Mindfulness on-the-go: Effects of a mindfulness meditation app on work stress and well-being

Journal of Occupational Health Psychology

Volumn 24, Issue 1, 2019, Pages 127-138

  Bostock, Sophie ^a   Crosswell, Alexandra D ^b   Prather, Aric A ^b   Steptoe, Andrew ^a,c,d  

^a UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON   (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD   (United Kingdom)

^d Big Health Ltd   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

intervention; job strain; mindfulness meditation; randomized controlled trial; work stress

Indexed keywords

ADULT; AGE; ANXIETY DISORDER; ARTICLE; BODY MASS; CONTROLLED STUDY; DEPRESSION; DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE; DISTRESS SYNDROME; FEMALE; FOLLOW UP; HUMAN; HUMAN EXPERIMENT; JOB STRESS; MALE; MINDFULNESS; MOBILE APPLICATION; NORMAL HUMAN; PERCEPTION; PRIORITY JOURNAL; PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING; RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL; SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY; SOCIAL SUPPORT; SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE; THERAPY EFFECT; TREATMENT DURATION; TREATMENT OUTCOME; UNITED KINGDOM; WORKING TIME; ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE; BLOOD PRESSURE; BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING; CLINICAL TRIAL; MEDITATION; MIDDLE AGED; MULTICENTER STUDY; PHYSIOLOGY; PREVENTION AND CONTROL; PROCEDURES; PSYCHOLOGICAL RATING SCALE; PSYCHOLOGY; SATISFACTION; SMARTPHONE; THERAPY; YOUNG ADULT;

ADULT; ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE; BLOOD PRESSURE; BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING, AMBULATORY; FEMALE; HUMANS; MALE; MEDITATION; MIDDLE AGED; MINDFULNESS; MOBILE APPLICATIONS; OCCUPATIONAL STRESS; PERSONAL SATISFACTION; PSYCHIATRIC STATUS RATING SCALES; SMARTPHONE; SOCIAL SUPPORT; TREATMENT OUTCOME; UNITED KINGDOM; YOUNG ADULT;

EID: 85046262408     PISSN: 10768998     EISSN: 19391307     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1037/ocp0000118     Document Type: Article

References (64)

