Using YouTube Meditation Videos to Boost Mindfulness and Occupational Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people have been forced to adapt to abrupt changes in their daily lifestyles, resulting in significant stress and depression across the globe. To cope with the mental health crisis caused by the pandemic, there is a global trend of using YouTube meditation videos to boost mindfulness and occupational health. Theoretically supported by a Buddhist perspective and monitor and acceptance theory, the purpose of this study on YouTube meditation videos is twofold: (a) to examine daily meditation and longitudinal changes of mindfulness and (b) to examine daily meditation and longitudinal changes of occupational health. With randomly sampled American employees, an 8-day longitudinal study was conducted. Participants were randomly assigned to either meditation or nonmeditation groups. A 10-min guided meditation YouTube video was presented daily to the meditation group. Comparing survey responses from the eighth day with the first day, the meditation group showed significant improvements in overall state mindfulness, state mindfulness of body, overall cognitive and affective mindfulness, attention, and present focus. Moreover, the meditation group reported a significant reduction in negative attitudes toward work. Practicing guided meditation with 10-min YouTube videos daily for 8 days can bring effective improvements to aspects of mindfulness and occupational health.