Investigating the Effect of the 6-Week Mindful Self-Compassion Program for Emerging Adults (EYL) on Stress Response, Brain Activity, and Self-Compassion Among Chinese University Students: An Electroencephalogram (EEG) Quasi-experimental Study Using Portable EEG Headband.
Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback April 21, 2026 Ming Yu Claudia Wong, Suvi Saarikallio, Andrew Danso et al.
A six-week Mindful Self-Compassion program called Embracing Your Life improved self-compassion, mental well-being, and perceived stress, and marginally increased resilience, in Chinese university students. Portable EEG recordings showed reductions in alpha and beta brainwave power during mindfulness and self-compassion tasks, with theta activity suppressed during mindfulness but partially recovering during self-compassion. The lowest power across all frequency bands occurred during formal practice, suggesting deeper meditative engagement and neural efficiency. The findings indicate that self-compassion practices engage unique neural mechanisms beyond traditional mindfulness meditation and support the use of portable EEG devices for monitoring such interventions.