Scalable Touchless Monitoring with Mindfulness Boosts Focus and Learning in Preadolescents

Scalable Touchless Monitoring with Mindfulness Boosts Focus and Learning in Preadolescents | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Scalable Touchless Monitoring with Mindfulness Boosts Focus and Learning in Preadolescents Sameer Yami, Kostas Tsioutsiouliklis, Phillipe Goldin, Steven Laureys, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7411726/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Here we show that brief, low-cost mindfulness training—paired with touchless physiological monitoring—can measurably boost focus, reduce stress, and improve academic performance in real-world classrooms. Educational systems worldwide face persistent barriers to sustaining attention, lowering stress, and raising achievement, especially in socioeconomically diverse schools. We addressed this by uniting affective computing, cognitive neuroscience, and educational practice in a two-year, staggered quasi-experimental study of 96 students aged 7–13, including a Title I cohort. The program—a developmentally tailored mindfulness and breathing intervention integrated with camera-based physiological monitoring and cognitive assessments—was delivered over 4–5 weeks in weekly 30-minute, facilitator-led sessions. Students showed reduced stress (p=0.012), improved sustained attention (reaction-time variability ↓39.8 ms, p<0.001), and standardized math and reading gains often surpassing national norms by 100–400+ points. Gains spanned high- and lower-performing learners, peaking in the fall–winter term. HRV trajectories indicated physiological stability in intervention groups. Under IRB Numbers: 20231480 and 20243759 (WCG IRB) Health sciences/Health care Biological sciences/Neuroscience Biological sciences/Physiology Biological sciences/Psychology Social science/Psychology productivity sustained attention reaction time variability mindfulness stress heart rate variability photoplethysmography affective computing Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Introduction Mindfulness-based programs are increasingly adopted in schools to enhance emotional regulation, focus, and well-being. Yet large-scale trials, such as the MYRIAD study of 28,000 adolescents, have found little to no advantage over standard social–emotional learning curricula [1]. This highlights the need for scalable interventions that are developmentally tailored for preadolescents, delivered with fidelity by trained facilitators, and objectively monitored for engagement and physiological response [2][3][4]. Few existing studies integrate subjective, cognitive, physiological, and academic measures in real-world classrooms, particularly within underserved populations. Crucially, there is a need for research that aligns with the growing understanding of neuroplasticity, investigating how controllable lifestyle interventions like mindfulness can be practically applied to enhance learning efficacy in real-world settings. Here, we present a two-year, multimodal field study evaluating the short-term and sustained effects of brief, structured mindfulness exercises—delivered via a custom digital platform with integrated, touchless physiological monitoring—on cognitive stability, stress, and academic performance in elementary and middle school students [4]. Methods (core summary; additional details in Supplementary Information) Ninety-six students (78 elementary, 18 middle school; grades 2–8) from a district including one Title I elementary school participated across two academic years. We employed a quasi-experimental staggered-start design, where two groups began the intervention one week apart to control for external factors. All students ultimately received the intervention due to parents’ and teachers’ requirements (see Supplementary Information, Table 2 for design). The intervention consisted of weekly 30-minute sessions over 4–5 weeks. These sessions, inspired from various curriculums and facilitated in-person by school psychologists (with home practice encouraged ) were delivered online by trained professionals and facilitated in-person by school psychologists, incorporating exercises such as mindful breathing, 4-7-8 breathing, and belly breathing [5]. We collected multimodal data to assess outcomes. Physiological measures included heart rate variability (HRV) using both HHT and MTTS mechanisms, captured via camera-based remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) [6] [7]. Cognitive performance was assessed using the Gradual-Onset Continuous Performance Task (GradCPT) to measure sustained attention [8]. Self-reported well-being was measured with the DASS21-Y stress, anxiety, and depression subscales [9]. Academic achievement was tracked using Lexile reading, Quantile math, and IXL math scores. