The effects of a short mindfulness intervention on executive functions and salivary cortisol levels upon school

Background and objectives: Mindfulness meditation has been found to improve children’s executive functions (Flook, 2010), and may be effective in reducing cortisol levels (Sanada et al., 2016; Pascoe et al., 2018). Executive functions (working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility) have an essential role in school readiness (Blair and Razza, 2007). Additionally, starting a new school year (Davis et al., 1999) or the transition to school from kindergarten can be stressful for children which is characterised by elevated cortisol levels (Groeneveld et al., 2013). The aim of the present field experiment was to assess (i) whether a short one-week mindfulness-based meditation training in August before entering school can improve 6-7 year-olds’ executive functions and (ii) whether it might help prevent an increase in children’s basal cortisol levels upon school entry.
Methods: In a randomized controlled trial we have recruited children in the summer of 2017 and 2018 from eight kindergartens in Budapest, Hungary. The intervention was a story-based mindfulness program in the kindergarten with a small-group 30-minute session for five days. On the week before and on the week after the intervention we assessed participants’ executive function skills (Digit Span task, Go/No-Go test, Dimensional Change Card Sorting task) and morning cortisol levels on three consecutive days. After the intervention we also assessed children’s stress reactivity using a child-adopted stress test (Trier Social Stress Test-Child) (Buske-Kirschbaum et al., 1997). Follow-up cortisol sampling was conducted on the first week of the school year (September) and one month (October) after school entry on three consecutive days.
Results: Our preliminary results (from the first year of the experiment) indicate a pattern for the efficacy of the intervention to improve preschoolers’ shifting skills. In case of cortisol levels, we found a significant increase from pre-test (beginning of August) to September (in the first week of school) in boys’ in the control group but not in the mindfulness group. For girls, a different tendency appeared. Results of the whole sample will be presented on the conference.
Discussion and conclusion: It seems that, this one week intervention could protect boys against elevated stress at school entry.