1. Almeida, D. M. (2005). Resilience and vulnerability to daily stressors assessed via diary methods. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14, 64-68. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0963-7214.2005.00336.x
2. Berger, T., Boettcher, J., &Caspar, F. (2014). Internet-based guided self-help for several anxiety disorders: A randomized controlled trial comparing a tailored with a standardized disorder-specific approach. Psychotherapy, 51, 207-219. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0032527
3. Bishop, S. R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N. D., Carmody, J., Devins, G. (2004). Mindfullness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11, 230-241. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.bph077
4. Boehm, J. K., &Kubzansky, L. D. (2012). The heart's content: The association between positive psychological well-being and cardiovascular health. Psychological Bulletin, 138, 655-691. http://dx.doi.org/10 .1037/a0027448
5. Bohlmeijer, E., Prenger, R., Taal, E., &Cuijpers, P. (2010). The effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy on mental health of adults with a chronic medical disease: A meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 68, 539-544. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores .2009.10.005
6. Bolger, N., Davis, A., &Rafaeli, E. (2003). Diary methods: Capturing life as it is lived. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 579-616. http://dx.doi .org/10.1146/annurev.psych.54.101601.145030
7. Bosma, H., Marmot, M. G., Hemingway, H., Nicholson, A. C., Brunner, E., &Stansfeld, S. A. (1997). Low job control and risk of coronary heart disease in Whitehall II (prospective cohort) study. British Medical Journal, 314, 558-565. Retrieved from http://www.BritishMedicalJournal.com/content/ 314/7080/558
8. Brown, K. W., Ryan, R. M., &Creswell, J. D. (2007). Mindfulness: Theoretical foundations and evidence for its salutary effects. Psychological Inquiry, 18, 211-237. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10478400701 598298
9. Carmody, J., &Baer, R. A. (2009). How long does a mindfulness-based stress reduction program need to be? A review of class contact hours and effect sizes for psychological distress. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 65, 627-638.
10. Chandola, T., Britton, A., Brunner, E., Hemingway, H., Malik, M., Kumari, M., Marmot, M. (2008). Work stress and coronary heart disease: What are the mechanisms? European Heart Journal, 29, 640-648. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehm584
11. Chandola, T., Brunner, E., &Marmot, M. (2006). Chronic stress at work and the metabolic syndrome: Prospective study. British Medical Journal, 332. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.38693.435301.80
12. Chiesa, A., &Serretti, A. (2009). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for stress management in healthy people: A review and meta-analysis. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 15, 593-600. http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/acm.2008.0495
13. Condon, P., Desbordes, G., Miller, W. B., &DeSteno, D. (2013). Meditation increases compassionate responses to suffering. Psychological Science, 24, 2125-2127. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797613485603
14. Conen, D., &Bamberg, F. (2008). Noninvasive 24-h ambulatory blood pressure and cardiovascular disease: A systematic review and metaanalysis. Journal of Hypertension, 26, 1290-1299. http://dx.doi.org/10 .1097/HJH.0b013e3282f97854
15. Cosley, B. J., McCoy, S. K., Saslow, L. R., &Epel, E. S. (2010). Is compassion for others stress buffering? Consequences of compassion and social support for physiological reactivity to stress. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46, 816-823. http://dx.doi.org/10 .1016/j.jesp.2010.04.008
16. Crosswell, A. D., Moreno, P. I., Raposa, E. B., Motivala, S. J., Stanton, A. L., Ganz, P. A., &Bower, J. E. (2017). Effects of mindfulness training on emotional and physiologic recovery from induced negative affect. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 86, 78-86. http://dx.doi.org/10 .1016/j.psyneuen.2017.08.003
17. Donker, T., Petrie, K., Proudfoot, J., Clarke, J., Birch, M.-R., &Christensen, H. (2013). Smartphones for smarter delivery of mental health programs: A systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 15, e247. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/jmir.2791
18. Fairburn, C. G., &Patel, V. (2017). The impact of digital technology on psychological treatments and their dissemination. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 88, 19-25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2016.08.012
19. Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56, 218-226. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X .56.3.218
20. Fredrickson, B. L., Cohn, M. A., Coffey, K. A., Pek, J., &Finkel, S. M. (2008). Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 1045-1062. http://dx .doi.org/10.1037/a0013262
21. Ganster, D. C., &Rosen, C. C. (2013). Work stress and employee health. Journal of Management, 39, 1085-1122. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/ 0149206313475815
22. Garland, E., Gaylord, S., &Park, J. (2009). The role of mindfulness in positive reappraisal. EXPLORE: The Journal of Science and Healing, 5, 37-44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2008.10.001
23. Glück, T. M., &Maercker, A. (2011). A randomized controlled pilot study of a brief web-based mindfulness training. BMC Psychiatry, 11, 175. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-11-175
