Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
June 25, 2015
Judith Esi van der Zwan, Wieke de Vente, Anja C. Huizink et al.
321 citations
A randomized controlled trial compared three self-help methods—physical activity, mindfulness meditation, and heart rate variability biofeedback—for reducing stress. 126 participants were allocated to one of the three groups; 76 agreed to participate. Each intervention involved psycho-education, introduction to the technique, and five weeks of daily home exercises. Physical activity was vigorous exercise of choice; mindfulness used guided meditation; biofeedback used slow breathing with a device. Participants received daily reminders and weekly check-ins. Results showed overall beneficial effects: reduced stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, plus improved psychological well-being and sleep quality. No significant differences were found between the three methods, suggesting they are equally effective for stress reduction.
Nature. Mental health
July 10, 2023
Julieta Galante, Claire Friedrich, Napaporn Aeamla-Or et al.
102 citations
Mindfulness-based programmes reduce psychological distress (anxiety and depression) in community adults who volunteer to participate, with a small to moderate effect size. The analysis of 13 randomized controlled trials with 2,371 participants from 8 countries found a standardized mean difference of -0.32, with high confidence in the result. The effect was not clearly influenced by participants' baseline distress level, gender, age, education, or dispositional mindfulness. More research is needed to understand why outcomes vary between individuals.
Frontiers in Psychology
January 1, 2024
Ivana Buric, Maja Wrzesien, Jelica Milojičić et al.
1 citation
Self-compassion supports psychological health and can be improved through meditation, but it is unclear how to make meditation more effective. In a study with 71 students, a 3-minute sensory or semantic priming task was given before a 15-minute guided self-compassion meditation. Sensory priming reduced self-criticism more than semantic priming or a control condition, though the self-criticism scale had reliability issues. Neither priming type changed self-compassion, positive affect, or negative affect, nor did they boost the meditation's effects on these measures or the appeal of the meditation. The study was underpowered, with post hoc power estimates from 0.20 to 0.42, but offers preliminary insights for future research.
Mindfulness
April 1, 2020
Eduard J. de Bruin, AnneMarie Meijer, Susan M. Bögels
Insomnia is common in adolescents and harms their mental health. Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTI) works, but it was unclear whether adding a mindfulness body scan improves outcomes. Adolescents who completed six weeks of internet CBTI were split into those who practiced a body scan meditation (26 participants, average age 15.3, 77% girls) and those who did not (28 participants, average age 15.6, 82% girls). Both groups showed moderate to large improvements in sleep quality, insomnia symptoms, and chronic sleep reduction from baseline to post-treatment, maintained at two-month follow-up.