Abstract:Background: The practice of mindfulness meditation has gained increasing attention to manage stress levels and enhance cognitive functions. Mindfulness meditation has demonstrated enhancement effects in protecting mental health by modulating autonomic nervous system activity and improving attentional control. However, the effectiveness of physical (PMBM) and online mindfulness breathing meditation (OMBM) interventions on stress levels, state mindfulness, and cognitive functions (attention and inhibitory control) has remained largely unexplored. This study aims to examine the effects of PMBM versus OMBM interventions on state mindfulness and cognitive functions using heart rate variability (HRV) as a measurement of stress levels and conduct an interview to gain participants’ understanding and attitudes toward practicing MBM on enhancing their mental health. Methods: Forty-eight participants were randomly assigned to either PMBM, OMBM, or active control (AC) groups. During the pre-intervention task, participants’ HRV were measured for five minutes during resting state, and they answered Toronto Mindfulness Scale and performed Flanker Task. Participants underwent a three-day intervention with 10 minutes of physical or online MBM practices, or music therapy (for AC group). The post-intervention procedure was the same as pre-intervention. Among the PMBM and OMBM participants, 20 participants were randomly selected to undergo the interview. Results: The findings showed significantly greater state mindfulness (P<0.001) and improvement in cognitive functions (P=0.01) in both PMBM and OMBM groups compared to the AC group, though no significant improvement in HRV (P=0.19). The interview findings suggested that MBM intervention, regardless of the delivery mode, offered a feasible, accessible, and beneficial mindfulness modality to the general population, particularly suitable for beginners. Conclusions: This study support the adaptability and acceptability of MBM intervention across different delivery formats, making it a promising tool for large-scale mental health promotion. Future research could explore longer intervention durations and include follow-up assessments to examine sustained effects.
Keywords: Mental Health, mindfulness breathing meditation; state mindfulness; cognitive functions; heart rate variability
