Meditation helps nurses to reduce stress, reveals study

having estimated that stress related disorders will become one of the leading causes of disability by 2020, there was a need to investigate that group of professionals who are affected by it the most. Stating that the study involved over 120 students from a nursing college in the city, an author of the research said that the students were given a questionnaire before and after they involved themselves in Heartfulness meditation.

Over the course of the study, it was found that students often feel that stress levels, both positive and negative, goes beyond their capacity while struggling to manage relationships with various people at the workplace such as patients, fellow students, co-workers, teachers and other health professionals.

“While work pressure is already responsible for the immense stress these students go through, the lack of sufficient respect from doctors and the society tends to add to the stress that the nursing community undergoes. Besides, nursing students are also subjected to highly stressful environments as compared to students from other disciplines in the health industry such as physiotherapy, pharmacy, dentistry, and medicine,” said Lalitha P, a health activist.

Stating that even a short session of meditation will help stabilise the emotional state and the individual will feel more grounded, Counsellor P Nilam said, “It is very clear that the benefits of Heartfulness meditation when put together can help a nursing student develop the strength and endurance to transition through a difficult period in the nursing college and be a source of inspiration to oneself and others.”

It may be noted that the Heartfulness meditation used in this study is a simplified form of Raja Yoga where a practitioner meditates on the heart.