Abstract:
This study aimed to compare the effects of Muse meditation and daily deep breathing exercise on Muse EEG, cognitive tests, and stress measures. 20 healthy individuals aged 18-50 were recruited from the local community. Individuals with no history of neurological or psychiatric disorders were included while pregnant females, and those having a history of seizure disorder, were excluded. This study was a pilot randomized controlled trial, participants were randomly assigned to either a Muse meditation group or a daily deep breathing exercise group. The Muse meditation group practiced meditation using a Muse headband, which provides real-time feedback on brain activity during meditation. The daily deep breathing exercise group practiced deep breathing exercises for 20 minutes a day using a guided audio recording. Participants in both groups were asked to practice their assigned exercise for 20 minutes per day, 5 days a week, for 4 weeks. Cognitive tests were administered before and after the intervention, including the Stroop test, the Trail Making Test, and the Digit Span test. Stress was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale and Sadaf Stress Scale. Participants were asked to rate their level of mindfulness using the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and their level of satisfaction with the intervention using a satisfaction questionnaire. All measures were assessed at baseline and at a 4-week follow-up. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. Both muse meditation and deep breathing exercises improved attention, working memory, and executive function, i.e. all cognitive tests scores significantly improved. Similarly, in terms of stress reduction, muse meditation and deep breathing exercises both were also found to be effective. The posttest outcomes were comparatively more pronounced in the muse meditation group as compared to deep breathing exercise group. This is a pilot project, a large-scale study is recommended to provide valuable information on the effectiveness of muse meditation and daily deep breathing exercise on cognitive tests, and stress measures.
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DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Abstract Book on 9th Annual Neuroscience Conference (ANC-23) August 12-13, 2023 , Volume: 0, Issue: 0, Year: 2023