Watching short inspirational videos provides stress relief just like meditation

Watching short inspirational videos may be just as effective at reducing stress as meditation, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

Stress has arguably reached epidemic levels in the U.S. According to the APA's Stress in America survey, Americans say they're feeling more anxious than in previous years, with a majority of people 18-44 saying they feel moderate to extreme stress daily.

Though there are many effective ways to deal with stress, people often feel too busy or overwhelmed to enact these strategies. What we found is that even a few minutes of watching content that makes people feel hopeful can put a dent in that stress. It's a short, simple and even enjoyable break-and it can make a meaningful difference in helping people feel more optimistic and able to handle what's in front of them." 

Robin Nabi, PhD, lead author, University of California Santa Barbara

The research was published in the journal Psychology of Popular Media.

While health experts often recommend activities like meditation, exercise, deep breathing, participating in hobbies or spending time with other people to manage stress, Nabi points out that media is rarely discussed as a tool for dealing with stress. 

"So many of us are told that when we're stressed, we should avoid media. And, in fact, we as a society tend to look at media use through a very negative lens. But media use is one of the most common ways that people try to cope with stress, and it has the capacity to provide benefits, particularly when it comes to relaxation," she said. 

To better understand the potential of short, online videos to reduce stress, Nabi and her colleagues conducted a four-week experiment with more than 1,000 U.S. adults. The online experiment took place between Thanksgiving and Christmas, when Americans are likely to feel stressed and could benefit from stress reduction interventions. 

Participants first completed a questionnaire to assess their initial stress levels. The next week, participants were randomly assigned to one of five groups. Each day for the next five days, some participants received an email instructing them to view an inspirational video. Others were asked to watch a comedy segment. Another group was instructed to follow a guided meditation, and a fourth group was instructed to scroll through their phone. Each of these activities lasted about 5 minutes per day. As a control, an additional group of participants were given no media use instructions at all.

After each media experience (or lack thereof), participants answered questions about how they were feeling emotionally in the moment. The researchers then followed up with participants the next week and again the week after that to see how their emotions in response to their media experiences influenced their stress levels.

Results showed that the people who either watched the inspirational videos or followed the guided meditations reported feeling significantly more hopeful during the intervention week compared with the control group, and that hope predicted lower stress levels not only a few days later but also up to 10 days after the intervention had ended. While comedic videos made people laugh and people were entertained by their phones, those feelings did not have any impact on people's later stress.

The key to stress reduction was feeling hope, according to Nabi. "Hope isn't just uplifting in the moment. It can also motivate people to deal with the challenges in their lives," she said. "When people see others overcoming adversity, as they did in our inspiring videos, it can spark the belief that they, too, can persevere, survive and thrive. That sense of possibility helps counteract stress and can have enduring benefits beyond the simple moment of viewing."

The study's findings suggest that strategically curated media, especially content that evokes hope, could be a practical, accessible tool for supporting stress relief, particularly during high-stress periods like the holiday season. It could be especially helpful for people who have difficulty meditating or engaging in other stress management approaches.

"If we actively choose to incorporate a little more inspiring content in our lives – to feel a little more hope – it can possibly help us reduce stress," said Nabi. "This is not to say that this sort of media consumption should replace meditation or other well-supported strategies to deal with stress. But rather, this is one more tool we can add to our toolbox to handle the stress that so many of us feel."

This research adds to a growing body of evidence supporting the "media prescription" approach, Nabi said, where short doses of emotionally uplifting media are used to promote mental well-being.