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] For our analysis, data were compared to baseline measures and national benchmarks. We calculated paired t-tests, effect sizes (Cohen’s d), and academic growth relative to national averages. Data were excluded for confounding factors such as illness or poor sleep based on pre-registered criteria [15]. Results Academic Outcomes ● Elementary : Gains of +341 to +353 points above national baselines in Quantile math and +415 to +438 in Lexile reading ( Table 1 ). Grades 4–6 improved to above-average performance ( Fig. 1 ). ● Middle School : IXL math scores improved by +84.5 points especially for high achieving students, with Grade 7 reversing from 85 points below to 18 points above the national average ( Fig. 1 ). Growth advantages exceeded national expectations in most time periods, especially fall–winter ( Table 1 ). Cognitive Outcomes Stress Significant reduction in self-reported stress ( mean Δ = −0.99, p = 0.012; Fig. 2 ). Anxiety and depression changes were nonsignificant. See Supplementary Results, Tables 3–4 for full breakdowns. Cognitive Performance GradCPT reaction time variability decreased significantly post-intervention (Δ = −39.8 ms, p < 0.001; Cohen’s d = 0.23; Fig. 3 ), indicating improved sustained attention. See Supplementary Information, Fig. 4-7 and Table 5 . Physiological Outcomes Intervention groups maintained heart rate variability (HRV) stability over the 4–5 week program, whereas control groups exhibited a decline over the same period. Although the group difference did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.552), the effect size was consistent with a meaningful physiological trend, suggesting potential modulation of autonomic regulation. HRV trajectories are provided in Supplementary Results ( Figure 8 ). Discussion Brief, structured mindfulness and breathing exercises—digitally delivered with professional facilitation and real-time, touchless physiological and cognitive monitoring—were associated with measurable gains in sustained attention, stress reduction, and academic performance in preadolescents. Effects were observed across both high- and lower-performing learners, including in socioeconomically disadvantaged settings. Recruiting 96 students for a multi-modal, longitudinal study in active classrooms—encompassing cognitive, physiological, self-report, and academic measures—required extensive coordination and yielded a rare, ecologically valid dataset in this age group. Although we did not directly measure neural activity, our findings—stable HRV alongside improved sustained attention—are consistent with established models proposing that autonomic regulation supports higher-order cognitive control via prefrontal–subcortical networks. Empirical work shows that individuals with higher heart rate variability exhibit stronger functional connectivity between the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), components of a central autonomic network that supports emotion regulation and attention [16][17][18][19]. This aligns with the neurovisceral integration model linking HRV with prefrontal inhibitory control, offering a plausible pathway by which brief mindfulness training may enhance attention and learning outcomes in children, meriting targeted neural investigation in future trials. Improvements in sustained attention and autonomic regulation (HRV) provide ecologically valid evidence of positive neuroplastic adaptations induced by the intervention. These findings suggest that targeted cognitive training can modulate neural circuits underlying emotional regulation and academic learning, with direct translational impact. This scalable, data-driven model enables objective engagement tracking and adaptive delivery, addressing key limitations in prior school-based mindfulness research. Limitations: The absence of a long-term control group, small subcohorts, and single-district scope constrain causal inference, though consistent effects across modalities support further large-scale evaluation. Conclusion This study provides rare, ecologically valid evidence that a digitally delivered, measurement-integrated mindfulness program—facilitated in real classrooms—can measurably enhance attention, reduce stress, and improve academic performance in preadolescents in a scalable way. Achieving full recruitment and retention of 96 students, including a Title I cohort, underscores the feasibility of implementing such scalable, low-cost interventions while collecting multi-modal physiological, cognitive, and academic data in active school settings. These early, challenging-to-replicate findings point to a viable, data-driven pathway for integrating mindfulness into global education systems to boost academic success—warranting rigorous, large-scale trials. Declarations