Abstract
BackgroundPsychophysiological stress and decreased well-being are relevant issues during prolonged social isolation periods. Relaxation practices may represent helpful exercises to cope with anxiety and stressful sensations.ObjectiveThe aim of this research protocol is to test whether remote relaxation practices such as natural sounds, deep respiration, and body scan meditation promote relaxation and improved emotional state and reduce psychomotor activation and the preoccupation related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.MethodsThe study population will consist of 3 experimental groups that will randomly receive one of 3 internet-based audio clips containing a single session of guided breathing exercise, guided body scan exercise, or natural sounds. The participants will listen to the fully automated audio clip for 7 minutes and complete pre-post self-assessment scales on their perceived relaxation, psychomotor activation, level of worry associated with COVID-19, and emotional state. At the end of the session, the participants will also be asked to provide qualitative reports on their subjective experiences.ResultsAnalyses will be performed to test the differences in the efficacy of the different audio clips in an internet-based intervention on 252 participants (84 per group), investigating whether natural sounds or remote guided practices such as deep respiration and body scan meditation positively enhance the participants’ perceived psychological state.ConclusionsThe study will provide information on if and to what extent guided practices can help in reducing psychological side effects related to social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/19236
Highlights
BackgroundThe world is facing a new health emergency: coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus [1].The COVID-19 pandemic is the first pandemic to occur in the 21st century
The aim of this study is to test the difference in the efficacy of three audio clips related to three relaxation practices
We expect to find a decrease in the participants’ levels of psychomotor activation/stress and of preoccupation with thoughts related to COVID-19 as well as enhanced relaxation levels and emotional state after exposure to all the audio clips; we expect that the guided techniques will have greater effects on the abovementioned dimensions than natural sounds
Summary
The world is facing a new health emergency: coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus [1]. In all high-risk situations, cognitive and rational thinking interact with emotional appraisals, affecting people’s state of mind; individuals feel vulnerable and may experience fear for themselves and for their loved ones [7,8] Both physical and psychological dimensions are affected by the sense of uncertainty and the threat of contracting the virus. In the present study protocol, we aim to test and compare the efficacy of natural sounds, breathing regulation, and body scan meditation to assess which intervention is the most effective for the target population Applying these interventions to people forced into mandatory social isolation may help them become more aware of their mind-body condition and reduce negative effects. A comparison of natural sounds, respiration, and body scan meditation techniques in internet-based interventions is still lacking in the literature
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