A fully remote randomized controlled trial of an ultra-brief digital meditation intervention reduces internalizing symptoms
Cameron C. Glick, Saad Pirzada, Shaun K.l. Quah, Sasha Feldman, Iyọbosa Enabulele, Soren Madsen, Neel Billimoria, Summer Feldman, Richa Bhatia, David Spiegel, Manish Saggar
medRxiv Preprint Server April 19, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.64898/2026.04.19.26351219 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Population | Individuals with subclinical mental health symptoms |
| Intervention | Meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | An ultra-brief digital meditation intervention reduced internalizing symptoms in a fully remote RCT. |
Abstract
Background Scalable, low-burden behavioral interventions are needed to address rising subclinical mental health symptoms. However, few randomized controlled trials have evaluated ultra-brief, remotely delivered, meditation using multimodal outcome assessment under real-world conditions.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cites 17
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
- Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders American Journal of Psychiatry July 1, 1992
- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
- Investigating the phenomenological matrix of mindfulness-related practices from a neurocognitive perspective. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- The Empirical Status of Mindfulness-Based Interventions: A Systematic Review of 44 Meta-Analyses of Randomized Controlled Trials Perspectives on Psychological Science February 16, 2021
and 12 more in the library