Effect of Brief Mindfulness Meditation Interventions on Heart Rate Variability in Adults: A Systematic Review.
Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback July 26, 2025 Alexis Barbry, Éva Gál, Annie Carton et al. 3 citations
A systematic review of seven studies examined whether brief mindfulness meditation (BMM) affects heart rate variability (HRV), a measure of physiological stress. Three studies with 120 participants found that BMM is associated with an increase in RMSSD, a time-domain HRV index linked to parasympathetic activity. Two studies reported an increase in the LF/HF ratio, but the evidence quality was low. The results suggest that RMSSD may increase in the short term during or after BMM, indicating that BMM might be a promising psychological intervention to temporarily reduce physiological stress. The review notes high heterogeneity among studies as a limitation and calls for future randomized controlled trials measuring long-term effects.