Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2025 Jan 4;59(1):kaaf025.
doi: 10.1093/abm/kaaf025.

App-based mindfulness meditation reduces stress in novice meditators: a randomized controlled trial of headspace using ecological momentary assessment

Matthew J Zawadzki  1   2 , Zoltan A Torok  1   2 , Mercedes Peña  1   2 , Larisa Gavrilova  1
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

App-based mindfulness meditation reduces stress in novice meditators: a randomized controlled trial of headspace using ecological momentary assessment

Matthew J Zawadzki et al. Ann Behav Med. .

Abstract

Background: App-based mindfulness meditation programs have shown mixed effects in reducing stress levels. These studies have typically relied on limited assessments of dimensions of stress and on pre-post designs to detect effects.

Purpose: This randomized controlled trial examined the effect of the mindfulness meditation app Headspace on reducing subjective stress, stressor appraisals, perceived coping, and perseverative cognitions. It tested stress-reducing effects in everyday life throughout an eight-week intervention period.

Method: Non-faculty employees (n = 138; age M = 38.19; 75.36% female; 54.5% White, 27.54% Hispanic; 51.45% with a professional degree) from a university in California's Central Valley were randomized into either the Headspace condition (instructed to complete 10 minutes of meditation daily) or wait-list (inactive) control group. Participants completed ecological momentary assessments of stress five times a day for four consecutive days at baseline, at two and five weeks after randomization (mid-intervention), and at eight weeks post-randomization (post-intervention), resulting in 6260 observations of stress dimensions.

Results: Hierarchical linear models were used to test the interaction of condition by time, revealing significant effects for subjective stress, perceived coping, and perseverative cognitions. By week 2, compared to the baseline, participants in the Headspace condition reported less subjective stress and perseverative cognitions, and by week 5 reported more perceived coping. These effects persisted through week 8. No changes were observed for stressor appraisal. Participants in the control condition reported increases in subjective stress and perseverative cognitions, and decreases in coping, throughout the intervention period.

Discussion: Headspace was effective at reducing stress in a high-stress environment. Findings suggest the potential for relatively quick and sustained gains in stress benefits from meditation practice that may help practitioners develop their future programs.

Keywords: Headspace; digital health; mHealth; mindfulness; stress.

Plain language summary

This study tested the effectiveness of the mindfulness meditation app Headspace to reduce stress among new meditators. Non-faculty university employees were randomly assigned to either a Headspace meditation group or a control group. Participants in the meditation group were asked to meditate for 10 minutes daily over an 8-week period. To track changes in stress, ecological momentary assessments were used, which measure stress throughout the day to give an understanding of stress in real time while people go about their daily lives. Different aspects of stress were measured, including feelings of stress, how negative stressful events were perceived, how much a participant felt they could cope, and stressful thinking. These measures were taken at the beginning of the study, and then two, five, and eight weeks after participants started meditating. The results showed that participants in the Headspace group experienced a significant reduction in feeling stressed and stressful thinking, and they reported improved coping, both during and at the end of the eight-week study. In contrast, participants in the control group reported the opposite pattern, indicating an increase in stress. Overall, the study suggests that brief, daily mindfulness practice using an app like Headspace can effectively reduce stress in everyday life.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No authors have conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
CONSORT diagram.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Stress levels as a function of headspace and time.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Luberto CM, Shinday N, Song R, et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of meditation on empathy, compassion, and prosocial behaviors. Mindfulness. 2018;9:708-724. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s12671-017-0841-8 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. O’Daffer A, Colt SF, Wasil AR, Lau N.. Efficacy and conflicts of interest in randomized controlled trials evaluating headspace and calm apps: systematic review. JMIR Ment Health. 2022;9:e40924. https://doi.org/ 10.2196/40924 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Renn BN, Hoeft TJ, Lee HS, Bauer AM, Areán PA.. Preference for in-person psychotherapy versus digital psychotherapy options for depression: survey of adults in the U.S. NPJ Digit Med. 2019;2:6. https://doi.org/ 10.1038/s41746-019-0077-1 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mrazek AJ, Mrazek MD, Cherolini CM, et al. The future of mindfulness training is digital, and the future is now. Curr Opin Psychol. 2019;28:81-86. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.11.012 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Krusche A, Jack CD, Blunt C, Hsu A.. Mindfulness-based organisational education: an evaluation of a mindfulness course delivered to employees at the royal orthopaedic hospital. Mindfulness. 2020;11:362-373. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s12671-019-01121-x - DOI

Publication types