Participant Consent" Parental or legal guardian consent was obtained for all minors participating in the study. For participants aged 12 years and older, written assent was also obtained from the students themselves, in addition to parental consent, in accordance with IRB guidelines. Participation was further approved by classroom teachers and school psychologists. Competing Interests Sameer Yami is the Founder of Augment Me, Inc., which conducted this study. Kostas Tsioutsiouliklis and Benjamin He are employees of Augment Me, Inc. Philippe Goldin and Bob Stahl serve as scientific advisors to Augment Me, Inc. The other authors declare no competing interests. Author Contribution Author Contributions:Sameer Yami: Conceptualization, Methodology, Funding acquisition, Project administration, Investigation, Resources, Software, Data curation, Formal analysis, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.Kostas Tsioutsiouliklis: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Formal analysis, Writing – original draft.Philippe Goldin: Conceptualization.Steven Laureys: Conceptualization.Bob Stahl: Resources.Dianne Castillano-Farley: Project administration, Data curation.Benjamin He: Software, Formal analysis, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. References Kuyken W, Ball S, Crane C, et al. Evid Based Ment Health 2022;25:99–109. There’s a strong push for more school psychologists, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35820992/https://www.apa.org/monitor/2024/01/trends-more-school-psychologists-needed Rosalind W. Picard, https://direct.mit.edu/books/monograph/4296/Affective-Computing Augment Me, Inc. Also, WotNow?!, https://augment-me.com See Learning, https://seelearning.emory.edu/en/home Helong Li, Sam Kwong, Lihua Yang, Daren Huang, and Dongping Xiao, Hilbert-Huang Transform for Analysis of Heart Rate Variability in Cardiac Health, IEEE/ACM TRANSACTIONS ON COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY AND BIOINFORMATICS, VOL. 8, NO. 6, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 Xin Liu, Josh Fromm, Shwetak Patel, Daniel McDuff, Multi-Task Temporal Shift Attention Networks for On-Device Contactless Vitals Measurement, 34th Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS 2020), Vancouver, Canada Esterman M, Noonan SK, Rosenberg M, Degutis J. In the zone or zoning out? Tracking behavioral and neural fluctuations during sustained attention. Cereb Cortex. 2013 Nov;23(11):2712-23. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhs261. Epub 2012 Aug 31. PMID: 22941724. Lovibond, S.H. & Lovibond, P.F. (1995). Manual for the Depression Anxiety & Stress Scales. (2nd Ed.) Sydney: Psychology Foundation. https://maic.qld.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/DASS-21.pdf Colleen Lennon, Hal Burdick, The Lexile Framework as an Approach for Reading Measurement and Success, April 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20100103044012/http://lexile.com/m/resources/materials/Lennon__Burdick_2004.pdf https://hub.lexile.com/lexile-grade-level-charts/?_gl=1*1v9btgc*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTEyNjA0MzM1NS4xNzUwNzA1MDc4*_ga_5MVHL6N2MJ*czE3NTA3MDUwNzYkbzEkZzAkdDE3NTA3MDUwNzYkajYwJGwwJGgw Quantile, https://hub.lexile.com/quantile-grade-level-charts/ ixl.com National Norms for IXL’s Diagnostic in Grades K-12, Yu Zhao, Ph.D. Zachary Mayne, Ph.D., January 2024 iReady, https://www.curriculumassociates.com/programs/i-ready-learning Wickens, Thomas D. (2001). Elementary Signal Detection Theory. OUP USA. ch. 2, p. 20. ISBN 0-19-509250-3. Sakaki, M., Yoo, H. J., Nga, L., Lee, T. H., Thayer, J. F., & Mather, M. (2016). Heart rate variability is associated with amygdala functional connectivity with medial prefrontal cortex across younger and older adults. NeuroImage , 139, 44–52. Annika Huber, Julian Koenig, Bastian Bruns, Martin Bendszus, Hans-Christoph Friederich & Joe J. Simon, Brain activation and heart rate variability as markers of autonomic function under stress, Nature, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-12430-8 Steinfurth ECK, Wendt J, Geisler F, Hamm AO, Thayer JF and Koenig J (2018) Resting State Vagally-Mediated Heart Rate Variability Is Associated With Neural Activity During Explicit Emotion Regulation. Front. Neurosci. 12:794. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2018.00794 Thayer JF, Lane RD (December 2000). “A model of neurovisceral integration in emotion regulation and dysregulation". Journal of Affective Disorders . 61 (3): 201–216 Table Table 1 is available in the Supplementary Files section Additional Declarations Competing interest reported. Sameer Yami is the Founder of Augment Me, Inc., which conducted this study. Kostas Tsioutsiouliklis and Benjamin He are employees of Augment Me, Inc. Philippe Goldin, Steven Laureys and Bob Stahl serve as scientific advisors to Augment Me, Inc. The other authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformationScalableTouchlessMonitoringwithMindfulnessBoostsFocusandLearninginPreadolescents.docx Table1.