Effects of a Mindfulness Intervention on Emotion Differentiation and Heart Rate Variability

Simon Guendelman^1,2*Martina Lutz¹Julian Koenig³Mareike Bayer^1,2Isabel Dziobek^1,2

• ¹Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
• ²Clinical Psychology of Social Interaction, Institute of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin., Berlin, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
• ³University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy., Cologne, Germany

This study explored the impact of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention (MBI) on mental health and emotion regulation mechanisms, particularly focusing on top-down and bottom-up related processes, such as emotion differentiation and heart rate variability (HRV). Participants underwent an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program or a reading-sharing intervention (READ). Emotion differentiation and HRV were measured at various intervals, alongside mental health measurements (depressive and stress symptomatology, wellbeing, mindfulness and self-compassion traits). Results showed that the MBSR group exhibited increased emotion differentiation for negative emotions and improvements in various mental health measurements (wellbeing and mindfulness traits) compared to the READ group. However, there were no significant differences in HRV between the two groups, and gains in emotion differentiation did not correlate significantly with changes in mental health outcomes. The findings suggest that MBIs can enhance emotion differentiation, as a top-down mechanism, together with improving mental health outcomes. However, further research is needed to understand the precise psychophysiological mechanisms underlying these effects.