Mindfulness meditation helps preterm-born adolescents

  - The practice of mindfulness shows a positive impact of the intervention on the adolescents' everyday life and on their ability to react to new events. Adolescents born prematurely present a high risk of developing executive, behavioural and socio-emotional difficulties. Now, researchers from Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) and the University of Geneva have revealed that practicing mindfulness may help improve these various skills. The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, suggests using mindfulness as a means of clinical intervention with adolescents, whether prematurely born or not. Several studies have already shown that very preterm (VPT) children and adolescents are at higher risk of exhibiting cognitive and socio-emotional problems that may persist into adulthood. To help them overcome the difficulties they face, researchers from the HUG and UNIGE have set up an intervention based on mindfulness, a technique known to have beneficial effects in these areas. Mindfulness consists in training the mind to focus on the present moment, concentrating on physical sensations, on breathing, on the weight of one's body, and even on one's feelings and thoughts, completely judgment-free.