Brief meditation and acute stress in undergraduate nursing students: a pre-post study of an embedded wellness intervention

OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether brief Sahaja Yoga Meditation (SYM) was associated with changes in perceived stress and resilience, and whether observed changes were robust across analytic samples. PARTICIPANTS: First- and second-semester undergraduate nursing students at a private U.S. health sciences university (January-May 2026). METHODS: a single-item 0-10 scale. The stress reduction was consistent across nested samples and demographic subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Brief, embedded SYM was associated with substantial within-session reductions in acute perceived stress, though trait resilience was unchanged over a single session. Controlled trials are needed to establish causal efficacy.