Guided Meditation and Stress-Induced Eating

Not Applicable

Completed

Brief Summary: The aim of this study is to test the effects of a digital meditation intervention in a sample of UCLA employees who report mild to moderate stress. We will randomize University of California Los Angeles employees to either 8-weeks of a digital meditation intervention (using the commercially available application Headspace) or a waitlist control condition.

Detailed Description: The aim of this study is to test the effects of a digital meditation intervention in a sample of UCLA employees who report mild to moderate stress. UCLA employees will be randomized to either 8-weeks of a digital meditation intervention (using the commercially available application Headspace) or a waitlist control condition.

Participants who are assigned to the intervention group will be asked to download and use the Headspace mobile application for at least 10 minutes per day for 8 weeks. All participants will be asked to fill out short (no longer than 25 minutes) questionnaires at baseline, week 4, week 8 (post intervention), and a 4-month follow up period. Among participants who are randomized to the digital meditation intervention, they will also take part in a 1-year follow up. All activities will take place online (via computer or smartphone).

Prior to randomization, participants will complete an eligibility screening and complete the baseline questionnaire battery. The entirety of the study is digital and there are no in-person assessments. Adherence will be tracked remotely. The goal is to recruit as many as 1000 participants (500 per condition).

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Have access to a smartphone or computer everyday
Are fluent in English
Are a University of California, Los Angeles employee
Report mild to moderate levels of stress
Consent: demonstrate understanding of the study and willingness to participate as evidenced by voluntary informed consent and has received a signed and dated copy of the informed consent
Are at least 18 years of age

Exclusion Criteria

You may not join if you are an experienced meditator or have participated in a formal meditation practice in the last 6 months (defined as once or more per week for a duration of 20 minutes or more at each practice)

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Meditation Group	Meditation	The intervention group will be assigned to a digitally-based meditation intervention (Headspace app- Basic + Stress packs) and asked to use this for at least 10 minutes a day over the course of 8 weeks

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Reductions in perceived stress as measured by the Perceived Stress Scale	Baseline to post-intervention (8 weeks from baseline)	Changes in the Perceived Stress Scale (range: 1-40; Cohen, Kamarck, \& Mermelstein, 1988). Higher scores indicate greater psychological distress.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Reductions in reward-based eating as measured by the Reward-based Eating Drive	Baseline to post-intervention (8 weeks from baseline)	Changes in self-reporting intrinsic rewards from consuming highly palatable foods, according to the Reward-based Eating Drive (RED) Scale (range: 1-45; Epel, et al. 2014). Higher scores indicate a greater reward response from consuming palatable foods.
Reductions in stress-induced eating as measured by the Palatable Eating Motives Scale	Baseline to post-intervention (8 weeks from baseline)	Changes self-reporting using highly palatable foods to cope with stress, according to the Palatable Eating Motives Scale Coping subscale (range: 1-20) Burgess, Turan, Lokken, Morse, \& Boggiano, 2014). Higher scores indicate a higher likelihood of using palatable foods to cope with stress.

Locations (1): University of California, Los Angeles
🇺🇸
Los Angeles, California, United States

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