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7411726","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":509391117,"identity":"0e5751af-b0df-4d53-91ff-222ab4628e48","order_by":0,"name":"Sameer Yami","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA3klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYPACG9K1pEHpBOK1HCZBi3z76cQHH/eclzc4vzrxceEPhmh+BuaHj27g0WJwJnez4Yxntw033Hi72XhGAkPuzAY2Y+McfFoYcrdJ8xy4zbjhxlkgI+F/7oYDPGzS+LTI97/d/vvPgXP2QC3bf/MAbdlPSAvDjdxtzAwHDiRuON+7jRmkZQMDAS0GQC9I9hxITp55g3ezNE8aQ+6MwwT8It+fu/HDjwN2tn3nz278zGPDkNvf3vzwMV6HwYFEApTBTJRyEOA/QLTSUTAKRsEoGGEAAO1FUwHGrr2ZAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Augment Me, Inc.","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sameer","middleName":"","lastName":"Yami","suffix":""},{"id":509391119,"identity":"9cd05e30-c64a-4a06-b814-92e48f9dda19","order_by":1,"name":"Kostas Tsioutsiouliklis","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Augment Me, Inc.","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kostas","middleName":"","lastName":"Tsioutsiouliklis","suffix":""},{"id":509391121,"identity":"f47ecd0b-6410-43af-b099-730236553a46","order_by":2,"name":"Phillipe Goldin","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of California, Davis","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Phillipe","middleName":"","lastName":"Goldin","suffix":""},{"id":509391122,"identity":"1a73262b-ddc4-4241-bd44-bcf1eb1a3360","order_by":3,"name":"Steven Laureys","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Harvard University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Steven","middleName":"","lastName":"Laureys","suffix":""},{"id":509391124,"identity":"59ec04c9-54fc-42ed-bae9-f7a23ebf6c6c","order_by":4,"name":"Bob Stahl","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Brown University Mindfulness Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Bob","middleName":"","lastName":"Stahl","suffix":""},{"id":509391126,"identity":"6bab9f2e-d1cf-45ae-a425-0f2966d76e23","order_by":5,"name":"Dianne Farley","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Alexander Rose Elementary School (Milpitas Unified School District)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dianne","middleName":"","lastName":"Farley","suffix":""},{"id":509391127,"identity":"ad7bd0d4-5a1b-448d-8bbb-21ae218d9d42","order_by":6,"name":"Benjamin He","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Augment Me, Inc.","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Benjamin","middleName":"","lastName":"He","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-08-19 21:08:09","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7411726/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7411726/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":90514599,"identity":"ba091746-e83d-45a2-8de5-a795985f87f9","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-03 14:15:47","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":151545,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eQuantile and IXL math scores\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7411726/v1/19297bacd28b2a30197bbc9c.png"},{"id":90515506,"identity":"04e7dbb1-548b-492a-8717-18d8c4901e28","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-03 14:23:47","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":79397,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eBefore and after distributions for Stress, Anxiety, and Depression, as well as change distributions of the three distress symptoms.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7411726/v1/d4e3274494633a15be8bb3a2.png"},{"id":90514602,"identity":"2f5db189-ed19-4df5-9fa7-b4f3b46c9154","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-03 14:15:47","extension":"png","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":62384,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eComparison between reaction times before and after the intervention sessions. There is a statistically significant mean drop of 39.827ms. The p-value is \u0026lt; 0.001 (highly significant), the t-statistic is 37.2663, and Cohen’s d is 0.2256 (small to medium effect).\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7411726/v1/f61da99dd93f8f2e2ef6a9c1.png"},{"id":91939569,"identity":"a0321761-23ba-4ce8-a31e-c594c2a75e3e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-23 03:16:46","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":609314,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7411726/v1/b92af37d-3456-4870-b4f7-e164aef31c52.pdf"},{"id":90517023,"identity":"25d21568-2d2f-431d-ae7c-b86d02484632","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-03 14:39:48","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":880636,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryInformationScalableTouchlessMonitoringwithMindfulnessBoostsFocusandLearninginPreadolescents.