Key result
Self-directed physical activity, mindfulness meditation, and heart rate variability biofeedback significantly reduced stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, with no significant differences in efficacy between the interventions.
Why the study?
Does self-help physical activity, mindfulness meditation, or heart rate variability biofeedback reduce stress and related symptoms in adults with stress complaints?
RCT (n=75)
Stratified by gender and age
No
Does self-help physical activity, mindfulness meditation, or heart rate variability biofeedback reduce stress and related symptoms in adults with stress complaints?
p-value: p=0.462
Self-help physical activity, mindfulness meditation, and heart rate variability biofeedback are equally effective in reducing stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in young adults.
Supports self-directed physical activity, mindfulness, or HRV biofeedback as accessible options for stress; confirms equivalent efficacy among these interventions.
In contemporary western societies stress is highly prevalent, therefore the need for stress-reducing methods is great. This randomized controlled trial compared the efficacy of self-help physical activity (PA), mindfulness meditation (MM), and heart rate variability biofeedback (HRV-BF) in reducing stress and its related symptoms. We randomly allocated 126 participants to PA, MM, or HRV-BF upon enrollment, of whom 76 agreed to participate. The interventions consisted of psycho-education and an introduction to the specific intervention techniques and 5 weeks of daily exercises at home. The PA exercises consisted of a vigorous-intensity activity of free choice. The MM exercises consisted of guided mindfulness meditation. The HRV-BF exercises consisted of slow breathing with a heart rate variability biofeedback device. Participants received daily reminders for their exercises and were contacted weekly to monitor their progress. They completed questionnaires prior to, directly after, and 6 weeks after the intervention. Results indicated an overall beneficial effect consisting of reduced stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and improved psychological well-being and sleep quality. No significant between-intervention effect was found, suggesting that PA, MM, and HRV-BF are equally effective in reducing stress and its related symptoms. These self-help interventions provide easily accessible help for people with stress complaints.
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Zwan et al. (2015) conducted an RCT in Stress (n=75). Physical Activity (PA), Mindfulness Meditation (MM), or Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback (HRV-BF) vs. Active comparators (PA vs MM vs HRV-BF) was evaluated on DASS stress score (between-group difference) (p=0.462). Self-directed physical activity, mindfulness meditation, and heart rate variability biofeedback significantly reduced stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, with no significant differences in efficacy between the interventions.
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