Brief Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality Mindfulness Breathing Exercise for Emotional Well-Being and Cognitive Functions in University Students: Within-Subjects Experimental Design Study

Abstract Background Mindfulness has been shown to enhance emotional well-being and cognitive performance, yet much of this evidence stems from interventions requiring prolonged practice, making them time-consuming and less accessible. Recent studies suggest that brief mindfulness sessions may also yield positive outcomes, but the effectiveness of such interventions in virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) remains underexplored.

Objective: This study investigates the effects of brief mindfulness breathing exercises delivered through VR and MR on attentional and emotional restoration and self-control capacity.

Methods: Using a within-subjects experimental design, 102 undergraduate participants (n=83, 81.4% female; mean age 20.87, SD 1.89 ) completed a brief (approximately 15 min) VR and MR mindfulness breathing intervention delivered via a head-mounted display and a duration-matched mind-wandering audio control condition. Participants were undergraduates recruited via convenience sampling from psychology courses in a local university in Singapore. These conditions were separated by a 1-week washout period. Emotional well-being and self-control capacity were measured at baseline and post treatment, using self-report measures, whereas working memory capacity was measured at both time points, using operation span at baseline and rotation span post treatment.

Results: Repeated-measures ANOVAs (α=.05) indicated that VR and MR mindfulness breathing conditions significantly enhanced positive affect ( P <.001, η p ²=0.366), reduced negative affect ( P <.001, η p ²=0.279), and improved self-control capacity ( P <.001, η p ²=0.219), compared with the mind-wandering control condition. In contrast, no significant differences were observed for working memory, and Bayesian analyses provided moderate evidence in support of the null hypothesis for both the main effect of condition and the time×condition interaction (BF 01 =7.42 and BF 01 =5.55, respectively). Participants reported significantly greater absorption in the VR and MR conditions than in the control condition (Cohen’s d =−1.61, 95% CI −1.91 to −1.32).

Conclusions: These findings suggest that a brief VR and MR mindfulness breathing exercise improves emotional well-being and self-control capacity relative to a mind-wandering control but does not yield short-term benefits for working memory. In contrast to existing studies that typically emphasize stress reduction or rely on multisession digital interventions, this study highlights that a single brief VR or MR session can enhance key emotional and self-regulatory outcomes. As such, these results underscore the potential of VR and MR mindfulness interventions as scalable and accessible tools for promoting mental well-being, while also pointing to the need for further research to optimize their cognitive impact.