Recent research in the neuroscience of learning has revealed a linkage between overall well-being and the learning process. Educators understand this linkage and have become increasingly concerned about the high level of stress and anxiety in today’s learning environment. That's because they know learning is maximized when it occurs in a positive, healthy, efficient, and effective manner. This type of environment is one where the student's well-being is front and center.
Whether we are a student, educator, or parent, it is critical to understand how chronic stress and anxiety impact one’s ability to learn. Decades of research shows that learning is disrupted by chronic stress, anxiety, and an inability to regulate our emotions. The reason is that when learning new information or a new behavior, new neurons are generated, which serve as the initial nodes in the neural network needed to encode memory (Price and Duman, 2020). Chronic stress makes it difficult for these new cells to survive, thus impeding learning (Currie, 2020).
The practice of mindfulness is one way to mitigate stress and anxiety and is gaining traction with many colleges and universities. Here are just a few of the benefits of mindfulness on learning:
Improves focus and attention
Manages stress and anxiety
Helps with emotional regulation
Encourages self-compassion
Improves communication skills
Increases empathy toward others
Multiple studies indicate that practicing mindfulness positively impacts learning, including improving test scores such as the GRE (Miller et al., 2019; Mrazek et al., 2013). The science behind these improvements is that mindfulness has been shown to increase neuroplasticity in the brain, resulting in structural changes in the brain's regions necessary for learning (Hölzel et al., 2011).
In these difficult times, I encourage you to explore the practice of mindfulness. A small investment in time can deliver a big payoff. If you are looking to jumpstart your practice, take a few moments to listen to one or both of the following brief exercises:
References
Currie, Holly (2020). Mindful Well-Being and Learning. Journal of Chemical Education. https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00777
Hölzel, B. K., Carmody, J., Vangel, M., Congleton, C., Yerramsetti, S. M., Gard, T., & Lazar, S. W. (2011)Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density. Psychiatry Res., Neuroimaging 2011, 191 (1), 36−43.
Miller, C. J.; Borsatto, J.; Al-Salom, P. (2019).Testing a quick mindfulness intervention in the university classroom. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 43 (6), 839−847.
Mrazek, M. D., Franklin, M. S., Phillips, D. T., Baird, B., Schooler, J. W. (2013).Mindfulness training improves working memory capacity and GRE performance while reducing mind wandering. Psychological Science, 24 (5), 776−781.
Price, R. B., & Duman, R. (2020). Neuroplasticity in cognitive and psychological mechanisms of depression: an integrative model. Mol. Psychiatry, 25 (3), 530−543.