Nature-Based Meditation, Rumination and Mental Wellbeing

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Environmental Health
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Mental health support for children and young people (CYP) requires innovative approaches.
• Nature-based interventions (NBI) show promise for clinical utility in mental health.
• Existing interventions may not adequately address the needs of young populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the efficacy of a novel, brief nature-based meditation.
• To evaluate its impact on rumination, depressive symptoms, and wellbeing in young people.
• To provide proof-of-principle data for NBI in mental health.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial with 68 university students.
• Three conditions: active control, indoor meditation, and nature-based meditation.
• Self-report measures for state/trait rumination, depression, and wellbeing assessed post-intervention and at 2-week follow-up.

Main Results:

• Nature-based meditation significantly decreased depressive rumination post-intervention.
• Both meditation groups showed improvement in depressive symptoms.
• Wellbeing significantly improved at follow-up only in the nature-based meditation group, meeting one minimal clinically important difference (MCID).

Conclusions:

• Brief nature-based meditation shows potential for reducing depressive rumination and symptoms.
• NBI may be a viable strategy for improving wellbeing in young adults.
• Further research with larger clinical samples is needed to confirm these preliminary findings.