Effects of Mindfulness and Yoga on Preschool Students' Emotional Regulation, Behavior, and Social Participation

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if mindfulness and yoga can improve attention, problem-solving, memory, emotional awareness, and impulsivity in preschoolers. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Can a 30-minute, once-a-week mindfulness and yoga program (Calm \& Alert) over seven weeks in preschool classrooms increase emotional regulation during the school day? Can a 30-minute, once-a-week mindfulness and yoga program decrease negative behavioral incidences during the school day? Can a 30-minute, once-a-week mindfulness and yoga program increase prosocial behaviors like caring, sharing, and perspective-taking during the school day? Researchers will compare the effects of students who participated in the mindfulness and yoga program to students in classrooms who did not receive the program. Student participants will be asked to complete a short self-regulation task test before and after the mindfulness program. Teachers will rate the students on their prosocial behavior before and after the mindfulness program and record negative behavioral incidents over the study period.

Conditions

• Prosocial Behavior
• Self Regulation
• Impulsive Behavior

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Calm & Alert yoga and mindfulness

The Calm \& Alert protocol is multisensorial, with successive opportunities to practice the explicit concepts taught throughout the lessons using yoga and mindfulness-techniques. Each class has a similar structure of songs, breathing, warm-ups, yoga poses, mindful games, and rest involving meditation with child-friendly language. The study includes the recommended materials of a Hoberman sphere (breathing ball), chime, mind/body/breath icons, two small mason jars (one with mud and one with clear water), yoga mats for students, pictures of feelings (happy, sad, angry, scared, surprised, disgusted), and an on/off switch.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Elizabethtown College

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Helen C Russell, doctorate · Elizabethtown College

• Ella Longenecker, Bachelor · Elizabethtown College

• Samantha Deiaco, Bachelor · Elizabethtown College

• Ellysa Herr, Bachelor · Elizabethtown College

• Sarah Lloyd, Bachelor · Elizabethtown College

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

4 Years

Max Age

6 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-08-23

Primary Completion

2024-11-11

Completion

2024-11-11

Countries

• United States

Study Locations