A Pre-, Peri- and Post-Pandemic Comparative Study of Psychophysiological Health in Peruvian Students Who Meditate

To explore this phenomenon further, the pre-, peri-, and post-pandemic impact of Transcendental Meditation in Peru is the subject of the present study, which seeks to confirm these earlier observations about meditating students during the pandemic. In a cohort of 1,635 primary and secondary students at seven schools on nine health-related measures—1) tiredness; 2) physical capacity; 3) sickness; 4) memory; 5) ability to study; 6) ability to concentrate; 7) friendliness; 8) aggression; and 9) self-confidence—results confirm that no discernible differences between pre-, peri-, and post-pandemic health were observed. Indeed, 85% of students reported their physical, cognitive and emotional health did not decline during the pandemic (as compared to 80% before and 89% after) and average health levels in the group remained stable at the 67 ^th percentile across the four years between 2019 and 2023. No differences in health were observed for gender between the three pandemic periods, but primary and secondary school levels and age levels were marginally different. Most Peruvian and international research indicates the COVID-19 pandemic had a significantly adverse impact on individual health outcomes, particularly the mental health of children and adolescents. Findings associated with increased depression, anxiety, loneliness, alcohol abuse, eating disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder have dominated this literature. However, both historical and contemporary pandemic-related evidence also suggests the practice of Transcendental Meditation improves mental health, and data from meditating students in Peru indicate coping, learning, anxiety, depression, and optimism were not adversely affected by the pandemic.