Callahan C, Kimber J, Hu E, Tanner L, Kunkle S. The Real-World Impact of App-Based Mindfulness on Headspace Members With Moderate and Severe Perceived Stress: Observational Study. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2024;12:e52968. doi:10.2196/52968
This article provides new insight into the efficacy of headspace with users who have mid-high perceived stress at baseline and the dose-response relationship for these individuals. This real-world observational study assessed user data from March 2020 through January 2023. Data was included if users enrolled during that time and completed a baseline perceived stress questionnaire (PSS-10) within 90 days of enrollment and a follow-up PSS-10 >7 and <60 days after the baseline PSS-10 (n=344,544). Only users with a moderate or severe baseline PSS-10 score were included in the analysis (n=21,088). At baseline, 71.73% of the included participants reported moderate stress (n=15,127), and 28.27% reported severe stress (n=5,961). The average PSS-10 score was 23.14 (SD=5.69; scores range from 0-40, where 40 is the highest possible reported stress level). Users completed the follow-up 33.25 (SD=11.17) days after the initial PSS-10. Most users (64.93%) had a decrease in their PSS-10 score between baseline and follow-up. On average, users showed a 23.52% decrease in their score. This decrease in perceived stress correlated with engagement, where more active days per week, active time, and sessions per week, were related to greater stress reduction (all p<0.001). This real-world data provides evidence for the dose-dependent benefits of headspace for stress reduction in individuals with moderate to high perceived stress levels. Future research may expand on this preliminary work by analyzing demographic information, longitudinal data, and developing models that allow for causal inference.