24. Goh, J., Pfeffer, J., &Zenios, S. A. (2016). The relationship between workplace stressors and mortality and health costs in the United States. Management Science, 62, 608-628. http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc .2014.2115
25. Goldstein, C. M., Josephson, R., Xie, S., &Hughes, J. W. (2012). Current perspectives on the use of meditation to reduce blood pressure. International Journal of Hypertension. Advance online publication. http://dx .doi.org/10.1155/2012/578397
26. Good, D. J., Lyddy, C. J., Glomb, T. M., Bono, J. E., Brown, K. W., Duffy, M. K., Lazar, S. W. (2016). Contemplating mindfulness at work. Journal of Management, 42, 114-142. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/ 0149206315617003
27. Hofmann, S. G., Sawyer, A. T., Witt, A. A., &Oh, D. (2010). The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depression: A metaanalytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 78, 169-183. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0018555
28. Hölzel, B. K., Lazar, S. W., Gard, T., Schuman-Olivier, Z., Vago, D. R., &Ott, U. (2011). How does mindfulness meditation work? Proposing mechanisms of action from a conceptual and neural perspective. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6, 537-559. http://dx.doi.org/10 .1177/1745691611419671
29. Howells, A., Ivtzan, I., &Eiroa-Orosa, F. J. (2016). Putting the "app" in happiness: A randomized controlled trial of a smartphone-based mindfulness intervention to enhance wellbeing. Journal of Happiness Studies, 17, 163-185. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10902-014-9589-1
30. Jamieson, S. D., &Tuckey, M. R. (2017). Mindfulness interventions in the workplace: A critique of the current state of the literature. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22, 180-193. http://dx.doi.org/10 .1037/ocp0000048
31. Jha, A. P., Morrison, A. B., Dainer-Best, J., Parker, S., Rostrup, N., &Stanley, E. A. (2015). Minds "at attention": Mindfulness training curbs attentional lapses in military cohorts. PLoS ONE, 10, e0116889. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0116889
32. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1982). An outpatient program in behavioral medicine for chronic pain patients based on the practice of mindfulness meditation: Theoretical considerations and preliminary results. General Hospital Psychiatry, 4, 33-47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0163-8343(82)90026-3
33. Karasek, R. A. (1979). Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: Implications for job redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 285. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2392498
34. Krusche, A., Cyhlarova, E., King, S., &Williams, J. M. G. (2012). Mindfulness online: A preliminary evaluation of the feasibility of a web-based mindfulness course and the impact on stress. British Medical Journal Open, 2, e000803. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000 803
35. Kuper, H., &Marmot, M. (2003). Job strain, job demands, decision latitude, and risk of coronary heart disease within the Whitehall II study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 57, 147-153. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech.57.2.147
36. Kuyken, W., Warren, F. C., Taylor, R. S., Whalley, B., Crane, C., Bondolfi, G., Dalgleish, T. (2016). Efficacy of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in prevention of depressive relapse: An individual patient data meta-analysis from randomized trials. JAMA Psychiatry, 73, 565-574. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.0076
37. Landsbergis, P. A., Dobson, M., Koutsouras, G., &Schnall, P. (2013). Job strain and ambulatory blood pressure: A meta-analysis and systematic review. American Journal of Public Health, 103, e61-e71. http://dx.doi .org/10.2105/AJPH.2012.301153
38. Landsbergis, P. A., Schnall, P. L., Warren, K., Pickering, T. G., &Schwartz, J. E. (1994). Association between ambulatory blood pressure and alternative formulations of job strain. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health, 20, 349-363. http://dx.doi.org/10.5271/ sjweh.1386
39. Lim, D., Condon, P., &DeSteno, D. (2015). Mindfulness and compassion: An examination of mechanism and scalability. PLoS ONE, 10, e0118221. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118221
40. Ljótsson, B., Hedman, E., Lindfors, P., Hursti, T., Lindefors, N., Andersson, G., &Rück, C. (2011). Long-term follow-up of internet-delivered exposure and mindfulness based treatment for irritable bowel syndrome. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 49, 58-61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.brat.2010.10.006
41. Loucks, E. B., Schuman-Olivier, Z., Britton, W. B., Fresco, D. M., Desbordes, G., Brewer, J. A., &Fulwiler, C. (2015). Mindfulness and cardiovascular disease risk: State of the evidence, plausible mechanisms, and theoretical framework. Current Cardiology Reports, 17, 112. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11886-015-0668-7
42. Ly, K. H., Trüschel, A., Jarl, L., Magnusson, S., Windahl, T., Johansson, R., Andersson, G. (2014). Behavioural activation versus mindfulness-based guided self-help treatment administered through a smartphone application: A randomized controlled trial. British Medical Journal Open, 4, e003440. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2013-003440
43. Madsen, I. E. H., Nyberg, S. T., Magnusson Hanson, L. L., Ferrie, J. E., Ahola, K., Alfredsson, L., the IPD-Work Consortium. (2017). Job strain as a risk factor for clinical depression: Systematic review and meta-analysis with additional individual participant data. Psychological Medicine, 47, 1342-1356. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S00332917 1600355X
