A group of McMaster University students are working on a phone app that aims to improve student mental health, five minutes at a time.
The app, named “Take Five,” was the brain child of six students: Brij Karmur, Vicky Looby, Bhaag Marway, Jalpit Patel, Ashish Shrestha, and Ahmed Al-Shafayeen. Vishal Bollu, a student at the University of Waterloo, is also assisting with the development of the app.
Parmjit Singh, an assistant clinical professor in McMaster’s family medicine department, is overseeing the project.
Shrestha, a representative for the group, said that the app started as a class project for a clinical neuroscience class.
“We were instructed to take something we were learning in the classroom and find a way to create positive impact in the community,” Shrestha said.
Shrestha said his group was interested in improving student mental health through “mindfulness meditation.”
“Mental health affects more people than one might think. If you think of yourself, friends, and family, we are sure you will come across someone who has been affected by a mental health issue,” he said.
According to Shrestha, this is where mindfulness meditation comes in. Shrestha said it is a form of meditation that aims to help people develop the skill of focusing, patience, and paying attention to our inner and outer experiences.
“The [app] asks individuals to give themselves five minutes a day they deserve for their overall mental health,” he said.
The app is not receiving funding at the present, but it is something the group is working on, according to Shrestha.
“So far all of our accomplishments have been through the hard work of our team,” Shrestha said. “We are at the point now where we are looking at acquiring funding to make the app accessible to everyone.”
Take Five is not available to users yet, but they have launched a Facebook page and several initiatives to start garnering an audience.
“With this page we launched a 30 day challenge, inviting participants to ‘Take Five’ everyday for 30 days,” Shrestha said.
Shrestha said they hope the app is up and running for incoming first year students this September.
