Art Fund: Mindfulness trend research

As mindfulness is now something that my design will be based upon, I thought it would be good to research into it and make sure that it is a trend amongst students and how it could positively influence their university experience.

Forbes: How Generations Meditate on Mindfulness

According to a recent UC-Davis report, mindfulness training triples students' ability to focus and participate in class activities. In recent years, this sort of validating research has helped push mindfulness from a niche interest to a full-blown lifestyle. Mindfulness is the awareness that arises when one pays purposeful attention to the present moment. It can be achieved through meditation or simply by observing your surroundings without judgement. Researchers have demonstrated that mindfulness practises can rewire the brain's reactions to external stimuli - boosting areas of the brain responsible for learning and memory, rational thinking, and empathy and compassion. 

The rising popularity of this practise is a response to the growing presence of digital technology and how smart phones etc. have become a growing presence in our everyday lives. There seems to always be an email or a social media post that needs our immediate attention, creating a never-ending mental to-do list. It has become evident that people spend too much time regretting the past and worrying the future, rather than living in the present moment. Technology worsens this by multiplying the sources of distraction by filling every idle minute of our lives with noise, something that students will definitely be able to relate to. 

This article suggests that children will now have to be taught how to connect to the present moment, a skill that once would have come as naturally as breathing. 

The Guardian: Mindfulness boosts student mental health during exams

Cambridge University research shows technique helps to build resilience amongst undergraduates even in periods of high stress. Mindfulness training helps build resilience in university students and improve their mental health, particularly during stressful summer exams, according to research from the University of Cambridge. The study involved just over 600 Cambridge students who completed an 8 week mindfulness course in order to prevent mental illness and boost students wellbeing at a time of growing concern about mental health in the higher education sector. University mental health services have experienced a huge surge in demand, with the number if students accessig counselling rising by 50% between 2010 and 2015, exceeding growth in student numbers during the same period. Mindfulness is an increasingly popular method of training as attention on the present moment has been shown to improve symptoms of anxiety and depression. 

“Students who had been practising mindfulness had distress scores lower than their baseline levels even during exam time, which suggests that mindfulness helps build resilience against stress.”

Breathe magazine

Breathe magazine is the original mindfulness mag for a calmer and more relaxed you. This body-and-soul guide to a happier, healthier life includes 5 sections – wellbeing, living, mindfulness, creativity and escape. The aim of Breathe magazine is to help you “make more time for yourself”. Each issue includes beautiful illustrations, craft projects, and inspiring features such as how to achieve relief from stress, increase resilience and find greater happiness. 

There is a Breathe and a Teen Breathe which is aimed at a younger taret audience, showing that this is something that could be incorporated into anyones day to day life. Both magazines sell very well and it has become a trend to be involved with this type of lifestyle. 

Festivals
There are a number of known festivals that now as well as music they concentrate on activites that encourage mindfulness and positive living. These festivals are targetted at the same target audience of which the Student Art Pass is aimed at, proving that this concept will work and engage the students during the first few weeks of university.