PreprintCited by 33Mindfulness and Compassion InterventionsCOVID-19 and Mental HealthDigital Mental Health Interventions

Effects of Web-Based Group Mindfulness Training on Stress and Sleep Quality in Singapore During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Equivalence Analysis (Preprint)

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Lim, Julian, Leow, Zaven, Ong, Jason, Pang, Ly-Shan, Lim, Eric·2020·JMIR Mental Health

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted psychological health. Mindfulness training, which helps individuals attend to the present moment with a nonjudgmental attitude, improves sleep and reduces stress during regular times. Mindfulness training may also be relevant to the mitigation of harmful health consequences during acute crises. However, certain restrictions may necessitate the web-based delivery of mindfulness training (ie, rather than in-person group training settings). OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to examine the effects of mindfulness interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic and to evaluate the effectiveness of web-based interventions. METHODS: Data from an ongoing study were used for this retrospective equivalence analysis. Recruited participants were enrollees from mindfulness courses at a local charity organization that promoted mental wellness. This study had no exclusion criteria. We created three groups; two groups received their training during the COVID-19 pandemic (in-person training group: n=36; videoconferencing group: n=38), and a second control group included participants who were trained before the pandemic (n=86). Our primary outcomes were self-reported stress and sleep quality. Baseline levels and changes in these variables due to mindfulness training were compared among the groups via an analysis of covariance test and two one-tailed t tests. RESULTS: Baseline perceived stress (P=.50) and sleep quality (P=.22) did not differ significantly among the three groups. Mindfulness training significantly reduced stress in all three groups (P<.001), and this effect was statistically significant when comparing videoconferencing to in-person training (P=.002). Sleep quality improved significantly in the prepandemic training group (P<.001). However, sleep quality did not improve in the groups that received training during the pandemic. Participants reported that they required shorter times to initiate sleep following prepandemic mindfulness training (P<.001), but this was not true for those who received training during the pandemic. Course attendance was high and equivalent across the videoconferencing and comparison groups (P=.02), and participants in the videoconferencing group engaged in marginally more daily practice than the in-person training group. CONCLUSIONS: Web-based mindfulness training via videoconferencing may be a useful intervention for reducing stress during times when traditional, in-person training is not feasible. However, it may not be useful for improving sleep quality.

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  • Online and in-person mindfulness training programs had comparable effects in that study.

    “The same study found comparable effects for online and in-person mindfulness training programs.”

    From Mindfulness-based online intervention increases well-being and decreases stress after Covid-19 lockdown (2022) · cites this paper as [40]

    The Results (Perceived Stress) found web-based training equivalent to in-person training during and before the pandemic for reducing stress. The Discussion (Conclusions) limits that comparability: neither pandemic group was comparable to prepandemic in-person training for improving sleep quality. The unqualified claim of comparable effects therefore overstates the finding. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • To date, only two MBIs studies have been conducted during COVID-19.

    “To date, only two MBIs studies have been conducted during COVID-19.”

    From Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Increases Mental Wellbeing and Emotion Regulation During the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Synchronous Online Intervention Study (2021) · cites this paper as Lim et al., 2020

    The Introduction says there were very little data on mindfulness interventions conducted during COVID-19. The Discussion’s Principal Findings mention a Wuhan study, and this paper reports its own pandemic-era intervention, but neither passage establishes that only two such studies had been conducted. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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  • Lim et al. (2020) found positive effects of online synchronous MBSR in reducing stress but not in improving sleep quality for both online and face-to-face groups.

    “The first (Lim et al., 2020) investigated an online synchronous MBSR course compared to a face-to-face MBSR course conducted during the pandemic. The results reported positive effects in reducing stress but not in the improvement of sleep quality for both groups.”

    From Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Increases Mental Wellbeing and Emotion Regulation During the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Synchronous Online Intervention Study (2021) · cites this paper as Lim et al., 2020

    The Abstract Results report reduced stress in the videoconferencing and in-person groups during the pandemic, but no improvement in sleep quality in either group. The Methods (Procedure) say participants took one of three mindfulness courses, only one of which was Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR); describing the comparison as solely between MBSR courses is therefore too specific. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • An online mindfulness intervention significantly reduced perceived stress in Singaporean participants during lockdown.

    “An online mindfulness intervention significantly reduced perceived stress in Singaporean participants during lockdown40.”
  • Recent literature compared online vs. in-person mindfulness-based interventions during Covid-19 lockdown and found comparable effects on stress from the two categories of training.

    “However, recent literature40 compared online vs. in-person mindfulness-based interventions during Covid-19 lockdown, finding comparable effects on stress from the two categories of training.”

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Authors
Lim, J., Leow, Z., Ong, J., Pang, L.-S., & Lim, E.
Affiliations
  • National University of Singapore (SG)
  • Northwestern University (US)
Corresponding author
Lim, Julian
Venue
JMIR Mental Health
Published
2020-06-24
Volume
8
Issue
3
Pages
e21757-e21757
ISSN
2368-7959 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3123916032
Cited by
33
References
46
Citations by year
2025: 2 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 10
FWCI
5.29
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • JMIR Mental Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • National University of Singapore (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Galter Health Sciences Library, Northwestern University (cc-by)
Funders
  • Duke-NUS Medical School
  • National Research Foundation (NRF2016-SOL002-001)
  • National University of Singapore
  • National Research Foundation Singapore (NRF/2016/SOL002-001)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
Keywords
mindfulness training, online intervention, videoconferencing, COVID-19 pandemic, perceived stress, sleep quality, mental wellness

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