Autonomic and psychophysiological effects of a 13-week mindfulness-based intervention in university students
Frontiers in Psychology February 4, 2026 Juan Camilo Benítez-Agudelo, Eduardo Navarro-Jiménez, Vicente Javier Clemente-suárez
A 13-week mindfulness-based intervention for Colombian university students produced selective improvements in emotional and autonomic regulation but did not significantly affect stress, sleep, physical activity, or academic performance. After adjusting for covariates, no between-group effects remained significant after correction for multiple testing. Within the intervention group, participants showed increased conscientiousness, psychological flexibility, and reduced loneliness, while anxiety and depressive symptoms remained stable compared to increases in the control group, suggesting a protective effect. The findings support a psychobiological model linking mindfulness to enhanced self-regulation and adaptive autonomic modulation, though broader effects were limited.