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7411726/v1/2ed995c3573c8d3170864ade.docx"},{"id":90515508,"identity":"c04e7a61-1009-4d21-b589-0b84ce61ec98","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-03 14:23:48","extension":"docx","order_by":2,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":752117,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Table1.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7411726/v1/cce3a16cb9a033d40f6ace5f.docx"}],"financialInterests":"Competing interest reported. Sameer Yami is the Founder of Augment Me, Inc., which conducted this study. Kostas Tsioutsiouliklis and Benjamin He are employees of Augment Me, Inc. Philippe Goldin, Steven Laureys and Bob Stahl serve as scientific advisors to Augment Me, Inc. The other authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"Scalable Touchless Monitoring with Mindfulness Boosts Focus and Learning in Preadolescents","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eMindfulness-based programs are increasingly adopted in schools to enhance emotional regulation, focus, and well-being. Yet large-scale trials, such as the MYRIAD study of 28,000 adolescents, have found little to no advantage over standard social–emotional learning curricula [1]. This highlights the need for scalable interventions that are developmentally tailored for preadolescents, delivered with fidelity by trained facilitators, and objectively monitored for engagement and physiological response [2][3][4]. Few existing studies integrate subjective, cognitive, physiological, and academic measures in real-world classrooms, particularly within underserved populations. Crucially, there is a need for research that aligns with the growing understanding of neuroplasticity, investigating how controllable lifestyle interventions like mindfulness can be practically applied to enhance learning efficacy in real-world settings.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHere, we present a two-year, multimodal field study evaluating the short-term and sustained effects of brief, structured mindfulness exercises—delivered via a custom digital platform with integrated, touchless physiological monitoring—on cognitive stability, stress, and academic performance in elementary and middle school students [4].\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Methods","content":"\u003cp\u003e(core summary; additional details in Supplementary Information)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNinety-six students (78 elementary, 18 middle school; grades 2–8) from a district including one Title I elementary school participated across two academic years. We employed a quasi-experimental staggered-start design, where two groups began the intervention one week apart to control for external factors. All students ultimately received the intervention due to parents’ and teachers’ requirements (see Supplementary Information, Table\u0026nbsp;2 for design).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe intervention consisted of weekly 30-minute sessions over 4–5 weeks. These sessions, inspired from various curriculums and facilitated in-person by school psychologists (with home practice encouraged ) were delivered online by trained professionals and facilitated in-person by school psychologists, incorporating exercises such as mindful breathing, 4-7-8 breathing, and belly breathing [5].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe collected multimodal data to assess outcomes. Physiological measures included heart rate variability (HRV) using both HHT and MTTS mechanisms, captured via camera-based remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) [6] [7]. Cognitive performance was assessed using the Gradual-Onset Continuous Performance Task (GradCPT) to measure sustained attention [8]. Self-reported well-being was measured with the DASS21-Y stress, anxiety, and depression subscales [9]. Academic achievement was tracked using Lexile reading, Quantile math, and IXL math scores. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor our analysis, data were compared to baseline measures and national benchmarks. We calculated paired t-tests, effect sizes (Cohen’s d), and academic growth relative to national averages. Data were excluded for confounding factors such as illness or poor sleep based on pre-registered criteria [15].