Brief Online Training in Mindfulness Meditation Momentarily Reduces Some Impulsive Behaviors: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The current study examined how brief mindfulness meditation training affects impulsive behaviors and their underlying mechanisms using a randomized controlled design with smartphone-based online interventions.

A total of 70 participants who were identified with low level of mindfulness participated in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups: mindfulness (monitor + acceptance, n = 24), monitor-only (n = 23), and no-intervention control (n = 23), in which mindfulness and monitor-only groups were required 10 min daily for a 7-days online intervention. These groups were established based on the Monitor and Acceptance Theory. Participants completed measurements about cognitive impulsivity (measured with Stroop tasks), motoric impulsivity (measured with Go/No-go tasks), and impulsive decision-making behaviors (measured with Delay Discounting tasks) at pre-test, post-test (after 1 week mindfulness training), and follow-up (half month after the end of training).

The results revealed that at the post-test, the mindfulness group showed significantly reduced reaction times on the Stroop and Go/No-Go tasks compared to the monitor group and the control group, indicating stronger cognitive and motoric impulse inhibition abilities in the mindfulness group participants. Compared to the monitor and control groups, the mindfulness group did not show significantly improved impulsive decision-making abilities at post-test. At follow-up, all the results indicated that the brief mindfulness training did not have sustained effects.

The current study suggests that monitor and acceptance training produced a momentarily de-automation effect on some impulsive behaviors, demonstrating enhanced cognitive and motoric impulse inhibition abilities. The study emphasizes the significance of the acceptance dimension in mindfulness training, offering valid methods and empirical evidence for mitigating impulsive behaviors through mindfulness training.

The current study is not preregistered.