Research shows Headspace works

Published studies, external scientists, prestigious research organizations and our science team have shown Headspace can improve mental, emotional, and social health.

Headspace decreases stress. An internal study that was published in the top mindfulness journal found that only 10 days of Headspace reduced stress by 14%.

Headspace can make people kinder to others. Separate studies conducted by Northeastern University found that 3 weeks of Headspace increased compassion by 23% and reduced aggression by 57%. In addition, an internal study found 10 days of Headspace reduced irritability by 27%. And Kinder to themselves. A study with health professionals found that only 10 days of Headspace improved self-compassion.

Headspace improves focus. We spend almost half of our waking hours lost in thought and distracted. Research published in a journal focused on cognitive enhancement showed that Headspace improved focus by 14% and significantly decreased mind-wandering.

Headspace can make people happier overall. We put the “app” in happy. A study with students found that just 10 days of Headspace increased positivity and well-being.

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And Happier at work. Studies conducted with different populations of employees have found Headspace can reduce stress and job strain and improve job satisfaction.

Published Research Examining the Impact of Headspace
Bennike, I., Wieghorst, A., & Kirk, U. (2017). Online-based mindfulness training reduces behavioral markers of mind wandering. Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, 1(2), 172-181. doi: 10.1007/s41465-017-0020-9

Björkstrand, J., Schiller, D., Li, J., et al. (2019) The effect of mindfulness-training on extinction retention. Scientific Reports, 9, 19896. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-56167-7

Bostock, S., Crosswell, A.D., Prather, A.A., & Steptoe, A. (2019). Mindfulness on-the-go: Effects of a mindfulness meditation app on work stress and well-being. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 24(1), 127-138. doi:10.1037/ocp0000118

Champion, L., Economides, M., Chandler, C. (2018) The efficacy of a brief app-based mindfulness intervention on psychosocial outcomes in healthy adults: A pilot randomised controlled trial. PLoS One, 13(12): e0209482. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209482

College of Policing. (2019). Mindfulness in policing: A randomised controlled trial of two online mindfulness resources across five forces in England and Wales. Coventry, ENG: Retrieved from https://whatworks.college.police.uk/Research/Documents/Mindfulness_RCT_report.pdf

Desteno, D., Lim, D., Duong, F., & Condon, P. (2018). Meditation inhibits aggressive responses to provocations. Mindfulness, 9(4), 1117-1122. doi: 10.1007/s12671-017-0847-2

Economides, M., Martman, J., Bell, M.J., & Sanderson, B. (2018). Improvements in stress, affect, and irritability following brief use of a mindfulness-based smartphone app: a randomized controlled trial. Mindfulness, 9(5), 1584-1593. doi:10.1007/s12671-018-0905-4

Flett, J.A.M., Fletcher, B.D., Riordan, B.C., Patterson, T., Hayne, H., & Conner, T.S. (2019). The peril of self-reported adherence in digital interventions: A brief example. Internet Interventions, 18, 100267. doi: 10.1016/j.invent.2019.100267

Flett, J.A.M., Hayne, H., Riordan, B.C. et al. (2019). Mobile mindfulness meditation: A randomized controlled trial of the effect of two popular apps on mental health. Mindfulness, 10(5), 863-876. doi: 10.1007/s12671-018-1050-9

Howells, A., Ivtzan, I., & Eiroa-Orosa, F.J. (2016). Putting the 'app' in happiness: a randomised controlled trial of a smartphone-based mindfulness intervention to enhance wellbeing. Journal of Happiness Studies, 17(1), 163-185. doi: 10.1007/s10902-014-9589-1

Kirk, U., Wieghorst, A., Nielsen, C.M. et al. (2019). On-the-spot binaural beats and mindfulness reduces behavioral markers of mindwandering. Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, 3(2), 186-192. doi: 10.1007/s41465-018-0114-z

Kubo, A., Altschuler, A., Kurtovich, E., Hendlish, S., Laurent, C. A., Kolevska, T., . . . Avins, A. (2018). A pilot mobile-based mindfulness intervention for cancer patients and their informal caregivers. Mindfulness, 9(6), 1885-1894. doi:10.1007/s12671-018-0931-2

Kubo, A., Kurtovich, E., McGinnis, M., Aghaee, S., Altschuler, A., Quesenberry, C., Jr, … Avins, A. L. (2019). A randomized controlled trial of mHealth mindfulness intervention for cancer patients and informal cancer caregivers: A feasibility study within an integrated health care delivery system. Integrative Cancer Therapies, 18, 1534735419850634. doi:10.1177/1534735419850634

Laurie, J. & Blandford, A. (2016). Making time for mindfulness. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 96, 38-50. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2016.02.010

Lim D., Condon P., & DeSteno D. (2015). Mindfulness and compassion: An examination of mechanism and scalability. PLoS ONE 10(2): e0118221. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0118221

Mani M., Kavanagh D.J., Hides L., Stoyanov S.R. (2015). Review and evaluation of mindfulness-based iPhone apps. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 3(3):e82. doi:10.2196/mhealth.4328

Mistler, L.A., Ben-Zeev, D., Carpenter-Song, E., Brunette, M.F., & Friedman, M.J. (2017). Mobile mindfulness intervention on an acute psychiatric unit: feasibility and acceptability study. JMIR Mental Health, 4(3), e34. doi:10.2196/mental.7717

Noone, C., & Hogan, M.J. (2018). A randomised active-controlled trial to examine the effects of an online mindfulness intervention on executive control, critical thinking and key thinking dispositions in a university student sample. BMC Psychology, 6(1), 13. doi:10.1186/s40359-018-0226-3

Nübold, A., Van Quaquebeke, N. & Hülsheger, U.R. (2019). Be(coming) real: a multi-source and an intervention study on mindfulness and authentic leadership. Journal of Business and Psychology, 1-20. doi:10.1007/s10869-019-09633-y

Quinones, C. & Griffiths M.D. (2019). Reducing compulsive internet use and anxiety symptoms via two brief interventions: a comparison between mindfulness and gradual muscle relaxation. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 8(3):530-536. doi: 10.1556/2006.8.2019.45

Rosen, K.D., Paniagua, S.M., Kazanis, W., Jones, S., & Potter, J.S. (2018). Quality of life among women diagnosed with breast cancer: a randomized waitlist controlled trial of commercially available mobile app-delivered mindfulness training. Psychooncology, 27(8), 2023-2030. doi:10.1002/pon.4764

Taylor, M. Hageman J.R., & Brown, M. (2016). A mindfulness intervention for residents: Relevance for pediatricians. Pediatric Annals, 45(10), e373-e376. doi: 10.3928/19382359-20160912-01

Wen, L., Sweeney, T. E., Welton, L., Trockel, M., & Katznelson, L. (2017). Encouraging mindfulness in medical house staff via smartphone app: a pilot study. Academic Psychiatry, 41(5), 646-650. doi:10.1007/s40596-017-0768-3

Wylde, C.M., Mahrer, N.E., Meyer, R.M.L., & Gold, J.I. (2017). Mindfulness for novice pediatric nurses: smartphone application versus traditional intervention. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 36, 205-212. doi:10.1016/j.pedn.2017.06.008

Yang E., Schamber E., Meyer R.M.L., Gold J.I. (2018). Happier healers: randomized controlled trial of mobile mindfulness for stress management. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 24(5), 505-513. doi:10.1089/acm.2015.0301