\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcademic Outcomes\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e● \u003cem\u003eElementary\u003c/em\u003e: Gains of +341 to +353 points above national baselines in Quantile math and +415 to +438 in Lexile reading (\u003cstrong\u003eTable 1\u003c/strong\u003e). Grades 4–6 improved to above-average performance (\u003cstrong\u003eFig. 1\u003c/strong\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e● \u003cem\u003eMiddle School\u003c/em\u003e: IXL math scores improved by +84.5 points especially for high achieving students, with Grade 7 reversing from 85 points below to 18 points above the national average (\u003cstrong\u003eFig. 1\u003c/strong\u003e).\u003cbr\u003eGrowth advantages exceeded national expectations in most time periods, especially fall–winter (\u003cstrong\u003eTable 1\u003c/strong\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCognitive Outcomes\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStress\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSignificant reduction in self-reported stress (\u003cem\u003emean Δ\u003c/em\u003e = −0.99, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.012; \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 2\u003c/strong\u003e). Anxiety and depression changes were nonsignificant. See Supplementary Results, Tables 3–4 for full breakdowns.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCognitive Performance\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGradCPT reaction time variability decreased significantly post-intervention (Δ = −39.8 ms, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; 0.001; Cohen’s \u003cem\u003ed\u003c/em\u003e = 0.23; \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 3\u003c/strong\u003e), indicating improved sustained attention. See Supplementary Information, \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 4-7\u003c/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e5\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePhysiological Outcomes\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u0026nbsp;Intervention groups maintained heart rate variability (HRV) stability over the 4–5 week program, whereas control groups exhibited a decline over the same period. Although the group difference did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.552), the effect size was consistent with a meaningful physiological trend, suggesting potential modulation of autonomic regulation. HRV trajectories are provided in Supplementary Results (\u003cstrong\u003eFigure 8\u003c/strong\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eBrief, structured mindfulness and breathing exercises\u0026mdash;digitally delivered with professional facilitation and real-time, touchless physiological and cognitive monitoring\u0026mdash;were associated with measurable gains in sustained attention, stress reduction, and academic performance in preadolescents. Effects were observed across both high- and lower-performing learners, including in socioeconomically disadvantaged settings. Recruiting 96 students for a multi-modal, longitudinal study in active classrooms\u0026mdash;encompassing cognitive, physiological, self-report, and academic measures\u0026mdash;required extensive coordination and yielded a rare, ecologically valid dataset in this age group. Although we did not directly measure neural activity, our findings\u0026mdash;stable HRV alongside improved sustained attention\u0026mdash;are consistent with established models proposing that autonomic regulation supports higher-order cognitive control via prefrontal\u0026ndash;subcortical networks. Empirical work shows that individuals with higher heart rate variability exhibit stronger functional connectivity between the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), components of a central autonomic network that supports emotion regulation and attention [16][17][18][19]. This aligns with the neurovisceral integration model linking HRV with prefrontal inhibitory control, offering a plausible pathway by which brief mindfulness training may enhance attention and learning outcomes in children, meriting targeted neural investigation in future trials. Improvements in sustained attention and autonomic regulation (HRV) provide ecologically valid evidence of positive neuroplastic adaptations induced by the intervention. These findings suggest that targeted cognitive training can modulate neural circuits underlying emotional regulation and academic learning, with direct translational impact. This scalable, data-driven model enables objective engagement tracking and adaptive delivery, addressing key limitations in prior school-based mindfulness research.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLimitations: The absence of a long-term control group, small subcohorts, and single-district scope constrain causal inference, though consistent effects across modalities support further large-scale evaluation.