Can a mindfulness app enhance well-being?
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN34618894 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN34618894 |
| Secondary identifying numbers | HS001 |
- Submission date
- 02/08/2018
- Registration date
- 14/08/2018
- Last edited
- 06/09/2023
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Mental and Behavioural Disorders
Plain English Summary
Background and study aims
Technology is advancing at an alarming rate. The smartphone plays a key role in this advancement, and estimates suggest that 1.82 billion smartphones were in use globally at the end of 2013. The development of smartphone applications, or 'apps', has made it possible for smartphones to be used to improve public health, for example by using them to deliver programs aimed at increasing wellbeing.
One particular program that has shown promise as a means of increasing wellbeing is 'mindfulness training'. Mindfulness is the process of observing thoughts and feelings in the present moment, without judgement or reaction, and has its origins in Buddhist teachings dating back several thousand years. Mindfulness is traditionally taught via group-based, in-person programs. However, these can be costly, time-consuming, and difficult to access. Smartphone apps could provide a more cost-effective and accessible way of delivering mindfulness training to the general public, with early studies suggesting that online-based mindfulness programs can lead to a wide variety of benefits. However, few studies have tested whether mindfulness apps are also effective at delivering mindfulness training. Further, little is known about how long people have to use mindfulness apps for in order to experience certain benefits, and who is likely to benefit from using a mindfulness app the most.
This study aims to test whether healthy adults from the general population feel as though their sense of wellbeing has increased after using the mindfulness app ‘Headspace’ for a period of 30 days. Headspace is one of the world's most popular mindfulness apps, and has been downloaded more than 25 million times. It features daily guided mindfulness exercises, usually ranging from 10 to 20 minutes, taught by former Buddhist monk Andy Puddicombe. This study will help us to answer whether mindfulness apps such as Headspace are an effective way of teaching mindfulness training, and whether using Headspace can increase public well-being, for example by making people feel less stressed, or more satisfied with their lives.
Who can participate?
Any adult from the general population who has access to a smartphone
What does the study involve?
A group of participants will be given free access to Headspace and asked to complete questionnaires about their sense of well-being (how stressed they feel, how resilient they feel, and how satisfied with their life they feel), before and after using Headspace for 10 days and for 30 days. A second group of participants (the control group) will complete the same questionnaires over the same time period, but without using Headspace. These participants will be on a waiting list, and will have free access to Headspace for 30 days at the end of the study, should they wish to use it. We will then compare scores between groups in order to deduce whether Headspace has improved peoples’ sense of wellbeing.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
The possible benefit of taking part in this study is that participants may experience an increase in well-being after engaging with Headspace, though there is no guarantee that this will be the case. There are no known risks to participants taking part in this study.
Where is the study run from?
London Metropolitan University, London
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
February 2016 to August 2016
Who is funding the study?
This study will form part of a Masters degree dissertation, and will therefore not receive any funding
Who is the main contact?
1. Dr. Marcos Economides,m_econ@outlook.com
2. Ms Louise Champion, loudibley@yahoo.co.uk
Contact information
Scientific
Unit B-C, 7 Papermill Building
City Garden Row
London
N1 8DW
United Kingdom
 ORCID ID |
0000-0003-0511-5432 |
|---|
Study information
| Study design | Interventional online pilot randomized controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Randomised controlled trial |
| Study setting(s) | Internet/virtual |
| Study type | Quality of life |
| Participant information sheet | Not available in web format, please use contact details to request a participant information sheet |
| Scientific title | The efficacy of a brief app-based mindfulness intervention on psychosocial outcomes in healthy adults: a pilot randomised controlled trial |
| Study hypothesis | We hypothesized that relative to a wait-list control group, participants in the Headspace group would experience significant beneficial impact across all three outcome measures (perceived stress, satisfaction with life, and resilience), and that the extent of this benefit would be greater following 30 days of the intervention than 10 days. We also hypothesized that users with higher self-rated task enjoyment (or lower self-rated task difficulty) would experience the largest positive change across all three outcomes. |
| Ethics approval(s) | London Metropolitan University Ethics Committee, 14/04/2016, 13050652 |
| Condition | Psychosocial health (perceived stress, satisfaction with life, resilience) in healthy adults |
| Intervention | Participants will be randomised via a simple, computer-generated sequence into the intervention or the control group. Participants in the intervention group will self-administer Foundation Series 1-3 of the commericially-available Headspace app. This results in 30 sessions in total, and participants will be encouraged to complete one 10-20 minute Headspace session per day. Participants in the wait-list control group will be instructed that they will receive access to the Headspace intervention with a 30 day delay. |
| Intervention type | Other |
| Primary outcome measure | The following were measured at the baseline, after 10 days and after 30 days: 1. Satisfaction with life, assessed using the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) 2. Perceived stress, assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale 3. Resilience, assessed using the Wagnild Resilience Scale |
| Secondary outcome measures | Three self-reported questions were included as secondary measures for the intervention group only and were assessed after 10 days and 30 days of the Headspace intervention: 1. The number of Headspace sessions completed 2. Perceived difficulty associated with completing the Headspace intervention 3. Perceived enjoyment associated with completing the Headspace intervention |
| Overall study start date | 01/02/2016 |
| Overall study end date | 01/08/2016 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Healthy volunteer |
|---|---|
| Age group | Adult |
| Lower age limit | 18 Years |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | Approximately 100 |
| Total final enrolment | 74 |
| Participant inclusion criteria | 1. Aged 18 years or older 2. Access to a smartphone |
| Participant exclusion criteria | 1. Engagement with mindfulness or meditation for more than 20 total minutes 2. Presence of psychological illness 3. History of psychological disorder or ongoing treatment for a psychological disorder 4. Score greater than 11 on the General Health Questionnaire 28 (GHQ-28) or a positive answer to questions 27 and 28 regarding suicidality |
| Recruitment start date | 18/04/2016 |
| Recruitment end date | 02/05/2016 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- England
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
Study participating centre
London
N7 8DB
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
University/education
166-220 Holloway Rd
London
N7 8DB
England
United Kingdom
| Website | https://www.londonmet.ac.uk/ |
|---|---|
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/00ae33288 |
Funders
Funder type
Not defined
No information available
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 15/08/2018 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | Yes |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Available on request |
| Publication and dissemination plan | The researchers plan to submit the study for peer-reviewed publication at an appropriate academic journal. |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during the current study are intended to be published in raw anonymised form, as supplementary data to a peer-reviewed publication in an academic journal. The data will thus be freely available once the study is published. |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results article | results | 31/12/2018 | Yes | No | |
| Dataset | 31/12/2018 | 06/09/2023 | No | No | |
| Protocol (other) | 31/12/2018 | 06/09/2023 | No | No |
Editorial Notes
06/09/2023: Dataset, protocol and total final enrolment added.
04/01/2019: Publication reference added.
