Ultra-Brief Mindfulness Training Reduces Alcohol Consumption in At-Risk Drinkers: A Randomized Double-Blind Active-Controlled Experiment

Abstract

BackgroundLike other complex psychosocial interventions, mindfulness-based treatments comprise various modality-specific components as well as nonspecific therapeutic ingredients that collectively contribute to efficacy. Consequently, the isolated effects of mindfulness strategies per se remain unclear.MethodsUsing a randomized double-blind design, we compared the isolated effects of 11-minutes of “supervised” mindfulness instruction against a closely matched active control (relaxation) on subjective, physiological, and behavioral indices of maladaptive alcohol responding in drinkers at risk of harm from alcohol use (n = 68). Simple follow-up instructions on strategy use were provided, but practice was unsupervised and not formally monitored.ResultsBoth groups showed acute reductions in craving after training, although a trend group x time interaction (P = .056) suggested that this reduction was greater in the relaxation group (d = 0.722 P < .001) compared with the mindfulness group (d = 0.317, P = .004). Furthermore, upregulation of parasympathetic activity was found after relaxation (d = 0.562; P < .001) but not mindfulness instructions (d = 0.08; P > .1; group x time interaction: P = .009). By contrast, only the mindfulness group showed a reduction in past-week alcohol consumption at 7-day follow-up (-9.31 units, d = 0.593, P < .001), whereas no significant reduction was seen in the relaxation group (-3.00 units, d = 0.268, P > .1; group x time interaction: P = .026).ConclusionVery brief mindfulness practice can significantly reduce alcohol consumption among at-risk drinkers, even with minimal encouragement to use this strategy outside of the experimental context. The effects on consumption may therefore represent a lower bound of efficacy of “ultra-brief” mindfulness instructions in hazardous drinkers, at least at short follow-up intervals.

The role of self-compassion and self-criticism in binge eating behaviour

“…It is possible that more pronounced effects on binge eating might have emerged with out-of-session practice of the allocated strategy. For example, we have recently shown that pronounced behavioural effects of a related strategy (mindfulness) only emerged after a one week period, when participants (heavy drinkers) had been given the opportunity to further develop their self-regulation skills (Kamboj et al, 2017). Future studies should also consider the additional control groups.…”

“…Participants were then fitted with the Firstbeat device and their HRV was measured during an initial 5-minute baseline period and throughout the rest of the experiment (Kamboj, Irez et al 2017). After the baseline measure of HRV, participants completed the negative mood induction task (the 'failure version' of the Remote Associates Test), followed by the compassion or self-critical ruminative strategy.…”

Facets of impulsivity and alcohol use: What role do emotions play?

“…Similarly, mindfulness training was shown to reduce stress (Brewer et al, 2009;Garland et al, 2010), craving and risk of relapse (Bowen et al, 2014;Zgierska et al, 2009) in recovering substance dependent individuals. However, it is important to note, that mindfulness as a treatment approach to reduce alcohol craving might not be observed following a single intervention (Caselli et al, 2016;Kamboj et al, 2017;Murphy and MacKillop, 2014;Vinci et al, 2014), but instead could arise from repeated practices. Decreased craving and prolonged alcohol abstinence as a result of longterm practices, further supports the notion that mindfulness benefits occur as a result of plastic brain changes within prefrontal-amygdala circuitry (Doll et al, 2016;Gotink et al, 2016).…”

Reduction in the occurrence of distressing involuntary memories following propranolol or hydrocortisone in healthy women

“…General trauma symptoms (previous 7 days) were assessed using the 22-item Impact of Events Scale (IES; (Weiss, 2007) adapted for the trauma-film (Holmes et al, 2009). Heart rate (HR) was recorded using a BodyGuard-2 ECG device (FirstBeat Technologies, Finland), and episodic blood pressure with a BM40 XL device (Beurer UK) as outlined elsewhere (Kamboj et al, 2017). Event markers corresponding to the start of the film and end of the 1 hr filler period were recorded to identify the 5-min pre-film and post-drug periods (T1 and T3 as described in the main paper and Figure 1).…”