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study provides rare, ecologically valid evidence that a digitally delivered, measurement-integrated mindfulness program\u0026mdash;facilitated in real classrooms\u0026mdash;can measurably enhance attention, reduce stress, and improve academic performance in preadolescents in a scalable way. Achieving full recruitment and retention of 96 students, including a Title I cohort, underscores the feasibility of implementing such scalable, low-cost interventions while collecting multi-modal physiological, cognitive, and academic data in active school settings. These early, challenging-to-replicate findings point to a viable, data-driven pathway for integrating mindfulness into global education systems to boost academic success\u0026mdash;warranting rigorous, large-scale trials.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003eParticipant Consent\u0026quot; Parental or legal guardian consent was obtained for all minors participating in the study. For participants aged 12 years and older, written assent was also obtained from the students themselves, in addition to parental consent, in accordance with IRB guidelines. Participation was further approved by classroom teachers and school psychologists.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompeting Interests\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSameer Yami is the Founder of Augment Me, Inc., which conducted this study. Kostas Tsioutsiouliklis and Benjamin He are employees of Augment Me, Inc. Philippe Goldin and Bob Stahl serve as scientific advisors to Augment Me, Inc. The other authors declare no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAuthor Contributions:Sameer Yami: Conceptualization, Methodology, Funding acquisition, Project administration, Investigation, Resources, Software, Data curation, Formal analysis, Writing \u0026ndash; original draft, Writing \u0026ndash; review \u0026amp; editing.Kostas Tsioutsiouliklis: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Formal analysis, Writing \u0026ndash; original draft.Philippe Goldin: Conceptualization.Steven Laureys: Conceptualization.Bob Stahl: Resources.Dianne Castillano-Farley: Project administration, Data curation.Benjamin He: Software, Formal analysis, Writing \u0026ndash; original draft, Writing \u0026ndash; review \u0026amp; editing.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eKuyken W, Ball S, Crane C, et al. Evid Based Ment Health 2022;25:99\u0026ndash;109.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eThere\u0026rsquo;s a strong push for more school psychologists, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35820992/https://www.apa.org/monitor/2024/01/trends-more-school-psychologists-needed\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eRosalind W. Picard, https://direct.mit.edu/books/monograph/4296/Affective-Computing\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eAugment Me, Inc. Also, WotNow?!, https://augment-me.com\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eSee Learning, https://seelearning.emory.edu/en/home\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eHelong Li, Sam Kwong, Lihua Yang, Daren Huang, and Dongping Xiao, Hilbert-Huang Transform for Analysis of Heart Rate Variability in Cardiac Health, IEEE/ACM TRANSACTIONS ON COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY AND BIOINFORMATICS, VOL. 8, NO. 6, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eXin Liu, Josh Fromm, Shwetak Patel, Daniel McDuff, Multi-Task Temporal Shift Attention Networks for On-Device Contactless Vitals Measurement, 34th Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS 2020), Vancouver, Canada\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eEsterman M, Noonan SK, Rosenberg M, Degutis J. In the zone or zoning out? Tracking behavioral and neural fluctuations during sustained attention. Cereb Cortex. 2013 Nov;23(11):2712-23. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhs261. Epub 2012 Aug 31. PMID: 22941724.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eLovibond, S.H. \u0026amp; Lovibond, P.F. (1995). Manual for the Depression Anxiety \u0026amp; Stress Scales. (2nd Ed.) Sydney: Psychology Foundation. https://maic.qld.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/DASS-21.pdf\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eColleen Lennon, Hal Burdick, The Lexile Framework as an Approach for Reading Measurement and Success, April 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20100103044012/http://lexile.com/m/resources/materials/Lennon__Burdick_2004.pdf https://hub.lexile.com/lexile-grade-level-charts/?