Dismantling the Component-Specific Effects of Yogic Breathing: Feasibility of a Fully Remote Three-Arm RCT with Virtual Laboratory Visits and Wearable Physiology

Yan Ma, Huan Yang, Michael Vazquez, Olivia Buraks, Monika Haack, Janet M. Mullington and Michael R. Goldstein ()
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Yan Ma: Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Division of Preventive Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Huan Yang: Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Michael Vazquez: Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Olivia Buraks: Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Monika Haack: Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Janet M. Mullington: Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Michael R. Goldstein: Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 4, 1-15

Abstract: Despite the growing research base examining the benefits and physiological mechanisms of slow-paced breathing (SPB), mindfulness (M), and their combination (as yogic breathing, SPB + M), no studies have directly compared these in a ”dismantling” framework. To address this gap, we conducted a fully remote three-armed feasibility study with wearable devices and video-based laboratory visits. Eighteen healthy participants (age 18–30 years, 12 female) were randomized to one of three 8-week interventions: slow-paced breathing (SPB, N = 5), mindfulness (M, N = 6), or yogic breathing (SPB + M, N = 7). The participants began a 24-h heart rate recording with a chest-worn device prior to the first virtual laboratory visit, consisting of a 60-min intervention-specific training with guided practice and experimental stress induction using a Stroop test. The participants were then instructed to repeat their assigned intervention practice daily with a guided audio, while concurrently recording their heart rate data and completing a detailed practice log. The feasibility was determined using the rates of overall study completion (100%), daily practice adherence (73%), and the rate of fully analyzable data from virtual laboratory visits (92%). These results demonstrate feasibility for conducting larger trial studies with a similar fully remote framework, enhancing the ecological validity and sample size that could be possible with such research designs.

Keywords: slow-paced breathing; mindfulness; mind-body intervention; remote; sleep; wearable physiology; heart rate; stress (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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