44. Malarkey, W. B., Jarjoura, D., &Klatt, M. (2013). Workplace based mindfulness practice and inflammation: A randomized trial. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 27, 145-154. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2012 .10.009
45. Mani, M., Kavanagh, D. J., Hides, L., &Stoyanov, S. R. (2015). Review and evaluation of mindfulness-based iPhone apps. JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth, 3, e82. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.4328
46. Miron-Shatz, T., Stone, A., &Kahneman, D. (2009). Memories of yesterday's emotions: Does the valence of experience affect the memoryexperience gap? Emotion, 9, 885-891. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a001 7823
47. Moen, P., Kelly, E. L., Fan, W., Lee, S.-R., Almeida, D., Kossek, E. E., &Buxton, O. M. (2016). Does a flexibility/support organizational initiative improve high-tech employees' well-being? Evidence from the work, family, and health network. American Sociological Review, 81, 134-164. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0003122415622391
48. Nyberg, S. T., Fransson, E. I., Heikkilä, K., Alfredsson, L., Casini, A., Clays, E., the IPD-Work Consortium. (2013). Job strain and cardiovascular disease risk factors: Meta-analysis of individual-participant data from 47,000 men and women. PLoS ONE, 8, e67323. http://dx.doi .org/10.1371/journal.pone.0067323
49. Pickering, T. G., White, W. B., &American Society of Hypertension Writing Group. (2008). When and how to use self (home) and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Journal of the American Society of Hypertension, 2, 119-124. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jash.2008.04.002
50. Roemer, L., Williston, S. K., &Rollins, L. G. (2015). Mindfulness and emotion regulation. Current Opinion in Psychology, 3, 52-57. http://dx .doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.02.006
51. Roeser, R. W., Schonert-Reichl, K. A., Jha, A., Cullen, M., Wallace, L., Wilensky, R., Harrison, J. (2013). Mindfulness training and reductions in teacher stress and burnout: Results from two randomized, waitlist-control field trials. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105, 787-804. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0032093
52. Shi, L., Zhang, D., Wang, L., Zhuang, J., Cook, R., &Chen, L. (2017). Meditation and blood pressure: A meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Journal of Hypertension, 35, 696-706. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/ HJH.0000000000001217
53. Sianoja, M., Syrek, C. J., de Bloom, J., Korpela, K., &Kinnunen, U. (2017). Enhancing daily well-being at work through lunchtime park walks and relaxation exercises: Recovery experiences as mediators. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000083
54. Siegrist, J., Starke, D., Chandola, T., Godin, I., Marmot, M., Niedhammer, I., &Peter, R. (2004). The measurement of effort-reward imbalance at work: European comparisons. Social Science and Medicine, 58, 1483-1499. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(03)00351-4
55. Steptoe, A., &Kivimäki, M. (2013). Stress and cardiovascular disease: An update on current knowledge. Annual Review of Public Health, 34, 337-354. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031912-114452
56. Steptoe, A., &Willemsen, G. (2004). The influence of low job control on ambulatory blood pressure and perceived stress over the working day in men and women from the Whitehall II cohort. Journal of Hypertension, 22, 915-920. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00004872-200405000-00012
57. Tennant, R., Hiller, L., Fishwick, R., Platt, S., Joseph, S., Weich, S., Stewart-Brown, S. (2007). The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS): Development and UK validation. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 5, 63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1477-7525-5-63
58. The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health. (2007). Mental health at work: Developing the business case (Vol. 8). London, United Kingdom: Author
59. Titov, N., Dear, B. F., Schwencke, G., Andrews, G., Johnston, L., Craske, M. G., &McEvoy, P. (2011). Transdiagnostic internet treatment for anxiety and depression: A randomized controlled trial. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 49, 441-452. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2011 .03.007
60. Undén, A. L., Orth-Gomér, K., &Elofsson, S. (1991). Cardiovascular effects of social support in the work place: Twenty-four-hour ECG monitoring of men and women. Psychosom Med, 53, 50-60.
61. Virgili, M. (2015). Mindfulness-based interventions reduce psychological distress in working adults: A meta-analysis of intervention studies. Mindfulness, 6, 326-337. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12671-013-0264-0
62. Walach, H., Buchheld, N., Buttenmüller, V., Kleinknecht, N., &Schmidt, S. (2006). Measuring mindfulness\-The Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI). Personality and Individual Differences, 40, 1543-1555. http://dx .doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.11.025
63. Wolever, R. Q., Bobinet, K. J., McCabe, K., Mackenzie, E. R., Fekete, E., Kusnick, C. A., &Baime, M. (2012). Effective and viable mind-body stress reduction in the workplace: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 17, 246-258. http://dx.doi.org/10 .1037/a0027278
64. Zigmond, A. S., &Snaith, R. P. (1983). The hospital anxiety and depression scale. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 67, 361-370. http://dx.doi .org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.1983.tb09716.x