Psychology & health
April 7, 2026
Mariah Sullivan, Sara Cloonan, Jennifer Huberty et al.
Mindfulness meditation apps are associated with significant health benefits, yet many new app subscribers have low engagement and are unlikely to attain these benefits.This study examined the user characteristics that predict meditation app usage during the first eight weeks after subscribing. New meditation app subscribers (N = 304) completed a baseline survey which measured demographics,...
The Gerontologist
May 10, 2025
Evan Plys, Morgan Seward, Elizabeth M Allen et al.
3 citations
We tested feasibility and preliminary benefits of a free mobile app-delivered mindfulness-based intervention for stress among dementia caregivers (i.e., Healthy Minds Program for Caregivers [HMP-C]). Single-blind Stage 1b pilot randomized controlled trial compared 12 weeks of HMP-C (n = 47) with a dose-matched education podcast control (n = 48; Wellness App [WA]). T-tests examined between-group...
Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
March 18, 2025
Rylan Fowers, Aurel Coza, Yunro Chung et al.
Forming a habit of practicing mindfulness meditation around the same time of day is one strategy that may support long-term maintenance and in turn improve physical and mental health. The purpose of this study was to identify common patterns in the time of day of meditation associated with long-term meditation app use to assess the importance of temporal consistency for maintaining meditation...
JMIR Research Protocols
April 28, 2023
Chad Stecher, Sara Cloonan, Sebastian Linnemayr et al.
2 citations
Chronic (ie, long-term) elevated stress is associated with a number of mental and physical health conditions. Mindfulness meditation mobile apps are a promising tool for stress self-management that can overcome several barriers associated with in-person interventions; however, to date, poor app-based intervention adherence has limited the efficacy of these mobile health tools. Anchoring, or...
General Hospital Psychiatry
September 11, 2021
Jennifer Huberty, Megan E. Puzia, Jeni Green et al.
76 citations
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to 1) determine the effects of a meditation app on depression and anxiety in adults with sleep disturbance, and 2) explore the potential mediating effects of fatigue, daytime sleepiness, and pre-sleep arousal on the relationship between use of the meditation app and changes in depression and anxiety. METHODS: Participants were 239 adults with elevated...
JMIR mHealth and uHealth
April 23, 2021
Jennifer Huberty, Jeni Green, Megan E. Puzia et al.
BackgroundMindfulness meditation smartphone apps may improve mental health but lack evidence-based behavioral strategies to encourage their regular use for attaining mental health benefits. In October 2019, the Calm mindfulness meditation app introduced a mood check-in feature, but its effects on participation in meditation have yet to be tested. ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to...
PLoS One
2021
Jennifer Huberty, Megan E. Puzia, Linda Larkey et al.
Use of mindfulness mobile apps has become popular, however, there is little information about subscribers' perceptions of app content and its impact on sleep and mental health. The purpose of this study was to survey subscribers to Calm, a popular mindfulness meditation app, to explore perceived improvements in sleep and mental health, evaluate what components of the app were associated with...
JMIR mHealth and uHealth
June 1, 2019
Jennifer Huberty, Jeni Green, Christine Glissmann et al.
Background College students experience high levels of stress. Mindfulness meditation delivered via a mobile app may be an appealing, efficacious way to reduce stress in college students. Objective We aimed to test the initial efficacy and sustained effects of an 8-week mindfulness meditation mobile app—Calm—compared to a wait-list control on stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion in college...