Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback
June 4, 2025
Qiuxia Xu, Yingqi Gu, Xizhe Hu
5 citations
A five-minute interactive virtual reality mindfulness session that uses real-time heart rate variability biofeedback to dynamically change the virtual environment (e.g., fog clearing, sounds, visual shifts) significantly reduced anxiety, improved mindfulness states, and increased heart rate variability in university students with recent anxiety symptoms. Traditional audio-based mindfulness and a no-intervention control group showed no significant changes in heart rate variability. The findings suggest that brief, responsive VR mindfulness training can effectively enhance psychological and physiological well-being.
Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback
July 26, 2025
Alexis Barbry, Éva Gál, Annie Carton et al.
3 citations
A systematic review of seven studies examined whether brief mindfulness meditation (BMM) affects heart rate variability (HRV), a measure of physiological stress. Three studies with 120 participants found that BMM is associated with an increase in RMSSD, a time-domain HRV index linked to parasympathetic activity. Two studies reported an increase in the LF/HF ratio, but the evidence quality was low. The results suggest that RMSSD may increase in the short term during or after BMM, indicating that BMM might be a promising psychological intervention to temporarily reduce physiological stress. The review notes high heterogeneity among studies as a limitation and calls for future randomized controlled trials measuring long-term effects.
Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback
July 11, 2025
Konrad Rudnicki, Luna Schepers, Koen Rummens et al.
1 citation
A two-week randomized controlled trial with 105 novice meditators compared cardiac biofeedback-assisted meditation, app-based meditation, and a non-meditating control group. Interoceptive awareness increased in all three groups from pre- to post-test, while interoceptive sensibility showed no change. Interoceptive accuracy improved only in the two meditation conditions, and only among participants who reported a positive user experience with their meditation devices. The findings suggest that brief meditation sessions can enhance interoceptive accuracy, but the benefit depends on the user's subjective experience with the technology.
Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback
July 22, 2025
Saba Hassanvandi, Reza Mohammadzadegan, Seyed Hassan Saadat et al.
A trial tested whether Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training affects salivary cortisol, α-amylase, anxiety, and depression in university students in Khoy, Iran. Thirty students were split equally into an MBSR group and a control group. MBSR improved general health, α-amylase level, and the α-amylase/cortisol ratio more than the control condition. The training also promoted psychological indicators (stress, anxiety, depression) and hormonal indicators (α-amylase level and α-amylase/cortisol ratio) in the experimental group compared to the control group.