Biofeedback and Mindfulness in the Educational Context: A Systematic Review

Mindfulness and biofeedback are two techniques that have been gaining popularity in recent years as effective tools for improving well-being and performance. Specifically, mindfulness is a practice of being present and fully engaged in the present moment through breathing exercises, meditation, and other relaxation techniques. In contrast, biofeedback uses different tools to monitor physiological signals and provides real-time feedback to help subjects regulate these indicators. Despite the ultimate parallels between these two techniques, studies involving their coexistence in interventions are still limited. The aim of the article is to systematically review programs in which both mindfulness and biofeedback are used in formal educational contexts, such as school and university. In all, 207 articles were identified and examined. Of these, just eight met the inclusion criteria. The selected research integrating mindfulness and biofeedback within an educational context focused primarily on stress, anxiety management, the ability to regulate emotions, and student well-being. The extant research demonstrates that integrating biofeedback and mindfulness in the educational context can, on a small scale, facilitate and improve students' emotional and physical well-being, as well as their academic progress, although most of the studies were rated as weak using the QATQS. Some general characteristics of the different interventions are discussed.