Can heart rate variability demonstrate progression of mindfulness through two-week repeated practice?

Abstract

Mindfulness could benefit on mental and physical health. Through repeated practice, progression of mindfulness could be found. Except for self-report questionnaires, heart rate variability (HRV) is a potential biomarker to demonstrate the effects of mindfulness. However, few studies focus on the changes in HRV which may vary through repeated practice. This study aims to explore whether HRV could demonstrate progression of mindfulness through repeated practice. 20 experienced practitioners and 26 novices were enrolled to practice two-week mindfulness and completed the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire pre and post the training. ECG signals were collected by holter monitors, covering baseline to training and 9 HRV metrics were extracted. The results indicate that the experienced group showed significantly increased parasympathetic activity during mindfulness training and the effects were stable through repeated practice, while the novice group showed high cognitive load, with inconspicuous but probably progressive effects. The findings indicate that HRV could demonstrate progression of mindfulness through repeated practice, suggesting the possibility of assessing mindfulness based on HRV.