NCT06423053

Mindfulness in a College Physiology Course

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a College Human Physiology Course With Integrated Mindfulness Practice on Student Applied and Trait Mindfulness, Well-being, and Physiological Stress Reactivity (2026)

• Status: Enrolling By Invitation
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 89 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Trustees of Dartmouth College · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

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

Detailed description

The proposed study aims to evaluate whether integrating mindfulness practice into an undergraduate biology course influences students' levels of applied mindfulness and stress regulation self-efficacy. A two-arm design will compare students who receive the intervention (a 10-week biology course with integrated mindfulness practice) with a control group of waitlisted students for the course, who will receive only university wellness resources. Participants all attempted to register for the course during a set course selection period at the college and were randomly registered or waitlisted by the College Registrar. Students registered and waitlisted for the course will be recruited for the study, and those who provide informed consent will be enrolled. Data on trait mindfulness, applied mindfulness, and well-being will be collected at baseline and the conclusion of the intervention (\~10 weeks). Additionally, over weeks 8 and 9, participants will be invited for an in-person lab visit for a Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) to assess their physiological response to an acute social stressor. This study aims to examine whether integrating mindfulness practice into a ten-week undergraduate-level biology course will enhance trait and applied mindfulness, well-being, and stress regulation. We hypothesize that completing this ten-week course will (1) increase applied mindfulness, (2) increase trait mindfulness, (3) increase well-being, and (4) decrease physiological stress response to an acute social stressor. For the primary outcomes, we will examine the between-group differences in changes in applied mindfulness, trait mindfulness, heart rate response to the TSST, and the WHO-5 Index, using linear regression models with change scores in each outcome as the dependent variable and the group status as the independent variable, adjusted for age and sex. We will report Cohen's d to estimate the effect sizes. As exploratory analyses, we will examine the dose-response relationship between practice time (assessed with self-report practice time) and changes in primary and other outcomes over the term. Additionally, we will rerun the primary analysis by combining data from Spring 2026 with data from the cohort from the previous cycle (Spring 2025). Further, we will explore any between-group differences in changes in heart rate and heart rate variability during the TSST preparation and speaking task, separately, with linear regression models, adjusted for age and sex. All analyses will consider p-values \< 0.05 as statistically significant.

Conditions

• Mindfulness
• Stress
• Well-being

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Biology Course with Integrated Mindfulness	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.

Timeline

• Start date: 2026-03-30
• Primary completion: 2026-06-03
• Completion: 2026-09-01
• First posted: 2024-05-21
• Last updated: 2026-04-08

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States