_gl=1*1v9btgc*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTEyNjA0MzM1NS4xNzUwNzA1MDc4*_ga_5MVHL6N2MJ*czE3NTA3MDUwNzYkbzEkZzAkdDE3NTA3MDUwNzYkajYwJGwwJGgw\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eQuantile, https://hub.lexile.com/quantile-grade-level-charts/\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eixl.com\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eNational Norms for IXL\u0026rsquo;s Diagnostic in Grades K-12, Yu Zhao, Ph.D. Zachary Mayne, Ph.D., January 2024\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eiReady, https://www.curriculumassociates.com/programs/i-ready-learning\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eWickens, Thomas D. (2001). Elementary Signal Detection Theory. OUP USA. ch. 2, p. 20. ISBN 0-19-509250-3.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eSakaki, M., Yoo, H. J., Nga, L., Lee, T. H., Thayer, J. F., \u0026amp; Mather, M. (2016). Heart rate variability is associated with amygdala functional connectivity with medial prefrontal cortex across younger and older adults. \u003cem\u003eNeuroImage\u003c/em\u003e, 139, 44\u0026ndash;52.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eAnnika Huber, Julian Koenig, Bastian Bruns, Martin Bendszus, Hans-Christoph Friederich \u0026amp; Joe J. Simon, Brain activation and heart rate variability as markers of autonomic function under stress, Nature, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-12430-8\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eSteinfurth ECK, Wendt J, Geisler F, Hamm AO, Thayer JF and Koenig J (2018) Resting State Vagally-Mediated Heart Rate Variability Is Associated With Neural Activity During Explicit Emotion Regulation. Front. Neurosci. 12:794. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2018.00794\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eThayer JF, Lane RD (December 2000). \u0026ldquo;A model of neurovisceral integration in emotion regulation and dysregulation\u0026quot;. \u003cem\u003eJournal of Affective Disorders\u003c/em\u003e. \u003cstrong\u003e61\u003c/strong\u003e (3): 201\u0026ndash;216\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"},{"header":"Table","content":"\u003cp\u003eTable 1 is available in the Supplementary Files section\u003c/p\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"productivity, sustained attention, reaction time variability, mindfulness, stress, heart rate variability, photoplethysmography, affective computing","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7411726/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7411726/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Here we show that brief, low-cost mindfulness training—paired with touchless physiological monitoring—can measurably boost focus, reduce stress, and improve academic performance in real-world classrooms.\nEducational systems worldwide face persistent barriers to sustaining attention, lowering stress, and raising achievement, especially in socioeconomically diverse schools. We addressed this by uniting affective computing, cognitive neuroscience, and educational practice in a two-year, staggered quasi-experimental study of 96 students aged 7–13, including a Title I cohort. The program—a developmentally tailored mindfulness and breathing intervention integrated with camera-based physiological monitoring and cognitive assessments—was delivered over 4–5 weeks in weekly 30-minute, facilitator-led sessions. Students showed reduced stress (p=0.012), improved sustained attention (reaction-time variability ↓39.8 ms, p\u003c0.001), and standardized math and reading gains often surpassing national norms by 100–400+ points. Gains spanned high- and lower-performing learners, peaking in the fall–winter term. HRV trajectories indicated physiological stability in intervention groups.\nUnder IRB Numbers: 20231480 and 20243759 (WCG IRB)","manuscriptTitle":"Scalable Touchless Monitoring with Mindfulness Boosts Focus and Learning in Preadolescents","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-09-03 14:15:43","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7411726/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"33a2160b-041e-4a04-aac6-8d72440625c0","owner":[],"postedDate":"September 3rd, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":54101051,"name":"Health sciences/Health care"},{"id":54101054,"name":"Biological sciences/Neuroscience"},{"id":54101055,"name":"Biological sciences/Physiology"},{"id":54101056,"name":"Biological sciences/Psychology"},{"id":54101057,"name":"Social science/Psychology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-09-23T03:08:40+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-09-03 14:15:43","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7411726","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7411726","identity":"rs-7411726","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}