Stress-physiology Coherence, Interoception, and Well-being Following Mindfulness Training or Tracking Time Spent on Mobile Device

Is Knowing the Body Knowing the Mind? Stress-physiology Coherence, Interoception, and Mindfulness

Chronic stress has been shown to impact long-term emotional and physical health. When nearly three-quarters of Americans report stress at levels that exceed what they consider healthy, there is a desperate need to understand factors that contribute to effective stress regulation. This work seeks to develop a measure tied to awareness and acceptance of stress that has shown promise as a predictor of multiple markers of mental and physical well-being, understand how it relates to awareness of the body, and explore whether it can be trained to alleviate suffering and promote well-being. This study aims to 1) Conceptually replicate and extend previous findings linking greater stress-physiology coherence to higher well-being. 2) Assess whether awareness of physiology is associated with stress-physiology coherence. 3) Explore whether stress-physiology coherence can be trained through a brief mindfulness training intervention.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age 18 to 65;
2. Comfortable reading, writing, and conversing in English
3. U.S. Citizen or permanent resident (for payment purposes)
4. Have a smartphone compatible with our study app

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Significant past experience with meditation, yoga, tai chi, or qi gong;
2. Current or past psychotic disorder, Bipolar Disorder, PTSD, or social phobia;
3. Current, severe major depressive episode;
4. Current, severe generalized anxiety;
5. Active prescription stimulant use (current or in the past month);
6. Active prescription beta-blocker, beta-agonist, anti-high blood pressure, or anti-anxiety medication use (current or in the past month);
7. Currently pregnant (due to physiological changes);
8. History of neurological disorder;
9. Currently diagnosed with high blood pressure, or heart murmur;
10. Have a pacemaker
11. Have participated in the Trier Social Stress Test previously