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Using Heartfulness Meditation and Brainwave Entrainment to Improve Teenage Mental Wellbeing.

Ghazal Suhani Yadav, Francisco José Cidral-Filho, Ranjani B Iyer

Frontiers in Psychology 2021 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.742892 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

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Characteristics Pretest-posttest experimental study Peer reviewed
Sample size 40
Population Teenagers
Intervention Heartfulness Meditation
Duration 30-minute meditation and 15-minute brainwave entrainment sessions three times a week for 4 weeks
Measures Pittsburgh Quality of Sleep Index, Perceived Stress Scale, Patient Health Question-9, Profile of Mood States, Cambridge Brain Health assessment
Topics Meditation
Keywords Adolescence Audio brainwave entrainment Brain training Heartfulness meditation Mental health Teenager Wellbeing
Key findings Audio brainwave entrainment alone did not produce statistically significant improvements, and no intervention group improved on brain health measures. Heartfulness Meditation was associated with improvements in overall mood, stress, state depression, and anger; adding audio brainwave entrainment to meditation was associated with improved sleep quality and lower stress.

Abstract

Teenagers are highly susceptible to mental health issues and this problem has been exacerbated by the quarantine restrictions of COVID-19. This study evaluated the use of Heartfulness Meditation and Audio Brainwave Entrainment to help teenagers cope with mental health issues. It used 30-min Heartfulness meditation and 15-min brainwave entrainment sessions with binaural beats and isochronic tones three times a week for 4 weeks. Using a pretest-posttest methodology, participants were asked to complete a survey battery including the Pittsburgh Quality of Sleep Index, Perceived Stress Scale, Patient Health Question-9, Profile of Mood States, and Cambridge Brain Health assessment. Participants (n = 40) were divided into four experimental groups: the control group (n = 9), Audio Brainwave Entrainment group (n = 9), Heartfulness Meditation group (n = 10), and a combined group (n = 12), for a 4-week intervention. Data were analyzed with paired t-tests. The singular Audio Brainwave Entrainment group did not see statistically significant improvements, nor did any of the intervention groups for brain health (p > 0.05). This study, however, proved the efficacy of a 4-week Heartfulness Meditation program to regulate overall mood (p = 0.00132), stress levels (p = 0.0089), state depression (POMS; p = 0.0037), and anger (p = 0.002). Results also suggest adding Audio Brainwave Entrainment to Heartfulness Meditation may improve sleep quality (p = 0.0377) and stress levels (p = 0.00016).

Comparable studies

Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) 2003 Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study
Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. 2008 Controlled laboratory experiment
Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. 2012 Two studies: correlational study and experimental study
Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence 2009 Experimental study
Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population 2006 Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition

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