Physiology of Liberation

This academic study examines how everyday experiences are related to short-term physiological reactivity and recovery and whether one or more brief standardized mindfulness/attention-instruction sessions change these patterns. Adults living in the United States who can read and understand the English study materials participate for up to 12 weeks and complete brief smartphone surveys several times a day during waking hours. Surveys include current experiences and recent alcohol and nicotine use; these reports are analyzed as contextual variables and are not automatic exclusion criteria. Some participants also use assigned non-invasive wearable sensors or blood-pressure monitors during prespecified measurement windows. Device output is used only for research measurement, not diagnosis, treatment, real-time medical decision-making, or patient management. In study waves with a randomized comparison, participants are randomized after consent to one or more brief mindfulness/attention-instruction sessions or time-matched no-instruction comparison sessions. Session duration, schedule, and allocation probabilities are specified before each study wave begins and applied consistently within that wave.

Inclusion Criteria: * Adults aged 18 years or older * Lives in the United States * Able to read and understand English well enough to provide informed consent and to complete study surveys and instructions * Has a compatible smartphone and the required study application * Willing to complete ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and assigned study procedures Exclusion Criteria: * Cannabis or other illicit drug use within the past 30 days * Any current pattern of substance use that would prevent informed consent or the safe and reliable completion of study procedures * Inability or unwillingness to complete core study procedures * Lack of a compatible smartphone or the required study application