Effectiveness of 2 Just-in-Time Adaptive Interventions for Reducing Stress and Stabilizing Cardiac Autonomic...

Area of Science:

• Psychophysiology
• Wearable technology
• Autonomic nervous system function

Background:

• Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects brain-body interaction and health.
• Additional HRV reduction (AddHRVr) signifies psychophysiological vulnerability.
• AddHRVr is quantified in real-time during daily life.

Purpose of the Study:

• To utilize wearables for real-time AddHRVr detection.
• To trigger brief, just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs).
• To stabilize autonomic function and reduce stress/rumination.

Main Methods:

• Two microrandomized trials with N=110 participants.
• Wearable-triggered prompts for stress and rumination.
• Interventions included slow-paced breathing or attention-focusing.

Main Results:

• Perceived stress and rumination significantly decreased post-intervention.
• AddHRVr-triggered prompts enhanced HRV during interventions.
• Elevated HRV metrics were observed for 10 minutes post-intervention.

Conclusions:

• AddHRVr can trigger JITAIs via wearables to stabilize autonomic function.
• Psychological benefits were observed regardless of autonomic state.
• Interventions boosted autonomic flexibility when HRV was compromised.