The Science Behind
Personal Zen
When stress and anxiety build up, it can feel like we’re carrying a heavy load of negativity, draining us of energy. We created Personal Zen to be an easy, brief, and effective approach to stress and anxiety reduction that works by helping strengthen your focus on the positive.
A Cutting-Edge Scientific Approach
Personal Zen is based on a scientific approach to stress reduction called Attention Bias Modification Training (ABMT). Decades of research shows that when we become anxious or stressed, we tend to focus too much attention towards the negatives and have less ability to see the positives in life. This habit of attention reduces our ability to cope effectively with stress and can create a vicious cycle of fear and worry.
ABMT instills a habit of flexibly paying attention to the world; a habit in which we can disengage our attention from negative things when we need to, and more easily refocus on and benefit from the positive experiences and opportunities around us.
A Micro-Intervention that Fits into Your Life
By using Personal Zen just a few minutes a day, a few days a week, you can reduce feelings of stress and anxiety, strengthen well-being, and build resilience against the curve balls life sometimes throws.
Brief training with Personal Zen can even reduce your body’s stress response! Our studies show that using the app 5-10 minutes a day, a few days a week lowers levels of stress hormones known as cortisol, and lowers anxiety.
Take a Look at Some of Our Published Studies
Salutary Effects of an Attention Bias Modification Mobile Application on Biobehavioral Measures of Stress and Anxiety During Pregnancy
In a study with pregnant women, those using Personal Zen for 5-10 minutes a day, a few days a week showed reductions in the stress hormone cortisol during a controlled stressor. In that same study, stress resilience, the ability to adapt well in stressful situations, was boosted by 21% after using Personal Zen.
Mental Health on the Go: Effects of a Gamified Attention Bias Modification Mobile Application in Trait Anxious Adults
In a study with adults experiencing stress and anxiety, stress resilience was boosted by 15% after using Personal Zen in a single sitting.
For Whom the Bell Tolls: Neurocognitive Individual Differences in the Acute Stress-Reduction Effects of an Attention Bias Modification Game for Anxiety
Men’s adaptive neural response to a stressor was boosted by 85% after using Personal Zen.
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) Augments the Effects of Gamified, Mobile Attention Bias Modification
Our results integrating tDCS with ABMT provide insight into the mechanisms of AB modulation and support ongoing evaluations of enhanced ABMT reliability and effectiveness via tDCS.