Mindfulness Coaching with Digital Lifestyle Monitoring Enhances Selective Attention in Medical Scientists

Medical scientists have dual commitments to clinical care and research efforts. Such commitments can create hectic and stressful work schedules, which may impact on well-being and cognition. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that mindfulness coaching plus wearable-based lifestyle monitoring can benefit such individuals. We conducted a waitlist-controlled intervention study (n=43) with M.D./Ph.D. preclinical or graduate students and post M.D./Ph.D. trainees/faculty. Assessments of quantitative outcomes included subjective measures of burnout, mindfulness, self-compassion, and well-being, as well as objective cognitive assessments. The results showed no impacts on subjective measures. However, amongst objective cognitive measures, selective attention performance was significantly improved following the intervention (bias corrected effect size, Hedges g = 1.13, p=0.005). Extent of improvement in selective attention correlated with suppression of visual alpha oscillations - a neural marker for distractibility - measured using electroencephalography (EEG) (r=-0.32, p<0.05). Qualitative feedback showed that after receiving the intervention, participants in both groups equally rated the overall experience as "very good" (3.70 {+/-}0.98 out 5). They also appreciated that the intervention emphasized healthy lifestyle behaviors, and contributed to mindfulness, compassion, and a sense of community. A majority (57%) of the participants reported that they expect to change their well-being related behaviors because of the intervention. Overall, this study suggests the utility of mindfulness coaching to improve selective attention skills in medical scientists and that more needs to be done to enhance subjective well-being in such individuals.