A Mixed-Method Assessment of a 10-Day Mobile Mindfulness Intervention

Abstract

Mobile mindfulness interventions represent a promising alternative to traditional in-person interventions that are resource demanding and have limited accessibility, preventing use by many populations. Despite greater accessibility and popularity of mobile mindfulness applications (apps), research is needed testing the effectiveness of brief interventions delivered via these platforms. The present study assessed the efficacy of a brief mobile mindfulness intervention compared to an active control for increasing state and trait mindfulness and improving mood, as well as the acceptability of the app, in a sample of undergraduate students. Participants (N=139; Mage=19.43years, 80.6% female, 83.5% White) were randomly assigned to either a 10-day mobile mindfulness (Headspace) or cognitive training (Peak) condition. Trait mindfulness was measured pre- and post-intervention. During the 10-day intervention, participants completed 10-min daily exercises on the assigned app, responded to daily questionnaires of state mindfulness and mood, and completed a daily written log of their reactions to the app exercises. Attrition was low (90% completion rate) and did not differ by condition. Participants in the mindfulness condition spent an average of 88.15min (SD=24.75) meditating out of the full 100min prescribed by the intervention. State mindfulness significantly increased across the 10-day intervention for participants in the mindfulness, but not the cognitive training, condition beginning around days 5 and 6. Some aspects of trait mindfulness increased and mood improved from pre- to post-intervention, but these changes were observed in both conditions (i.e., no significant differences were observed by condition). Qualitative analysis of open-ended reactions to the mindfulness app indicated that participants reported more likes than dislikes. Common themes for likes were that participants experienced feelings of calm and focus following the daily mindfulness exercises. Dislikes included discomfort and anxiety associated with increased awareness of thoughts and physical sensations. These findings suggest that while a brief mobile mindfulness intervention is acceptable to undergraduate college students and effective at increasing state mindfulness, a longer intervention may be needed in order to elicit corresponding changes in trait-level mindfulness or mood.

Online Mindfulness Intervention, Mental Health and Attentional Abilities: A Randomized Controlled Trial in University Students During COVID-19 Lockdown

“…Compared to previous online MMI in students, our intervention showed a high completion rate of 79% (58% in Cavanagh et al, 2018 , 71% in Danilewitz et al, 2018 ), and a satisfying adherence rate to the intervention, with participants completing on average 82% of the sessions (50% in Noone and Hogan, 2018 ; 95% in González-garcía and López, 2021 ). Our results are similar to the ones of Haliwa et al, 2021 (90% of completion rate) in undergraduate students using a mobile mindfulness application which offered 5–15 min guided exercises over 10 days. Overall, it appears that guided-MM audio sessions freely available at the end of the day (20 min during weekdays and 10 min during the weekend) and coupled with a motivational follow-up is a feasible and suitable intervention for University students, even during unusually straining times.…”

Exploring Parent-Child Dyadic Networks to Design a Smartphone-based Mindfulness Intervention for Underserved Families

“…Practically speaking, a parent-focused mindfulness intervention may involve aspects of focusing on helping parents cultivate states of mindfulness through teaching strategies such as focusing on the body/breath, monitoring activity of the mind, and developing non-judgmental awareness of daily experiences. By cultivating these mindful states for as little as 10 minutes daily, parents may experience reduced negative mood as shown in prior work [17]. In particular, the mindfulness content should be designed alongside parents to represent the daily experiences of marginalized populations who experience higher rates of discrimination and daily stress.…”

Back Pain in the Era of Opioid Restriction and Implications for Neurosurgeons Based on Qualitative Findings From a Rural State

“…Telemedicine, app-based care, and other innovative techniques may assist in making such care more widely available and have demonstrated efficacy in rural populations [ 22 ]. For example, mindfulness is an evidence-based pain intervention that is largely unavailable to rural populations given the lack of pain psychologists, but for which several mobile interventions have been devised [ 23 ]. Additionally, experience with telephysical therapy has been improved due to the COVID-19 pandemic [ 24 ].…”