Brain Age and Sleep Architecture in Meditators (BRANCH)

September 25, 2026 updated by: Balachundhar Subramaniam, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

This is a single-center, cross-sectional study that will recruit approximately fifty seven (57) meditators and fifty one (51) controls. Individuals that have learned at least the Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya practice and live in Massachusetts will be mailed a DREEM EEG device, and a sleepimage ring. Participants will be asked to wear the two devices while sleeping for three consecutive weekday nights (Sunday night to Thursday night) and two weekend nights (Friday and Saturday nights). While meditating during the day, participants will only wear the DREEM EEG headband. Participants will also undergo neurocognitive tests from the NIH toolbox during one virtual visit via video call. Meditators who join the study will be asked to invite a control subject to the study, matched for age and comorbidities.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Approximately one hundred and eight (108) individuals will undergo three consecutive weekday nights and two weekend nights of EEG and plethysmography recording using the DREEM headband and SleepImage rings, after answering a demographic questionnaire. Out of these 108 participants, the study will aim for 57 meditators and 51 matched controls. Only meditating participants will be asked to perform the most advanced form of meditation among the following three, which are listed from least advanced to most advanced: Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya, Shoonya Meditation, Samyama Meditation (Breath watching). Participants will be instructed to wear the DREEM EEG headband during their practice of this meditation during each of the five days.

All participants will also be asked to undergo cognitive assessments from the NIH toolbox during a video call. The assessments from the NIH toolbox will last approximately forty-five minutes to one hour.

EEG: The participants will be mailed the DREEM devices and asked to wear them for three consecutive weekday nights and two weekend nights while sleeping. During the day, for each of these five nights, meditating participants will also be asked to wear the device while they sit still with their eyes closed, without trying to meditate, for 10 minutes. This will function as the baseline waking EEG measurement. Immediately following this, participants will be asked to perform their meditation while wearing the DREEM device for a maximum of 30 minutes.

NIH Toolbox:

This study will use select tests from the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery and from the NIH Toolbox Emotion Battery. All of the tests together will take approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour to complete.

The selected tests from the batteries are the following:

Cognition Battery

  1. Picture vocabulary test
  2. List sorting working memory test
  3. Picture Sequence Memory test
  4. Oral reading recognition test

Emotion Battery:

  1. Positive Affect CAT
  2. General Life Satisfaction CAT
  3. Emotional Support FF
  4. Instrumental Support FF
  5. Friendship FF
  6. Loneliness FF
  7. Perceived Stress FF

Retrospective Survey:

Participants will also be asked to complete a retrospective questionnaire assessing meditation practice characteristics and alarm use during their original study participation.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
108

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215
        • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Subjects will not be recruited based on race, ethnicity, or gender. However, it is not clear whether the final study sample will contain a representative spread of the racial and gender makeup.

Description

Inclusion Criteria (Meditators):

  1. Previous experience with learning Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya
  2. Age 18 years or older.
  3. Lives in the United States barring California

Inclusion Criteria (Controls):

  1. Age 18 years or older
  2. Lives in the United States barring California

Exclusion Criteria (both groups):

  1. Non-English Speaking
  2. Night Shift workers

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: COHORT
  • Time Perspectives: CROSS_SECTIONAL

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Meditation

This is the group that will have learned at least Shamhbavi Mahamudra Kriya before they are enrolled in the study.
Device: DREEM EEG Device

The DREEM EEG device will be used to measure brain age.

Device: SleepImage Ring

The SleepImage ring uses plethysmography to analyze sleep architecture and cardiopulmonary coupling.
Control

This is the group that will not have learned Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya before they are enrolled in the study. They will be invited to the study by the Meditation group.
Device: DREEM EEG Device

The DREEM EEG device will be used to measure brain age.

Device: SleepImage Ring

The SleepImage ring uses plethysmography to analyze sleep architecture and cardiopulmonary coupling.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Sleep Architecture - DREEM EEG
Time Frame: Measured across 5 nights (3 weekday and 2 weekend nights) during the data collection period.

Sleep architecture will be assessed using overnight DREEM EEG recordings. Measures will include including total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and sleep stage duration. Measures will be aggregated across available high-quality recordings for each participant.
Measured across 5 nights (3 weekday and 2 weekend nights) during the data collection period.
Brain Age
Time Frame: Measured for 3 weekday and 2 weekend nights during the data collection period

Brain Age will be calculated using an algorithm from the sleeping EEG. A Brain Age index score will be created for each participant based on an aggregate of the five days of sleeping EEG data. The Brain Age Index is the brain age calculated from the algorithm subtracted by the chronological age of the participant.
Measured for 3 weekday and 2 weekend nights during the data collection period
Sleep Measures - SleepImage Ring
Time Frame: Measured across 5 nights (3 weekday and 2 weekend nights).

Sleep and cardiopulmonary measures will be assessed using the SleepImage Ring.
Measured across 5 nights (3 weekday and 2 weekend nights).
Cognitive Function
Time Frame: Assessed once during the study period.

Cognitive function will be assessed using the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery: Picture Vocabulary, List Sorting Working Memory, Picture Sequence Memory, and Oral Reading Recognition Tests.
Assessed once during the study period.
Emotion
Time Frame: Assessed once during the study period.

Emotional and psychosocial functioning will be assessed using the NIH Toolbox Emotion Battery: Positive Affect, General Life Satisfaction, Emotional Support, Instrumental Support, Friendship, Loneliness, and Perceived Stress measures.
Assessed once during the study period.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Retrospective Meditation and Sleep Information
Time Frame: Assessed once retrospectively following study participation.

Meditators will report meditation type, frequency, and consistency; meditators and controls will report regular alarm use during the study period.
Assessed once retrospectively following study participation.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 10, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
July 4, 2025

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 22, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 22, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 24, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 30, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 25, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2022P000597

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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