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Find various worksheets to help teens cope with stress, anxiety, and trauma using relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, mindfulness, and more. Learn how to practice these skills and track your progress with flexible templates.
- Overview
- Mindfulness games
- Mindful hobbies
- Mindful movement and sports
- Relaxation techniques
- Quick activities and study breaks
- Group and family activities
- Summary
Mindfulness activities may help teens and students reduce stress and anxiety, manage their emotions, and pay attention to the present.
Mindfulness exercises may also help with mild depression in teens. Depression is the fourth leading cause of illness and disability among adolescents aged 15–19 years.
Mindfulness is the practice of fully engaging in the current moment, rather than in the past or future. This skill may help teenagers and students handle the pressures they may experience at this life stage, such as academic work, social expectations, and relationships.
This article explores various mindfulness activities for teens and students, recognizing their unique challenges and providing practical strategies to foster well-being.
Mindfulness games offer an engaging way for teens and students to cultivate awareness. They aim to shift a person’s focus away from things they may be worrying about and redirect it to the present moment.
One example is the “five senses scavenger hunt,” where participants become aware of their surroundings, identifying sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures.
How to play:
1.Take three deep breaths in and out.
2.Walk around a yard, neighborhood, or home and use the five senses to find:
•five things you can see
Engaging in mindful hobbies can boost mental health. For example, a 2021 study indicates that activities, such as cooking, require focus and attention to detail, allowing individuals to immerse themselves in the present moment.
Creative hobbies also provide an outlet for self-expression and contribute to a sense of accomplishment. Some creative hobbies that encourage mindfulness include:
•painting
•drawing
•doodling and scribbling
•making collages
Mindful physical activities can help people focus on the present by encouraging them to concentrate on how their body is moving and their breathing.
A 2017 study indicates mindful physical exercise can enhance attention and reduce mind-wandering, promoting a sense of calm and mental clarity. It can also reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression while improving overall mood and emotional regulation.
Mindfulness can become part of many physical activities and sports, including:
•yoga
•mindful walking or hiking
•swimming
Teaching teenagers and students relaxation techniques equips them with valuable tools for managing stress. These techniques could include:
•Breathing exercises: Breathing exercises can activate the body’s relaxation response, providing a quick and effective way to alleviate stress. Some examples include diaphragmatic breathing, 4-7-8 breathing, and box breathing.
•Meditation: Meditation does not necessarily aim to induce relaxation. Instead, it brings a person’s focus to something in the present. This could be their body, surroundings, breathing, or a word or phrase. This can have the effect of creating relaxation by slowing a person’s thoughts, breathing, or heart rate.
•Progressive muscle relaxation: This is a specific type of meditation that involves tensing and relaxing muscles in the body, from the feet up to the head.
Even short mindfulness activities can lower stress and may be especially useful when teens are studying or have a busy schedule. Some ideas include:
•short meditations
•breathing exercises
•sun salutations
•short walks
Taking breaks from reading or computer work using the 20-20-20 rule is also beneficial for the eyes. Looking out of a window, or at something at least 20 feet away, for 20 seconds every 20 minutes can reduce eye strain.
Mindfulness is not limited to individual practices. It can also be a bonding experience with others. Group activities, such as guided meditation sessions or mindfulness workshops, create a supportive environment for teens and their families or friends to explore mindfulness together.
Mindfulness does not have to come from a class, though. It can be part of daily routine. For example, families can practice mindful eating over a shared meal, go on walks, or try creative hobbies together.
Mindfulness activities for teens and students offer a practical and effective way to navigate emotional challenges. It may help reduce stress and anxiety and help people notice and manage their feelings.
Engaging in mindfulness games, hobbies, sports, and relaxation techniques are some of the options people can try. Mindfulness can be something a person does alone or as part of group activities with family or friends.
However, it is important to note that mindfulness alone cannot replace mental health treatment. If a teen or student is struggling with anxiety, low mood, or other symptoms, seek advice from a doctor or therapist.
Learn more about teen mental health.
Jan 21, 2019 · Relaxation techniques provide beneficial ways of dealing with stress. Hence, teens have a better chance of avoiding unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as substance abuse and self-harming. Thus, scientists are bringing new research to the forefront regarding natural and holistic relaxation techniques.
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- Add meditation into your study routine. Research says mindfulness meditation for teens can make school easier and less stressful. A 2019 study showed that meditation is effective at reducing stress and anxiety around exam time.
- Add mindfulness to your social media feeds. You can’t talk about mindfulness for teenagers without mentioning social media. In the age of social media, one of the great ways to declutter your mind is to do a “social media audit” and make sure the accounts that populate your social feeds contain the kind of thinking and examples that you want to bring into your life.
- Get into a state of flow. Have you ever been doing something you love, and found that the hours absolutely flew by and you lost yourself in your work?
- Learn from your dog. If you’re designing mindfulness training for teens and happen to have a dog on hand, by all means, trot your pup out for this one.
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation. When you or your teenager feels tense, it’s natural to hold onto that tension in the muscles of the body. Some common places to hold onto tension include the shoulders, neck, and jaw, but you might also have tension in areas like the legs, hips, and hands.
- Meditation. Meditation is sometimes wrongly assumed to be very spiritual or “New Agey” in nature. While it certainly can be, the act of meditation is really just about clearing the mind of bothersome, unwanted thoughts.
- Guided Imagery. Have you ever tried to picture yourself on a beach or at a quiet park in order to calm your thoughts? This is called imagery. Some people can do it on their own, but others need to have a voice guiding them to picture certain relaxing scenes with their mind’s eye, which is guided imagery.
- Deep Breathing. Breathing exercises can be a form of meditation, but they’re also one of the relaxation techniques that you or your teen can do anytime to help bring stress levels down a bit.
Jun 30, 2022 · Teaching tips. 7 exercises to try. Next steps. Teenagers can use mindfulness practices to help reduce anxiety and stress and become more present in school, with friends, or at home. People of...
Meditation is a good stress reliever, particularly for angry or anxious teens. Find out how a few minutes a day can improve your teen’s impulse control and mindfulness.
