Burdick Camhi 2024

In Fall 2021, a pilot study was conducted in a group of Kinesiology students (n = 33) at the University of San Francisco (USF). Participants completed validated surveys pre- and post-walk on the guided mindful walk to evaluate any potential changes in state mental health.

In Fall 2021, 33 students who majored in Kinesiology at the University of San Francisco were involved in a pilot study. The study used surveys before and after a mindful walk to examine and compare whether there were any significant changes to their mental health.

Research has shown there is a correlation between mindfulness and physical activity, and that combining mindfulness approaches with physical activity has been successful in improving both mental and physical health (3, 39, 44). Therefore, the purpose was to 1) measure changes in mental health (state mindfulness, state anxiety, and state stress) and 2) measure physical activity (step count) from participation in a guided mindful walk in a diverse student sample.

The study found a positive connection between mindfulness and physical activity. It demonstrated that using both mindfulness practice and exercise leads to significant improvements in students’ health, both physically and mentally. Moreover, the study aims to examine how physical activity such as a guided mindful walk, using step count, can affect students’ state mindfulness, state anxiety, and stress.

Following the guided mindful walk, there were significant increases in state mindfulness score (t(42) = −4.83, 95% CI 3.14 to 7.42, p < 0.0001, Cohen’s d = 0.74), significant decreases in total scores for state anxiety (W = 0, 95% CI −1.63 to −1.01, p < 0.0001, Cohen’s d = 1.26), and significant decreases in state stress scores (t(43) = 2.26, 95% CI −4.97 to –0.35, p = 0.03, Cohen’s d = 0.34).

After conducting the experiment, the study found that students scored higher in the mindfulness score and experienced a low state anxiety and stress after the guided mindful walk.

Results from the present study suggest that among university students, guided mindful walking has positive effects on state mental health variables, including mindfulness, anxiety, and stress.

The study results demonstrate that physical activity, such as guided mindful walking, significantly improves overall university students’ mental health and lowers anxiety and stress levels.

Future research can follow up by expanding and recruiting students from different majors, as the study specifically focused on students who majored in Kinesiology. In addition, the study can also follow up with Kinesiology students and conduct a longitudinal study to examine long-term improvement in their overall mental health state, such as mindfulness, anxiety, and stress.

Overall, it was an interesting read and something that could also be applicable to our daily lives. However, one aspect that I found it challenging was understanding  the results of the tables right away and different questionnaires they used (i.e., Toronto Mindfulness Scale; TMS, Short Stress State Questionnaire; SSSQ, etc.). To try to understand, I researched what each scales was used for and it was fascinating to see why they used different questionnaires for each mental state and how they can reflect mental well-being.