A randomized, double-blind trial tested a neurofeedback wearable device for stress reduction. Participants with psychological stress, depression, or sleep disturbances used either neurofeedback-assisted meditation or non-assisted meditation for 12 minutes twice daily over two weeks. The neurofeedback group showed a significantly greater reduction in perceived stress scores compared to the control group. State anxiety tended to improve more with neurofeedback, though not significantly. Depressive mood and sleep improved in both groups without significant differences. Stress hormones and brainwave measures did not differ between groups. Device satisfaction was significantly higher in the neurofeedback group. Neurofeedback-assisted meditation can enhance subjective stress relief beyond meditation alone.
Mind-body interventions delivered via YouTube by experts, including mindfulness, breathwork, and mental imagery, improved sleep in a survey of 411 users. Most participants were women in their 20s who had difficulty falling asleep or non-restorative sleep. After using the videos, people reported better sleep-onset latency, sleep maintenance, sleep quality, daytime dysfunction, and ease waking up. Those with the most improvement had more severe insomnia with psychological stress. 77% of users found the platform convenient and satisfactory. The findings suggest that expert-led YouTube videos can be an effective and accessible tool for improving sleep.