The ancient spiritual tradition of meditation has been gaining scientific credibility as a 21st-century tool for lowering blood pressure, reducing stress, improving sleep, and enhancing physical and mental wellbeing. A 2011 study from Harvard found that 8 weeks of daily meditation alter the brain's grey matter, increasing density in the hippocamus (linked to memory and learning) and decreasing density in the amygdala (associated with stress and anxiety).
Pro athletes, from Olympic skiers to golfers to NFL players, use meditation as a means of sharpening focus and improving performance.

Mindful meditation brings big rewards for children, too. A research published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, in 2009, found that adolescents who participated in 8 weeks of mindfulness-based stress reduction showed an 80% reduction in mental health problems. A 2013 study in the Journal of Positive Psychology reported that low-income third-graders who participated in once-a-week sitting meditation, yoga, and breathing exercises showed a noticeable decline in hyperactive behavior and ADHD symptoms. Studies have also shown mindfulness to increase kindness, empathy, and emotional control in 4th- and 5th-graders and to ease school-related violent conflict by 65%.

Teachers can teach meditations in schools in short 10 to 15 minute intervals, in between math, science and literacy lessons. At the Burton High School in San Francisco, the principal extended the school day by 30 minutes to implement mindfulness. More than 90 schools in 13 states in the US now teach meditation, thanks in part to nonprofit organizations like MindUP (founded by actress Goldie Hawn), the David Lynch Foundation, and Mindful Schools, a Bay Area-based initiative that offers teacher training and structured curricula for kindergarten through high school.
At the Visitacion Valley School, a public middle school in an at-risk neighborhood in San Francisco, suspensions have dropped 79% since 2011, when the school implemented David Lynch's Quiet Time mindfulness program, consisting of two 15-minute sitting meditation periods per day. The principal at nearby Burton High School saw similar results after making time for meditation. Even school sports teams, like the boy's basketball squad in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, are implementing quiet contemplation to find a competitive edge.

It's pretty thrilling to imagine a future where all public school teachers are empowered and enabled to teach meditation as part of the regular curriculum. 

Source: Outsideonline.com