Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
This study is testing whether a short, daily, app-based meditation can help young adults feel better in their everyday lives. Adults aged 18-40 years who live in the United States and have not meditated regularly (defined as more than four times per week at any point in their lives) are invited to participate. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups for 4 weeks: 1. Intervention group: Participants will complete a 7-minute Miracle of Mind meditation each day using a mobile app. 2. Active comparator group: Participants will listen to a neutral 7-minute audio lesson each day. 3. Control group: Participants will continue their usual daily routine without adding anything new. All participants will complete brief online surveys at the start of the study and several times during the 4-week study period. Surveys will ask about mood, stress, anxiety, overall well-being, and mindfulness. Participants who already wear a smartwatch, such as a Fitbit or Apple Watch, may choose to share heart rate and related data so that researchers can examine whether meditation may also affect physical signs of stress. Investigators will compare changes over time among the three groups to determine whether the daily 7-minute meditation helps young adults feel better, experience less stress, and become more emotionally resilient.
Inclusion Criteria: * Individuals between the ages of 18-40 years * Currently residing in the USA * Individuals who are English speaking * Willing and able to download an application on iOS/Android Exclusion Criteria: * Individuals who are non-English speaking * Unable to access an iOS/Android smartphone * Individuals who regularly practice any form of meditation \>4 times per week * Individuals scoring 9-12 on the PHQ-4, or ≥3 on either the PHQ-2 or GAD-2 subscale
Miracle of Mind is a 7-minute meditation that incorporates breath and awareness to enhance mental health and clarity. The practice involves voice-guided seated meditation with simple breathing techniques. This is a simple, safe intervention that does not require any previous meditation experience.
Active control participants are asked to listen to an approximately 7-minute neutral audio learning task daily in the 3Cs app for the duration of the study. A total of 28 audio learning tasks were sourced from the SDG Academy and Harvard University YouTube and SoundCloud content were screened prior to inclusion.