Trial reportPloS one2020
Heart rate variability is enhanced during mindfulness practice: A randomized controlled trial involving a 10-day online-based mindfulness intervention.
Trial report in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
54 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 100 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of Brief Mindfulness Meditation Interventions on Heart Rate Variability in Adults: A Systematic Review.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of music intervention on heart rate variability: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised-controlled trials.Scientific reports · 2023Pooled it
- The Impact of BWM-T Versus Brief Mindfulness Induction on Stress, Anxiety and Self-Efficacy in University Students: Immediate and Short-Term Outcomes of RCT on Psychological Well-Being and Autonomic Balance.Brain and behavior · 2026Trial
- A digital mindfulness intervention improves sleep efficiency and heart rate variability in healthy adults.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Brief Interactive Virtual Reality Mindfulness Training with Real-Time Biofeedback for Anxiety Reduction: A Pilot Study.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2026Trial
- Effects of mindfulness breathing meditation on stress and cognitive functions: a heart rate variability and eye-tracking study.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- App-Based Mindfulness for Attenuation of Subjective and Physiological Stress Reactivity in a Population With Elevated Stress: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2023Trial
- The effectiveness of a single session of mindfulness-based cognitive training on cardiac vagal control and core symptoms in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a preliminary randomized controlled trial.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2023Trial
- Mindfulness and music interventions in the workplace: assessment of sustained attention and working memory using a crowdsourcing approach.BMC psychology · 2022Trial
- Association Between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and a Composite Index of Cardiac Autonomic Control: Potential Implications for Exercise Training Evaluation.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Virtual EMO-Mind: Exploring the Benefits of Virtual Mindfulness for Heart Rate Variability and Emotional Skills in Young Students.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2026Article
- Using a Virtual Reality CAVE-Based Mindfulness Intervention to Promote Mental Well-Being in Adolescents With Anxiety Symptoms: Pre-Post Mixed Methods Pilot Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Laryngopharyngeal Symptoms and Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Disease: Interdisciplinary Considerations and Management.Neurogastroenterology and motility · 2026Review
- Developing a Mindfulness Program for Families in a Pediatric Weight Management Clinic.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Yoga and Mindfulness-Based Rehabilitation After Myocardial Infarction: A Systematic Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Recalibrating stress regulation through mindfulness: a framework for adapting interventions for ACE-affected populations.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Autonomic and psychophysiological effects of a 13-week mindfulness-based intervention in university students.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of effects of standalone digital mindfulness-based interventions on sleep in adults.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- Higher momentary parental burnout predicts lower subsequent emotional expression in parents during the festive season.Communications psychology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe goal of the present study was to probe the effects of mindfulness practice in a naturalistic setting as opposed to a lab-based environment in the presence of continuous heart rate variability (HRV) measurements. The specific experimental goals were to examine the effects of a brief 10-day online-based mindfulness intervention on both chronic and acute HRV responses.
methodWe conducted a fully randomized 10-day longitudinal trial of mindfulness practice, explicitly controlling for practice effects with an active-control group (music listening) and a non-intervention control group. To assess chronic cardiovascular effects, we asked participants in the 3 groups to complete 2-day HRV pre- and post-intervention measurement sessions. Using this experimental setup enabled us to address training effects arising from mindfulness practice to assess physiological impact on daytime as well as nighttime (i.e. assessing sleep quality) on the underlying HRV response. To assess acute cardiovascular effects, we measured HRV in the 2 active intervention groups during each of the 10 daily mindfulness or music sessions. This allowed us to track the development of purported training effects arising from mindfulness practice relative to the active-control intervention in terms of changes in the HRV slope over the 10-day time-course.
resultsFirstly, for the acute phase we found increased HRV during the daily practice sessions in both the mindfulness and active-control group indicating that both interventions were effective in decreasing acute physiological stress. Secondly, for the chronic phase we found increased HRV in both the day- and nighttime indicating increased sleep quality, specifically in the mindfulness group.
conclusionThese results suggest causal effects in both chronic and acute phases of mindfulness practice in formerly naïve subjects and provides support for the argument that brief online-based mindfulness interventions exert positive impact on HRV.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.