Effect of a Brief Daily Digital Meditation on Well-Being in US Young Adults (BEGIN II) (BEGIN II)

This study is testing whether a short, daily, app-based meditation can help young adults feel better in their everyday lives.

Adults aged 18-40 years who live in the United States and have not meditated regularly (defined as more than four times per week at any point in their lives) are invited to participate.

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups for 4 weeks:

1. Intervention group: Participants will complete a 7-minute Miracle of Mind meditation each day using a mobile app.
2. Active comparator group: Participants will listen to a neutral 7-minute audio lesson each day.
3. Control group: Participants will continue their usual daily routine without adding anything new.

All participants will complete brief online surveys at the start of the study and several times during the 4-week study period. Surveys will ask about mood, stress, anxiety, overall well-being, and mindfulness.

Participants who already wear a smartwatch, such as a Fitbit or Apple Watch, may choose to share heart rate and related data so that researchers can examine whether meditation may also affect physical signs of stress.

Investigators will compare changes over time among the three groups to determine whether the daily 7-minute meditation helps young adults feel better, experience less stress, and become more emotionally resilient.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Mental Health and General Well-being
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Miracle of Mind meditation; Behavioral: Neutral audio learning task

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 354
• Phase: Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Individuals between the ages of 18-40 years
• Currently residing in the USA
• Individuals who are English speaking
• Willing and able to download an application on iOS/Android

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals who are non-English speaking
• Unable to access an iOS/Android smartphone
• Individuals who regularly practice any form of meditation >4 times per week
• Individuals scoring 9-12 on the PHQ-4, or ≥3 on either the PHQ-2 or GAD-2 subscale

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention arm: Daily Miracle of Mind meditation; Participants in this group will use a study app to do a 7-minute Miracle of Mind guided meditation once a day for 4 weeks. The meditation is voice-guided, done while seated, and uses simple breathing techniques. No prior meditation experience is required.	Behavioral: Miracle of Mind meditation; Miracle of Mind is a 7-minute meditation that incorporates breath and awareness to enhance mental health and clarity. The practice involves voice-guided seated meditation with simple breathing techniques. This is a simple, safe intervention that does not require any previous meditation experience.
Active Comparator: Active control arm: Daily neutral audio learning; Participants in this group will use the same study app to listen to a neutral 7-minute audio lesson once a day for 4 weeks. The lessons cover general educational topics and are designed not to be emotional, inspirational, or related to psychology.	Behavioral: Neutral audio learning task; Active control participants are asked to listen to an approximately 7-minute neutral audio learning task daily in the 3Cs app for the duration of the study. A total of 28 audio learning tasks were sourced from the SDG Academy and Harvard University YouTube and SoundCloud content were screened prior to inclusion.
No Intervention: Passive control arm: Usual routine; Participants in this group will not receive any new activity through the app and will continue their usual daily routine for 4 weeks. They will complete the same study surveys as the other groups but will not be asked to meditate or listen to audio lessons.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Well-being	To assess whether a 7-minute digital meditation practiced daily for 4 weeks improves mental well-being, as measured by the World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5). The WHO-5 total raw score ranges from 0 to 25 where higher scores indicate better mental well-being.	"Baseline, Week 2 and Week 4"

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mindfulness	To assess whether the 7-minute digital meditation practiced daily for 4 weeks improves mindfulness, as measured by the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). The MAAS mean score ranges from 1 to 6; higher scores indicate greater dispositional mindfulness and attention to present-moment experiences.	"Baseline and 4 weeks"
Overall health	To assess whether the 7-minute digital meditation practiced daily for 4 weeks improves overall health, as measured by the Whole Person Health Index (WPHI). The WPHI is a 9-item self-reported measure where total scores range from 9 to 45. Higher scores indicate better overall self-reported whole-person health.	"Baseline, Week 2 and Week 4"
Stress	To assess whether the 7-minute digital meditation practiced daily for 4 weeks reduces psychological distress, as measured by the Schwartz Outcome Scale-10 (SOS-10). The SOS-10 total score ranges from 0 to 60. Higher scores indicate better psychological well-being and functioning, and lower levels of psychological distress.	"Baseline, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 and Week 4"
Anxiety	To assess whether the 7-minute digital meditation practiced daily for 4 weeks reduces anxiety, as measured by the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Anxiety Short Form 8a. The PROMIS Anxiety Short Form 8a includes 8 items, each scored from 1 to 5. The summed raw score ranges from 8 to 40, with higher scores indicating greater anxiety symptoms and a worse outcome.	"Baseline, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 and Week 4"
Positive and Negative Affect	To assess whether the 7-minute digital meditation practiced daily for 4 weeks improves emotional well-being, as measured by the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE). The SPANE is a 12-item self-reported measure consisting of two 6-item subscales: Positive Experience (SPANE-P) and Negative Experience (SPANE-N). The SPANE-P score ranges from 6 to 30, with higher scores indicating more frequent positive emotions. The SPANE-N score ranges from 6 to 30, with higher scores indicating more frequent negative emotions and a worse outcome. The SPANE Balance score (SPANE-B) is calculated as SPANE-P minus SPANE-N and ranges from -24 to 24. Higher scores indicate a more favorable balance of positive relative to negative emotional experiences and a better outcome.	"Baseline, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 and Week 4"

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Heart Rate	To assess differences between study groups in trajectories of heart rate during the 4-week study period, using heart rate data collected from participants' compatible wearable devices. Heart rate will be expressed in beats per minute (bpm).	From enrollment to Week 4
Heart Rate Variability	To assess differences between study groups in trajectories of heart rate variability during the 4-week study period, using heart rate variability data collected from participants' compatible wearable devices. Heart rate variability will be reported using the pre-specified device-derived metric and units, such as milliseconds (ms). Higher values generally indicate greater beat-to-beat variability.	From enrollment to Week 4
Breathing Rate	To assess differences between study groups in trajectories of breathing rate during the 4-week study period, using respiratory-rate data collected from participants' compatible wearable devices. Breathing rate will be expressed in breaths per minute. Higher values indicate a higher breathing rate	From enrollment to Week 4
Step Counts	To assess differences between study groups in daily physical activity during the 4-week study period, using daily step-count data collected from participants' compatible wearable devices. Step count will be reported as the total number of steps per day. Values range from 0 upward, with higher values indicating more ambulatory physical activity.	From enrollment to Week 4
Sleep	To assess differences between study groups in sleep time, efficiency and average deep sleep duration during the 4-week study period, using sleep data collected from participants' compatible wearable devices.	From enrollment to Week 4

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): September 15, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 10, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 21, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): May 26, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 4, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 2, 2026
• Last Verified: August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Randomized controlled trial; Mindfulness; Emotional well-being; Digital meditation; App-based guided meditation; Miracle of Mind meditation; Young adults mental health; Stress and anxiety reduction; Active and passive control groups; Well-being questionnaires; Physiological stress indicator
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavior; Personal Satisfaction; Psychological Well-Being; Motor Activity
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2026P000078

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