Mindfulness Training and Respiration Biosignal Feedback - Study 1

The goal of this research is to develop a new breathing feature on the meditation app, Equa, to help young adults who are distressed, understand their physiological responses and mindfulness skill development during meditation.

Our main aims are to build an algorithm that can use respiration signals (i.e., breathing) to:

* Give feedback about how participant physiology is changing during guided lessons on the meditation app, Equa
* Measure how much participant mindfulness skills are improving

Participants will:

* Complete a survey about demographics, their thoughts and feelings before and after the mindfulness meditation program
* Complete 14 smartphone guided mindfulness meditation training units while physiological measures are being recorded
* Complete a few brief questionnaires before and after mindfulness practices to understand potential changes in their mindfulness skills

Investigators will recruit young adults to participate in a study to examine the effectiveness of respiration dynamics during meditation through phone motion data and microphones within headphones. Interested participants who contact us will be screened on study inclusion/exclusion criteria: (1) aged 18-30 years, (2) indicate moderate to high levels of psychological distress over the past two weeks, (3) interested in coming on site to complete 14 smartphone guided mindfulness meditation training units, (4) willing to wear physiological monitoring equipment and provide ratings of their training experience, (5) Not currently pregnant and (6) no current or previous diagnosis of psychosis or schizophrenia

Participants are told they are going to participate in a study that focuses on monitoring physiological responses during meditation. At the start of the study, participants will complete questions via an online survey focused on demographics, prior meditation experience, perceived stress, loneliness, anxiety, affect, mindfulness, and well-being to understand factors that may relate to their respiration data, meditation practice, their perceived mindfulness characteristics.

Participants will complete a few brief questionnaires before and after each mindfulness practices to understand potential changes in mindfulness (E.g., levels of equanimity, sensory clarity, and concentration). Participant physiological data will be recorded (E.g., breathing sounds and motion data) via smartphones and wireless headphones to track respiration dynamics. Additionally, the sensory shirt, made by Hexoskin Smart Sensors; AI, will also continuously measure respiration via two respiratory inductive plethysmography (RIP) sensors. The Hexoskin shirt also tracks motion via a three-axis accelerometer. These breathing and motion measures will enable investigators to better understand mindfulness measures (E.g., concentration, clarity, and equanimity) during meditation.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Ages 18-30 years of Age
* Fluent in English
* Indicate moderate to high levels of psychological distress over the past two weeks (composite score \&gt;9 on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9.
* Willing to participate in guided meditation or stress management training.
* Willing and able to wear earbud headphones and a shirt which uses sensors to track motion and physiological measures.
* Willing to provide ratings on their training experience

Exclusion Criteria:

* Currently pregnant
* Current or previous diagnosis with psychosis or schizophrenia