Mindfulness Meditation and Respiration: Accelerometer-Based Respiration Rate and Mindfulness Progress Estimation to Enhance App Engagement and Mindfulness Skills
arXiv Preprint Archive July 23, 2025 Mohammad Nur Hossain Khan, David Creswell, Jordan Albert et al.
Respiration biosignal feedback from a smartphone's built-in accelerometer can improve the usability of mindfulness apps and help track skill development. A respiration tracking algorithm, tested on 261 meditation sessions in controlled and real-world settings, accurately captures slow breathing patterns typical of mindfulness, achieving a mean error of 1.6 breaths per minute. A novel framework estimates three mindfulness skills—concentration, sensory clarity, and equanimity—from respiration data, with F1 scores of 80-84% for tracking skill progression. A user study comparing an experimental group receiving biosignal feedback with a control group using a standard app shows that respiration feedback enhances system usability, suggesting smartphone sensors can enhance digital mindfulness training without additional wearables.