Is less more? A randomized comparison of home practice time in a mind-body program.
Author: Greenberg J1, Braun TD2, Schneider ML3, Finkelstein-Fox L2, Conboy LA4, Schifano ED5, Park C2, Lazar SW6
Affiliation:
1Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, USA; Harvard Medical School, USA. Electronic address: jgreenberg5@mgh.harvard.edu.
2Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, USA.
3Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, USA.
4Harvard Medical School, USA; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, USA.
5Department of Statistics, University of Connecticut, USA.
6Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, USA; Harvard Medical School, USA.
Conference/Journal: Behav Res Ther.
Date published: 2018 Oct 4
Other:
Volume ID: 111 , Pages: 52-56 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2018.10.003. [Epub ahead of print] , Word Count: 184
Home practice is a major component of mind-body programs, yet little is known about how to optimize the amount of prescribed home practice in order to achieve an effective "dose" of practice while minimizing participant burden. This study tested how varying the amount of home practice in a mind-body program impacts compliance and stress reduction, and whether prescribing a flexible home practice schedule increases compliance. Eighty-four stressed participants undergoing a 12-week yoga program were randomized to low, medium, and high home practice conditions. The medium condition allowed participants the flexibility to choose one of two amounts of practice each day. The low practice group exhibited the highest compliance (91%) compared to the medium and low practice groups (∼60%), but exhibited the lowest total practice time, and did not significantly reduce stress. The high practice group was the only group to achieve significant stress-reduction, which was maintained 12 weeks post program. Prescribing a flexible home practice schedule did not increase compliance. Results suggest that prescribing higher practice doses may maximize practice time and symptom reduction despite lower compliance.
KEYWORDS: Home practice; Mind-body; Stress; Yoga
PMID: 30312895 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2018.10.003
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