Automotive Health: Cardiopulmonary effects of Mindfulness Interventions while Driving

• An in-drive mindfulness protocol was evaluated in real-world driving scenarios using objective physiological measures. • Cardiopulmonary measures improved significantly during mindfulness interventions in low to medium mental load driving. • No improvement was observed in high mentally demanding driving environments, likely due to insufficient mental capacity for mindfulness participation. • Correlations showed effects beyond breathing on HRV, indicating parasympathetic dominance during effective interventions. Mindfulness interventions, used to enhance attentional and emotional regulation in clinical settings, may benefit individuals in everyday stressful situations like driving. However, their real-world applicability and objective effectiveness in improving physiological mindfulness-associated measures need further study. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of in-drive mindfulness interventions on mean breathing rate ( Mean BR ), mean heart rate ( Mean HR ), and the heart rate variability metric of root mean square of successive RR interval differences ( RMSSD ) throughout various environments. Eighteen participants performed mindfulness exercises while driving in rural, suburban, and urban environments under naturalistic conditions on public roads. Mean HR , Mean BR , and RMSSD were monitored and compared between control and intervention drives whilst adjusting for breath-altering instructions. Correlational analysis between Mean BR and RMSSD was conducted to investigate respiratory sinus arrhythmia influences. In rural environments (n = 14), statistically significant decreases in Mean HR , Mean BR , and increases in RMSSD were observed during intervention drives compared to control drives. In suburban environments (n = 15), statistically significant decreases in Mean BR and increases in RMSSD were found. No significant differences were observed in urban environments (n = 11). Correlations between Mean BR and RMSSD were found only during control drives in rural and suburban environments. No correlations were found in urban environments. Mindfulness interventions improved physiological parameters during rural and suburban drives but were ineffective during urban drives. The decorrelation of Mean BR and RMSSD suggests effectiveness beyond mere breathing adjustments influence on RMSSD , indicating parasympathetic dominance during effective interventions. High mental load or stress may cause similar decoupling in urban drives.