When stress feels inescapable, there are so many of us who turn to meditation apps, mindfulness podcasts, or simply wallow in doomscrolling through the tension.
But fresh research suggests another, simpler way: watching short, inspiring videos. Researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Northwestern discovered that watching brief clips of people overcoming adversity – think “underdog” success stories – reduced participants’ stress levels just as effectively as guided meditation sessions.
The findings, which appeared in Psychology of Popular Media, threaten to upend long-held beliefs about the emotional toll of screen time. They also hint at a surprising therapeutic upside to media that uplifts rather than agitates.
A Simple Solution For a Stressed Out Nation?
Americans are more stressed than ever. Nearly one in four adults report extreme stress, and younger adults say they feel overwhelmed more often than not, according to the American Psychological Association (APA).
Yet all of the usual advice – physical exercise, breathing techniques, or just unplugging – rarely mentions media (at least in a good way).
The study’s lead author Robin Nabi, a professor of communication at UC Santa Barbara, wanted to reassess that narrative.
“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,” Nabi explained. “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.”
Methodology
The four-week longitudinal study recruited more than 1,000 U.S. adults, who the researchers randomly assigned to one of five groups:
- Watching short inspiring videos (featured people triumphing over adversity, such as cancer survivors, athletes with disabilities, or teens with autism achieving remarkable feats),
- Watching comedic videos, (which relied heavily on slapstick or stand-up segments),
- Listening to guided meditation via Calm app clips,
- Scrolling self-selected mobile content (using their phones as they normally would), or
- Doing nothing at all (the control group).
Participants engaged with their assigned activity for five minutes a day for five straight days, then reported how they felt – including their stress levels – throughout the week, and then once more 10 days later.
Hope as a Mediator
The results came as a shock:
- Watching inspiring videos dramatically boosted feelings of hope, which preceded lower stress levels up to 10 days later.
- The magnitude of this effect matched the stress reduction seen in the meditation group.
- Comedic videos, while amusing, didn’t yield comparable stress relief.
- Self-selected phone use offered no measurable benefit.
Statistical models showed that hope – more than anything else – proved to be the crucial mechanism.
“Hope isn’t just uplifting in the moment. It can also motivate people to deal with the challenges in their lives,” Nabi added. “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 researchers argue that underdog narratives are ideal at evoking this type of cognitive boost, making them especially potent stress buffers.
Who Benefits Most?
The stress-reducing benefits of inspiring content proved remarkably consistent regardless of gender, age, and personality. Even so, a few notable trends cropped up:
- Older adults, those starting out with higher stress levels, and those who admitted to lower resilience levels all benefited the most from the videos.
- Self-esteem also appeared to play a modest role. Participants with lower self-esteem seemed to benefit slightly more than their more confident counterparts.
In short, even people who already practiced emotional regulation gained additional relief from uplifting media.
Implications for Everyday Life
Meditation still remains the gold standard for reducing stress levels. But it demands time, patience, and practice.
Inspiring media, on the other hand, is instantly accessible. You don’t need a quiet room or any special training. Nabi and her colleagues point out that these “media prescriptions” shouldn’t replace mindfulness or therapy. But they could complement those treatments, especially for those who struggle with meditation.
The researchers also uncovered a subtle – yet crucial – distinction. Media content matters. Random scrolling through social feeds doesn’t help. But curated, hope-evoking clips can trigger emotional pathways just like structured mindfulness exercises. Watching a five-minute inspiring video might sound trivial (if not outright silly), but the researchers found its effects lingered for more than a week
For clinicians and policymakers, the results expand the menu of low-cost, scalable tools for mental-health promotion. And for everyone else, it’s a reminder that not all screen time is created equal.
Further Reading
Early-Life Stress Threatens Cognitive and Mental Health
