Mindfulness in a College Physiology Course

NCT06423053 | Enrolling By Invitation

• 1 other identifier: STUDY00032944
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 89
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This proposed study aims to evaluate whether integrating mindfulness into an undergraduate biology course (Mindful Physiology) influences students' trait and applied mindfulness, well-being, and physiological stress reactivity. The primary questions are

1. 1.Would completing the Mindful Physiology course increase applied mindfulness?
2. 2.Would completing the class increase trait mindfulness?
3. 3.Would completing the class increase subjective well-being?
4. 4.Would completing the class reduce physiological stress response to an acute social stressor?

Conditions

Well-being; Mindfulness; Stress

Keywords

Mindfulness; College student; Stress; Applied mindfulness; young adults; well-being; stress reactivity

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Applied Mindfulness

  Students will complete the Applied Mindfulness Process Scale (AMPS) at baseline and post-intervention completion. The scale consists of 15 questions that quantify the application of mindfulness skills to navigate difficult situations and stressors in life. The AMPS encompasses three subscales: decentering, negative emotion regulation, and positive emotion regulation. The total scores are the sum of the item scores. The total possible scores range from 0 to 60. Higher scores reflect a more active use of mindfulness practice in everyday life. The scale demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.91) among 134 adults in the original study.

  Baseline and intervention completion (~10 weeks)

• Trait Mindfulness

  Trait mindfulness will be assessed with the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), a 39-item questionnaire evaluating five distinct components of mindfulness: observation (8 items), description (8 items), aware actions (8 items), non-judging of inner experience (8 items), and non-reactivity to inner experience (7 items). The total score is the average across the five subscales. Possible scores range from 1 to 5, with higher scores indicating higher dispositional mindfulness.

  Baseline and intervention completion (~10 weeks)

• Physiological Stress Response to an Acute Stressor

  At the time of intervention completion, physiological stress reactivity will be evaluated using the online version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) in our laboratory (Heyers et al., 2025). During the TSST, heart rate will be measured using a chest-worn Polar H10 (Polar Electro Oy, Kempele, Finland) (Schaffarczyk et al., 2022) and video-based photoplethysmography (PPG) (Pirzada et al., 2023). Wrist collected PPG heart rate data will also be measured during the TSST-OL (ActiGraph LEAP; Ametris, Pensacola, Florida). Raw inter-beat intervals will be recorded via Bluetooth pairing with an accelerometer (ActiGraph wGT3X-BT; Ametris, Pensacola, Florida). The mean heart rate (MHR) will be computed during the baseline resting phase, the TSST (speech preparation and speaking), and the recovery phase (Nyklíček et al., 2013). Reactivity to the acute stressor will be operationalized as differences in heart rate parameters during the TSST (preparation + speaking) compared to the baseline.

  Intervention completion (~8 and 9 weeks)

• Well-Being

  Well-being will be assessed with the 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5). Participants will rate five positively phrased items on subjective well-being, i.e., "I have felt cheerful and in good spirits." Responses are anchored from 0 (none of the time) to 5 (all the time). The total score is the sum of item responses ranging from 0 to 25, with 25 indicating the maximum possible mental well-being. The index has shown high internal consistency with α = 0.86 and test-retest reliability of r = 0.77 in 903 college students.

  Baseline and intervention completion (~10 weeks)

Other Outcomes (9)

• Harmful Alcohol Intake

  Baseline and intervention completion (~10 weeks)

• Social Media Addiction

  Baseline and intervention completion (~10 weeks)

• Social Connectedness

  Baseline and intervention completion (~10 weeks)

Study Arms (2)

Biology 3 students

EXPERIMENTAL

This arm consists of students enrolled in the Mindful Physiology course (Biology 3) at Dartmouth College during the Spring 2026 term who will have access to the course offerings and usual university wellness resources.

Behavioral: Biology Course with Integrated Mindfulness

Biology 3 waitlisted students

NO INTERVENTION

This arm consists of students waitlisted for the Biology 3 course during the Spring 2026 term. They receive university wellness resources as usual. These include access to wellness counselors, mental health advisors, and psychiatrists at the university's counseling center, wellness advising at the student wellness center, and campus-wide wellness programs, such as weekly group yoga and meditation sessions and a free subscription to the Headspace app. On-campus mindfulness retreats will also be advertised and accessible to the control group.

Interventions

Biology Course with Integrated Mindfulness BEHAVIORAL

The intervention, Mindful Physiology, is an undergraduate-level biology course embedded with mindfulness practices. Over 10 weeks, students attend 19 110-minute sessions that combine didactic lectures, labs, and quizzes with \~20 minutes of mindfulness practice daily, in the tradition of Thích Nhất Hạnh's Plum Village Zen Buddhism. Students complete daily mindfulness logs (credited regardless of duration) and weekly reflections on course content or practice. Students are encouraged to practice for 15 minutes daily outside of class, at least 5 days a week. They are also required to attend a group mindfulness session of 30 mins or longer each week. Students are required to attend either a 4.5-hour on-campus mindfulness retreat or a two-day (16-hour) on-campus mindfulness retreat.

Biology 3 students

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Trustees of Dartmouth College: lead
• Dartmouth College: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Dartmouth College

Hanover, New Hampshire, 03755, United States

Location

Related Publications (17)

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Study Officials

• Diane Gilbert-Diamond, ScD

  Dartmouth College

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor, Principal Investigator

Model Details: The intervention group will consist of students enrolled in the Mindful Physiology course (Biology 3) at Dartmouth College in the spring 2026 term (3/30/2026- 6/3/2026). The control group will enroll students waitlisted for the course during the Spring 2026 term. The control participants will receive university wellness resources as usual. These include access to counseling and psychotherapy services at the university's counseling center, wellness advising at the student wellness center, and campus-wide wellness programs, such as weekly group yoga and meditation sessions and a free subscription to the Headspace app.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 21, 2024
• First Posted: May 21, 2024
• Study Start: March 30, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 3, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2026
• Last Updated: April 8, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, CSR, ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: Data will become available on October 1, 2027.
• Access Criteria: Data Sharing Agreement Institutional Human Subjects Research Protocol Approval

Locations

US (1)