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David Spiegel

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA.

4 papers in the library · 275 citations · publishing 2016-2026

Papers

Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal

Cell Reports Medicine January 1, 2023 Melis Yilmaz Balban, Eric Neri, Manuela M. Kogon et al. 261 citations

A month-long remote randomized controlled trial compared three daily five-minute breathwork exercises—cyclic sighing (prolonged exhalations), box breathing (equal inhale, hold, exhale), and cyclic hyperventilation with retention (longer inhales, shorter exhales)—against mindfulness meditation. Cyclic sighing produced greater improvements in mood and greater reductions in respiratory rate than mindfulness meditation. The findings suggest that brief, exhale-focused breathwork may be an effective stress management tool.

Accelerated recovery using magnesium ibogaine: characterizing the subjective experience of its rapid healing from neuropsychiatric disorders.

Npj mental health research January 31, 2026 Clayton Olash, Derrick Matthew Buchanan, Randi Brown et al. 1 citation

A single open-label magnesium-ibogaine treatment prompted four recurring experiential themes among 30 male U.S. Special Operations veterans with TBI and PTSD: guided replay of autobiographical memories that allowed trauma reappraisal; altered-self and mystical connectedness; emotional resolution marked by surges of forgiveness, love, and renewed purpose; and embodied healing with a vivid sense of neural repair, cognitive clarity, and somatic relief. These themes describe an accelerated, self-directed psychotherapeutic process that aligns with previously reported clinical improvements in the same cohort, suggesting mind-body mechanisms involving rapid neuroplastic change.

A fully remote randomized controlled trial of an ultra-brief digital meditation intervention reduces internalizing symptoms

medRxiv Preprint Server April 19, 2026 Cameron C. Glick, Saad Pirzada, Shaun Quah et al. preprint

A scalable, low-burden behavioral intervention using ultra-brief, remotely delivered meditation was tested in a randomized controlled trial with multimodal outcome assessment under real-world conditions. The intervention aimed to address rising subclinical mental health symptoms, though the abstract does not report specific findings or effect sizes.