The study will examine the effects of online meditation training on stress and anxiety in healthy participants. It will also examine the dose-response relationship between the amount of daily focused attention meditation practice and established mental health outcome measures.
This is a 16-week study with an 8-week meditation intervention, with a requirement of a minimum of 10 minutes of meditation practice each day. This study will recruit \~200 healthy subjects (18+ years) with no current or previous diagnosis of psychiatric or neurological disorders who are interested in learning about meditation but don't have long-term experience with meditation. Half of the participant pool will be randomly assigned to the meditation intervention, and the other half will get the wait-list control assignment. The control group will later receive its intervention, likely a few weeks after the completion of the active group's intervention. A focused-attention meditation technique (SOS meditation) will be used to train participants. Changes in participants' physiological markers (e.g., HRV, physical activity, respiration rate, sleep quality) will be evaluated using passive activity monitoring devices (e.g., Fitbit). Intervention-related changes in mental health will be assessed using web-based mental health and well-being surveys. Improvements in cognitive functioning will be assessed using web-based psychological tasks.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
300
Focused-attention meditation technique will be used to train participants, specifically the SOS meditation technique. The SOS meditation technique is an easy-to-learn approach where participants are instructed to dissociate their attention from physical awareness, thoughts, and emotions by mentally slowly repeating a calming word or phrase (chosen by the participant themselves). SOS Meditation Instructions: * Close your eyes very gently, in a relaxed way, as you do when we go to sleep * Your attention should be fully alert. Try not to put any strain on your eyes or try to look up. * Focus your eyes about eight to ten inches into the field of darkness in front of you on the horizontal plane * Mentally repeat the (chosen) calming word * Sit lovingly and calmly to see what comes up, as if you were watching a movie screen and waiting to see what appears on it.
Dept. of Psychiatry, Stanford University
Stanford, California, United States
Change in Generalize Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire Score
Anxiety as measured using Generalize Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire
Time frame: Twice (Baseline and week 8 for arm 1 and week 8 and week 16 for arm 2)
Change in Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Questionnaire Score
Sleep Quality measured using Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI)
Time frame: Twice (Baseline and week 8 for arm 1 and week 8 and week 16 for arm 2)
Change in Mind Wandering Questionnaire Score
Mind wandering measured using the Mind Wandering Questionnaire
Time frame: Twice (Baseline and week 8 for arm 1 and week 8 and week 16 for arm 2)
Resting Heart Rate
Daily obtained from Activity Tracker wrist band
Time frame: Daily (from baseline to week 8 for arm 1 and from week 8 to week 16 for arm 2)
Heart Rate Variability
Daily obtained from Activity Tracker wrist band
Time frame: Daily (from baseline to week 8 for arm 1 and from week 8 to week 16 for arm 2)
Change in Stroop Test Score
Using the Stroop test, which measures the average reaction time between incongruent and congruent trials
Time frame: Twice (Baseline and week 8 for arm 1 and week 8 and week 16 for arm 2)
Change in N-back Test Score
Using the N-back test is a memory task where participants must remember letters from N trials ago.
Time frame: Twice (Baseline and week 8 for arm 1 and week 8 and week 16 for arm 2)
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Change in Stress Scale Measure Questionnaire Score
Stress measured using Perceived Stress Scale measure
Time frame: Twice (Baseline and week 8 for arm 1 and week 8 and week 16 for arm 2)
Change in Depression Questionnaire Score
Depression measured using Patient Health Questionnaire
Time frame: Twice (Baseline and week 8 for arm 1 and week 8 and week 16 for arm 2)
Change in Quality of Life Scale Measures Questionnaire Score
Quality of life measured using Quality of Life Scale measures
Time frame: Twice (Baseline and week 8 for arm 1 and week 8 and week 16 for arm 2)
Change Social Connectedness Scale-Revised Questionnaire Score
Social Connectedness measured using Social Connectedness Scale-Revised
Time frame: Twice (Baseline and week 8 for arm 1 and week 8 and week 16 for arm 2)
Change in Rumination Reflection Questionnaire Score
Rumination and reflection scales measured using Rumination Reflection Questionnaire
Time frame: Twice (Baseline and week 8 for arm 1 and week 8 and week 16 for arm 2)
Change in Brief Strengths Scale Questionnaire Score
Strengths scale measured using Brief Strengths Scale measures individuals' Temperance Strength, Intellectual Strength, and Interpersonal Strength.
Time frame: Twice (Baseline and week 8 for arm 1 and week 8 and week 16 for arm 2)
Change in Sleep Quality Measure
Daily obtained from Activity Tracker wrist band
Time frame: Daily (from baseline to week 8 for arm 1 and from week 8 to week 16 for arm 2)