Effect of Meditation on Online College Students’ Stress and Anxiety Levels

Abstract College students, especially online college students, suffer from a great amount of stress and anxiety and often feel overwhelmed by the tasks they face. One proven tool to lower stress levels is meditation. Hence, the main objective of this research is to investigate whether incorporating meditation into an online business course decreases online students’ reported stress and anxiety levels. Data on students’ reported stress and anxiety levels at a large, public U.S. university were collected before and after participation in the meditation. Findings suggest that students experience elevated levels of stress and anxiety, and integrating meditation lowers students’ reported stress and anxiety levels in an online learning environment.