Calm in the classroom: for many kids, a little quiet time offers a lot of stress-reducing benefits. Some schools are encouraging a kind of hush that helps - Education.
Jeanne Ambrose, Better Homes & Gardens, November, 2002.

Johnny Beard says he used to be "kind of hyper." He was a whirlwind of activity, plus he had high blood pressure--at the age of 18. Then he started meditating in school.
"I used to bounce off the walls," he says. "Now, I just chill."

Johnny was one of 150 students who took part in a blood pressure reduction study in Richmond County School District in Augusta, Georgia. The research sought to determine if relaxation techniques could alleviate hypertension. Students meditated for 15 minutes at school every morning and at home each night, says Vernon Barnes, Ph.D., of the Georgia Prevention Institute, who conducted the study funded by the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health. After four months, many students showed a drop in blood pressure, and the school began to see a drop, too--in student absenteeism and school suspensions. Findings like these are the sort that turn educators' heads, and with good reason.

"An excessive number of students are engaging in fighting, arguing, tardiness, and truancy. Preventing this negative behavior has become a national priority," says Barnes. "What's needed are programs of demonstrated efficacy that can be added to the standard school curriculum." Meditation and similar techniques may be just the ticket.
The Georgia students were taught Transcendental Meditation (TM), a well-studied technique that involves sitting comfortably with eyes closed while the mind settles into a state of calmness and the body relaxes.

In Detroit, students at Nataki Talibah Schoolhouse report to the gym first thing in the morning and at the end of each day to practice TM. Principal Carmen N'Namdi refers to this period as quiet time. "If you use the word `meditation' people connect that with religion. It's not," she says. "There are no values involved. There's nothing to believe in. It's just physical. It releases stress from the body."

Nearly all of the fifth- through eighth-graders choose to participate in the twice-a-day sessions. "If nothing more, it enhances the school culture. The children are more introspective, they talk their feelings out. They have a grip on their emotions. I think it comes from having that quiet time," N'Namdi says.

Other focusing techniques have an impact on student behavior, says Jennifer Johnston, director of curriculum at the Education Initiative at the Mind/Body Medical Institute. Founded by Harvard physician Herbert Benson--proponent of the "relaxation response" method of reducing stress to maintain health--the institute has looked at the relaxation response's impact on everything from blood pressure and heart rate, to brain-wave activity and metabolism. The results, in a nutshell: Sitting quietly for 20 minutes twice a day leads to healthy decreases in blood pressure, breathing rate, metabolism, and brain activity.

SILENCE SOOTHES FACULTY MEMBERS TOO
Taking time each day to participate in some form of relaxation has helped more than just the students. Quentin Motley, a high school principal involved in the Augusta, Georgia, schools project, is proof of that.

"I had high blood pressure," he says. "Now I take time during the day, close the door to my office, turn the light out, and meditate." His elevated blood pressure dropped and now "I don't fuss, don't cuss, and don't raise my voice," he says. Motley noticed that meditation had a calming effect on students, too. "It gives them a chance to relax. We don't have as many fights as we used to--there's not as much hostility."

The trick to attaining the calming benefits, though, is to realize that all students are unique, Johnston says. "Some students respond to sitting in silence. But for students with attention deficit disorder (ADD), seated meditation can be torture." Options for such students might be yoga or similar movement-based practices.

Diane Smallwood, Psy. D., president of the National Association of School Psychologists, agrees. "It's important that students find their own strategies. For some, quiet time is beneficial. For others, shooting a basketball or running track is more helpful."

The Mind/Body Medical Institute has resources, audio and video tapes, CDs, and data to support the relaxation response. Check out its Web site: www.mbmi.org. For details about Transcendental Meditation, visit www.tm.org, where you'll find scientific studies and related links.

MORE ABOUT LOWERING STRESS, www.bhg.com/meditation DO-IT-YOURSELF RELAXATION

Formal training in Transcendental Meditation can be pricey, up to $2,500. The schools that offer it often rely on grants and donations to provide funding so all students can participate. At Nataki Talibah Schoolhouse in Detroit, major benefactors included Chrysler, General Motors, and private donors.

Relaxation response techniques, as used at Boston's Mind/Body Medical Institute, can be self-taught. If practiced regularly, like TM, the positive effects are cumulative, says Jennifer Johnston.

The process is fairly simple.
* Begin by sitting comfortably with your eyes closed.
* Choose a point of focus. It can be a word, a short phrase, or even a prayer, Johnston says. Commonly chosen words include ocean, peace, or calm.
* Breathe naturally, lout slowly, silently repeating your focus word or phrase every time you exhale.
* If your mind wanders or becomes distracted, direct your thoughts back to your focus word.

"We usually suggest this practicing relaxation technique for 20 minutes once or twice a clay, although with children--depending on their age--5 or 10 minutes is enough," Johnston says.