Teacher-led relaxation response curriculum in an urban high school: impact on student behavioral health and classroom environment.

Context: Recent data suggest that severe stress during the adolescent period is becoming a problem of epidemic proportions. Elicitation of the relaxation response (RR) has been shown to be effective in treating anxiety, reducing stress, and increasing positive health behaviors.

Objective: The research team's objective was to assess the impact of an RR-based curriculum, led by teachers, on the psychological status and health management behaviors of high-school students and to determine whether a train-the-trainer model would be feasible in a high-school setting.

Integrating a relaxation response-based curriculum into a public high school in Massachusetts.

Academic and societal pressures result in U.S. high school students feeling stressed.

The evaluation of a mind/body intervention to reduce psychological distress and perceived stress in college students.

The authors examined the effect of a 6-week mind/body intervention on college students' psychological distress, anxiety, and perception of stress. One hundred twenty-eight students were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 63) or a waitlist control group (n = 65). The experimental group received 6 90-minute group-training sessions in the relaxation response and cognitive behavioral skills.