MINDpass

MINDpass (Mindfulness, Physical Activity & Sleep Strategies) is a proposed school-based intervention programme targeting young people at risk of developing anxiety and depression. It rests on a well-established evidence base: young people who exercise, maintain consistent sleep routines, and practise mindfulness experience fewer anxiety and depression symptoms. What is less understood is why these behaviours are protective, the mechanisms through which they reduce symptoms. The MINDpass programme is designed to answer that question, because understanding the mechanism is prerequisite to designing effective interventions.

About 50% of people with anxiety and depression see their symptoms start before they are 14 years old.

The Research

The programme will recruit 1,200–1,700 pupils from secondary schools in the Midlands, with materials translated into multiple local languages to support a diverse intake. Half will participate in the MINDpass programme; the other half will receive education about the importance of exercise, sleep, and mindfulness, but not the activities themselves. This comparison design allows the team to isolate what it is about doing these activities that drives mental health benefit.

The programme runs for five months (20 weeks), with weekly structured activities at school and complementary tasks at home. The physical activity component centres on short, engaging ten-to-fifteen-minute walking sessions — scavenger hunts in school grounds, focused attention on sound and sensation, and movement tasks designed to be enjoyable rather than athletic. The sleep component includes practical habits such as dimming lights before bed, morning outdoor exposure, and maintaining consistent sleep-wake timing. The mindfulness component involves brief guided audio sessions, breath-focused exercises, and visualisation practices.

Data collection uses a combination of self-report surveys, interviews, and wearable activity monitors. The two groups will be compared on stress, depression and anxiety symptoms, wellbeing, and feelings about school, family, and friends. Additional outcomes include emotion regulation, tolerance of negative emotions, daily light exposure, and exercise frequency. The hypothesis is that MINDpass activities reduce symptoms by improving physiological stress regulation, building capacity to tolerate negative emotions, and providing positive shared group experiences — and that these effects will be strongest for young people who have experienced adverse or traumatic events.

My Involvement

I participated in a pre-funding consultation for MINDpass, providing feedback on the proposed programme design. The session invited young people with relevant experience to respond to the research summary, give their initial reactions to the programme concept, and suggest improvements. Questions covered what young people find most and least appealing about the proposed activities, what might be missing from the programme, and what researchers should understand about young people who experience anxiety and depression before designing activities intended to help them.