on mental health, reducing stress and promoting emotional well-being. These findings underscore the potential of meditation as an accessible, effective tool for stress management, particularly in challenging contexts such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, Mental Health, Meditation, undergraduates, LockDown, stress, PSS-10, SOS meditation
Received: 09 Feb 2025; Accepted: 03 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Munjal, Khurana, Saggar and Kumar. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Manish Saggar, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, 94305, California, United States
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