Using Heartfulness Meditation and Brain Entrainment to Improve Teenage Mental Wellbeing

Teenagers are highly susceptible to mental health issues and this problem has been exacerbated by the quarantine restrictions of COVID-19. This study evaluated the use of Heartfulness Meditation and Audio Brainwave Entrainment to help teenagers cope with mental health issues. It used 30-minute Heartfulness meditation and 15-minute brainwave entrainment sessions with binaural beats and isochronic tones 3 times a week for 4 weeks. Using a pretest-posttest methodology, participants were asked to complete a survey battery including the Pittsburgh Quality of Sleep Index, Perceived Stress Scale, Patient Health Question-9, Profile of Mood States, and Cambridge Brain Health assessment. Participants (n=40) were divided into 4 experimental groups: the control group (n=9), Audio Brainwave Entrainment group (n=9), Heartfulness Meditation group (n=10), and a combined group (n=12), for a 4-week intervention. Data were analyzed with paired t-tests. The singular Audio Brainwave Entrainment group did not see statistically significant improvements, nor did any of the intervention groups for brain health (p>0.05). This study, however, proved the efficacy of a 4-week Heartfulness Meditation program to regulate overall mood (p=.00132), stress levels (p=.0089), state depression (POMS; p=.0037), and anger (p=.002). Results also suggest adding Audio Brainwave Entrainment to Heartfulness Meditation may improve sleep quality (p=.0377) and stress levels (p=.00016).

青少年群体极易受到心理健康问题的侵扰，而新冠疫情（COVID-19）的隔离管控措施进一步加剧了这一问题。本研究评估了Heartfulness冥想（Heartfulness Meditation）与音频脑波同步训练（Audio Brainwave Entrainment）用于辅助青少年应对心理健康问题的效果。本次干预方案为：每周3次、持续4周，其中单次30分钟的Heartfulness冥想训练，以及单次15分钟的搭载双声拍（binaural beats）与等时音（isochronic tones）的脑波同步训练疗程。研究采用前后测（pretest-posttest）实验设计，要求参与者完成一系列成套问卷，包括匹兹堡睡眠质量指数量表（Pittsburgh Quality of Sleep Index）、知觉压力量表（Perceived Stress Scale）、患者健康问卷-9（Patient Health Question-9）、情绪状态量表（Profile of Mood States）以及剑桥脑健康评估量表（Cambridge Brain Health assessment）。本次研究共招募40名参与者，将其分为4个实验组：对照组（n=9）、音频脑波同步训练组（n=9）、Heartfulness冥想组（n=10）以及联合干预组（n=12），干预周期为4周。数据采用配对t检验进行分析。结果显示，单独的音频脑波同步训练组未出现统计学意义上的显著改善，各实验组在脑健康维度上也未观察到显著变化（p>0.05）。但本研究证实，为期4周的Heartfulness冥想方案可有效调节个体整体情绪状态（p=0.00132）、压力水平（p=0.0089）、状态性抑郁情绪（通过情绪状态量表评估，p=0.0037）以及愤怒情绪（p=0.002）。研究结果同时表明，在Heartfulness冥想基础上叠加音频脑波同步训练，可进一步改善睡眠质量（p=0.0377）与压力水平（p=0.00016）。