Neurofeedback-mindfulness Techniques on Anxiety, Stress, and Academic Performance of Nursing Students

February 6, 2026 updated by: José Ignacio Recio Rodriguez, University of Salamanca

EFFECT OF NEUROFEEDBACK-MINDFULNESS TECHNIQUES ON ANXIETY, STRESS, AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF NURSING STUDENTS

In today's society, anxiety and stress are prevalent emotional responses in mental health globally, significantly affecting students' well-being and academic performance. In particular, undergraduate nursing students face high levels of these problems due to the heavy academic workload and demands of their training, especially during exam periods. The need for concentration, emotional management, and decision-making under pressure contribute to the prevalence of these disorders, impacting both their quality of life and academic performance.

Despite the existence of multiple strategies and techniques for managing these issues, it is still necessary to continue exploring innovative alternatives that complement traditional interventions. For this reason, this project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness-neurofeedback as a treatment to reduce stress and anxiety in nursing students, with the goal of providing scientific evidence on this intervention. This brain training technique is presented as a promising option, based on the modulation of brain activity, with the potential to improve emotional regulation and concentration in the educational setting.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

36

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Contact

  • Name: José Ignacio Recio Rodriguez, Doctor
  • Phone Number: +34650330694
  • Email: donrecio@usal.es

Study Locations

  • Spain
      • Salamanca, Spain
        • Recruiting
        • Faculty of nursing
        • Contact:
          • Jose I Recio-Rodriguez
          • Phone Number: 650330694

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Students enrolled in the nursing degree at the University of Salamanca
  • Aged between 18 and 45 years
  • Willing to voluntarily participate in the study and sign the informed consent form.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of serious psychiatric disorders in the 6 months prior to inclusion in the study.

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

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: No intervention
Other: No intervention
No intervention
Experimental: NEUROFEEDBACK-MINDFULNESS
Neurofeedback-Assisted Mindfulness Training Program
Behavioral: NEUROFEEDBACK-MINDFULNESS

The Neurofeedback-Assisted Mindfulness Training sessions will be given to the intervention group participants after randomization. Each session will vary in length depending on the session, but will last a maximum of 20 minutes.

A total of 20 sessions will be held at the participant's home, preferably in the afternoon, at a rate of 5 sessions per week for 4 weeks after randomization. The organization of the sessions is described in the following table of this study's protocol.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from Baseline in the Mean of the Depression, anxiety and stress scale at 4 weeks
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 4 weeks
Zero is equivalent to no symptoms and 63 indicates the worst possible symptoms
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 4 weeks
Change from Baseline in the Mean Academic performance score at 4 weeks
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 4 weeks
Zero is equivalent to the best academic performance and 40 indicates the worst academic performance
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Salamanca

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)

November 21, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

February 28, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 14, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 14, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

November 18, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 9, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 6, 2026

Last Verified

February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IBYP25/034

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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