Before grades and careers, education is about people— about hearts and minds learning to live well.
In Europe stress, anxiety, and even addiction are rising sharply among adolescents. But there is hope!
A new wave of educators and policymakers recognizes that true learning begins with well-being. The European Council’s Pathways to School Success —the recent EU framework for more inclusive and healthy schools— urges schools to nurture mental health, inclusion, and resilience as part of their mission to ensure every learner can thrive—calling for whole-school approaches that make emotional well-being a foundation of quality education and life success.
An innovative answer
Schools have been involved in Portugal in two Erasmus+ co-funded projects EUROPE and FRIENDS, answering successfully this EU call through a simple, evidence-based practice that dissolves stress and awakens inner potential: the Quiet Time with Transcendental Meditation (QT/TM) program. Just a few minutes twice a day help students and teachers calm anxiety, improve focus, and build emotional balance—reconnecting with themselves and rediscovering joy in learning and teaching, while nurturing a more peaceful and inclusive school community.
…And in addition to that, the QT/TM program has also a powerful effect in the promotion of physical health!
🧠💓 Stress reduction: new cardiovascular guidelines and its relevance to education
Today, in fact, stress reduction is increasingly recognized also as a key factor in both preventing and treating major diseases.
Recognizing the link between mind and heart, for the first time in 50 years, the 2025 U.S. National Clinical Practice Guidelines for prevention and treatment of high blood pressure, include “stress management” under “Lifestyle and Psychosocial Approaches”, recommending people with hypertension to use practices to reduce stress as an essential part of an healthy lifestyle, and the use of this approaches for primordial prevention.
The guidelines specifically highlight the Transcendental Meditation technique, recognized to “have consistent moderate- to high-level evidence for lowering Blood Pressure”, and advise a 3- to 6-month trial of lifestyle modification before the use of medication therapy if needed.
Click to explore the Guidelines:
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001356
Why this is relevant to education? Because it is recognized that cardiovascular disease, Europe’s leading killer, disproportionately affects vulnerable groups, and these include children and socioeconomically-disadvantaged populations (Health at a Glance: Europe 2024 report).
AND PREVENTION STARTS EARLY! If children learn healthy stress-reducing habits in school, we can also reduce the risk of chronic diseases like hypertension later in life — leading to healthier lives and stronger, more inclusive societies…
The FRIENDS project aims to promote proven stress reduction through the Transcendental Meditation program into schools across Europe — fostering physical and mental health, well-being and inclusion, while contributing to the long-term prevention of major health challenges.
Through ERASMUS+ mobilities, schools from EU countries come now to visit a model implementing school in Portugal, and the Quiet Time with Transcendental Meditation programme is spreading across Europe!
🌱 Let’s help every child discover the quiet strength within—and build a kinder, healthier Europe together.
Join the growing European community of schools embracing this innovative approach that is transforming education!
Discover FRIENDS: https://friends-project.eu/
Discover EUROPE: https://europe-project.org/
Discover FRIENDS Erasmus+ Mobility: https://friends-project.eu/mobility/
Mirta Castellaro and Stefano Mancin
EU Implementation Coordinators EUROPE & FRIENDS Projects