Keep Calm and Carry On: Immediate-vs. Six-Month Effects of Mindfulness Training on Academic Performance

Mindfulness practices are gaining popularity in private and public organizations. In a randomized controlled trial, we examine whether mindfulness training improves the academic performance of university students. The intervention improves mental health and non-cognitive skills. However, it takes time before students’ performance can benefit from the training: we find that, if anything, the intervention marginally decreases average grades right after the end of the intervention, whereas it significantly increases academic performance, by about 0.4 standard deviations, six months after.