Digital health
January 1, 2024
Alissa Wieczorek, Florian Schrank, Karl-Heinz Renner et al.
19 citations
A systematic review examined virtual-reality-based mindfulness interventions and their effects on psychological and physiological health. Psychological benefits included improved anxiety, mindfulness, emotions, stress, and sleep-related arousal. Physiological effects involved changes in heart rate, heart rate variability, pain, blood pressure, cortisol, and galvanic skin resistance. Most studies were single sessions lasting 5 or 10 minutes, often in nature-based virtual environments. Attention regulation was identified as a primary mechanism. More research has been conducted in the last six years, especially by North American and South Korean authors. The review calls for more rigorous, true-experimental studies and longer interventions to assess long-term effects.
Digital health
January 1, 2023
Sanjana Mendu, Sebrina L Doyle Fosco, Stephanie T Lanza et al.
5 citations
Chronic pain affects about 20% of U.S. adults, and non-addictive treatments like mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) are increasingly important. A key challenge is keeping people engaged in home practice over time. Researchers interviewed 10 MBSR facilitators about using a voice interface (smart speaker) to support home practice. Facilitators supported the idea, especially for people with limited motor function, and noted that voice interfaces offer a sense of social presence that may help sustain engagement. The findings demonstrate that trained mindfulness facilitators find a voice interface acceptable for supporting home MBSR practice, leading to design recommendations for technologies that provide long-term support for mindfulness interventions.
Digital health
January 1, 2024
Yanying Chen, Tianyang Wang, Yuxi Tan et al.
2 citations
A virtual reality (VR) program based on the hallucinogenic harm reduction and integration (PHRI) clinical model was compared with a traditional VR natural environment program for guiding positive thinking training. Seventy-six participants completed eight weeks of VR meditation. The PHRI-based program led to significantly higher scores on the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale and lower scores on the Immersive Tendencies Questionnaire immediately after training, indicating a weaker sense of presence but greater mindful awareness. At a four-week follow-up, the PHRI group showed significantly higher scores on the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale, suggesting longer-lasting improvements in mindfulness and mental health. The PHRI program increased emotional activation and arousal but did not directly boost positive emotions and caused no severe motion sickness.
Digital health
January 1, 2025
Yun-Jung Choi, Na-Rae Lee
1 citation
A mobile app combining neurofeedback-based meditation and binaural beat music helped people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms understand their traumatic stress symptoms and achieve physical and psychological stability. Thematic analysis of interviews with nine participants produced one overarching theme: "Holding hope for healing from agony of mind and body." Continued use of the program instilled faith and hope. The qualitative study explored how the app promoted psychological recovery for individuals experiencing chronic traumatic stress.
Digital health
January 1, 2026
Michael R MacIntyre
As direct-to-consumer ketamine prescriptions and psychedelic support expand via telehealth, some patients are using general-purpose chatbots as de facto therapists during unmonitored altered-state sessions. This convergence of psychedelic therapeutics and generative AI creates an unregulated frontier in mental health care. Current AI tools are not licensed professionals, lack consistent reliability, cannot provide emergency support, and their unpredictability combined with mind-altering drugs can precipitate harm. Traditional safeguards relying on trained humans for supportive mindset and environment are disrupted when AI replaces that role. Clinicians should recognize patients already experiment with AI in this way, often without disclosure, and should counsel about dangers, document safety discussions, and routinely ask about AI use as part of risk assessment.