Abstract

Background: Scalable, low-burden behavioral interventions are needed to address rising subclinical mental health symptoms. However, few randomized controlled trials have evaluated ultra-brief, remotely delivered, meditation using multimodal outcome assessment under real-world conditions.

Methods: We conducted a fully remote randomized controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT06014281) evaluating a focused-attention meditation intervention delivered via brief instructor training and independent daily practice. A total of 299 meditation-naive adults were randomized to immediate intervention or waitlist control in a delayed-intervention design. Participants practiced >10 minutes daily for 8 weeks within a 16-week study. Outcomes included validated self-report measures, web-based cognitive tasks, and wearable-derived physiological metrics.

Results: Across randomized and within-participant replication phases, the intervention was associated with significant reductions in anxiety and mind wandering, with effects remaining stable during 8-week follow-up. Improvements were greatest among participants with higher baseline symptom burden. Sleep disturbance improved selectively among individuals with poorer baseline sleep. Secondary outcomes, including rumination, perceived stress, social connectedness, and quality of life, also improved. Cognitive performance showed modest improvements primarily among lower-performing participants. Resting heart rate exhibited nominal reductions.

Conclusions: An ultra-brief, fully remote meditation intervention requiring 10 minutes per day was associated with sustained improvements in psychological functioning and smaller, baseline-dependent effects on cognition in a non-clinical population. These findings support digital delivery of low-dose meditation as a scalable preventive mental health strategy.