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.
Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
June 4, 2025
Qiuxia Xu, Yingqi Gu, Xizhe Hu
5 citations
A five-minute interactive virtual reality mindfulness session that uses real-time heart rate variability biofeedback to dynamically change the virtual environment (e.g., fog clearing, sounds, visual shifts) significantly reduced anxiety, improved mindfulness states, and increased heart rate variability in university students with recent anxiety symptoms. Traditional audio-based mindfulness and a no-intervention control group showed no significant changes in heart rate variability. The findings suggest that brief, responsive VR mindfulness training can effectively enhance psychological and physiological well-being.
Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
July 26, 2025
Alexis Barbry, Éva Gál, Annie Carton et al.
3 citations
A systematic review of seven studies examined whether brief mindfulness meditation (BMM) affects heart rate variability (HRV), a measure of physiological stress. Three studies with 120 participants found that BMM is associated with an increase in RMSSD, a time-domain HRV index linked to parasympathetic activity. Two studies reported an increase in the LF/HF ratio, but the evidence quality was low. The results suggest that RMSSD may increase in the short term during or after BMM, indicating that BMM might be a promising psychological intervention to temporarily reduce physiological stress. The review notes high heterogeneity among studies as a limitation and calls for future randomized controlled trials measuring long-term effects.
Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
July 11, 2025
Konrad Rudnicki, Luna Schepers, Koen Rummens et al.
1 citation
A two-week randomized controlled trial with 105 novice meditators compared cardiac biofeedback-assisted meditation, app-based meditation, and a non-meditating control group. Interoceptive awareness increased in all three groups from pre- to post-test, while interoceptive sensibility showed no change. Interoceptive accuracy improved only in the two meditation conditions, and only among participants who reported a positive user experience with their meditation devices. The findings suggest that brief meditation sessions can enhance interoceptive accuracy, but the benefit depends on the user's subjective experience with the technology.
Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
January 3, 2026
Amaiur Olarza, Goretti Soroa, Aitor Aritzeta et al.
A short virtual reality-based mindfulness programme improved heart rate variability and emotional skills in primary school children aged 9-12 years. Heart rate variability measurements across four sessions showed increased high frequency power and physiological coherence, indicating enhanced parasympathetic activity and relaxation. Emotional skills improved, particularly emotional clarity and the ability to repair emotions. Younger children (Year 5) showed greater heart rate variability gains than older peers, likely due to higher emotional plasticity. These findings suggest that virtual reality-based mindfulness can support better physiological and emotional regulation in children.
Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
July 22, 2025
Saba Hassanvandi, Reza Mohammadzadegan, Seyed Hassan Saadat et al.
A trial tested whether Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training affects salivary cortisol, α-amylase, anxiety, and depression in university students in Khoy, Iran. Thirty students were split equally into an MBSR group and a control group. MBSR improved general health, α-amylase level, and the α-amylase/cortisol ratio more than the control condition. The training also promoted psychological indicators (stress, anxiety, depression) and hormonal indicators (α-amylase level and α-amylase/cortisol ratio) in the experimental group compared to the control group.
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.
Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
December 22, 2025
Nitesh Sharma, Dushyant Soni, Manvi Jain et al.
Sustained Gayatri Mantra meditation practice is associated with enhanced emotional regulation, reduced neural reactivity to affective stimuli, and improved emotional wellbeing. In a study of 24 healthy male participants, those who regularly practiced meditation showed significantly smaller late positive potential (LPP) amplitudes in response to negative images, particularly at the CPz electrode site, indicating reduced emotional reactivity. Practitioners also scored higher on emotional competence, non-attachment, emotion regulation, and resilience compared to non-practitioners. These combined neurophysiological and psychological findings suggest that long-term Gayatri Mantra meditation may cultivate emotional resilience and affective balance.
Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
November 7, 2025
Mamur Khan, Malaika Shakeel, Sana Muftah et al.
A brief 10-minute mindfulness meditation session improved working memory in medical students, as measured by the forward digit span test. In a quasi-experimental study with 55 medical students, scores increased significantly after the meditation. Both male and female students showed improvements, though the increase was greater for males. The findings suggest that even short-term mindfulness practice can enhance working memory, which may benefit academic performance.
Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
April 12, 2024
E. Tisdell, B. Lukic, Ruhi Banerjee et al.
A six-week course in Heart Rhythm Meditation (HRM) followed by daily practice for 10 weeks showed near-significant effects on vagal activity measured by heart rate variability. Participants who meditated more than 10 minutes per day reported a statistically significant increase in well-being scores. Qualitative data indicated positive effects on stress and well-being, development of an expanded sense of self, and increased awareness of the connection between body, heart, emotions, and emotion regulation.
Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
January 12, 2024
Sergey Sokolovskiy, Dahyana Arroyo, P. Hansma
Pulse rate variability alone may not reliably detect whether a person is following a breath pacer during meditation. In a study with 6 human subjects each completing 2–3 trials, logistic regression and a running standard deviation technique both showed accuracy between 65% and 67% in identifying non-compliance, with notable false positives and false negatives. Existing methods using visual, audio, or motion signals currently perform better for monitoring breath-pacer compliance.
Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
June 1, 2018
Bhavna P. Harne, A S Hiwale
After 30 minutes of loud OM chanting, naive meditators showed a significant increase in theta brainwave power across all brain regions when measured by EEG with eyes closed. The analysis did not identify any specific frequency band uniquely involved in OM mantra meditation, but the rise in theta power indicates reduced cortical arousal consistent with a relaxed state. The authors argue that loud OM chanting may offer relaxation benefits, providing a new perspective for beginners and potentially demystifying meditation as a beneficial practice.