According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 15% of youth globally experience a mental health disorder before they are 19 years old.
Of this percentage, depression and anxiety are two of the leading causes that account for this global occurrence. Psychological well-being and socio-emotional learning can act as protective factors, shielding youth from developing chronic mental health disorders.
Mindfulness has recently made its way onto the protective factors list. According to a 2020 study, mindfulness, a tenant of meditation, can act as a protective barrier to psychological distress.
Meditation can reduce anxiety, improve depression, diminish a negative bias, and more. But for so many children, meditating for 30 minutes a day isn’t realistic.
This is where micro meditation comes into play.
Very simply, micro meditation is a form of meditation that is done in small, two to ten minute increments, throughout the day, resulting in repetition. Micro meditation can be any form of meditation, like walking, mantra, loving-kindness, or body scan meditation.
The key principle is that, unlike some traditional methods of meditation, micro meditation is done in short bursts and at higher frequencies.
Repetition, or frequency, is one of the strongest indicators of habit formation and is one reason why micro meditation is so effective. In simple terms, the more you do something, the more likely you are to make it part of your daily routine.
In this case, meditation practiced on a consistent basis allows you to experience the full range of meditation benefits.
And researchers are finding that micro meditation may be just as beneficial as longer meditative practices. One study found that 10 minutes of meditation was just as beneficial as a 20 minute practice. In the same study, just 5 minutes of meditation was enough to improve heart rate and reduce negative affect.
These results suggest that shorter forms of meditation can still result in the full range of benefits, such as:
Meditation is increasingly being found to benefit children the same way it benefits adults and can act as a protective factor against children developing chronic mental health disorders.
Micro meditation is a great way to get children comfortable with meditation and experiencing the myriad of benefits.
Kids can absolutely practice, and benefit from, micro meditation. Like any other practice, micro meditation should be kid-friendly and engaging. One of the strengths of micro meditation is that it is easily adaptable and any form of meditation can be practiced. This is especially beneficial for kids, who enjoy using their imagination in meditation.
For younger kids, shorter meditations may be easiest to practice while listening to an audio and inviting them to use their imagination. For example, a 5 minute practice where children imagine their breath blowing clouds across the sky, like our mini meditation Pictures in the Sky, blends their natural inclination for imagination, while also reaping the benefit of micro meditation.
Short guided meditation stories are also a great way for young kids to practice this style of meditation.
Wee Mediate has a collection of mini meditations designed to help young kids experience the benefits of meditation in a short amount of time. Mini meditations like Balloon Breaths* or Warm Cup* teach kids how to use their breath to calm big emotions in a short amount of time.
*Only available with a Wee Meditate subscription. Sign up or log in to access our full meditation library.
