The Italian study by Murano et al. (2025) aimed to examine whether an 8-week mindfulness program – originally developed for stress management – could also help people with Long COVID.
Study design: 8 weeks of mindfulness, 12 months of effect?
The randomized controlled trial was conducted from April 2023 to July 2024 in Lecco, northern Italy. A total of 105 adults participated who had previously been treated in an intensive care unit for COVID-19 and developed Long COVID symptoms such as pain, insomnia, anxiety, or depression after discharge.
Participants were divided into an intervention group (52 people) who took part in a structured group mindfulness course (2 hours per week for 8 weeks) and a control group (53 people) who received standard medical follow-up without mindfulness training.
After 6 and 12 months, participants were reassessed using standardized questionnaires: pain intensity (Brief Pain Inventory), anxiety and depression (HADS), and sleep quality (Insomnia Severity Index).
Key results: less pain, better mood
The results are clear: participants in the mindfulness courses benefited in several ways, both in the short term (six months) and the long term (one year).
Pain: The lowest perceived pain intensity in the past 24 hours was about 36% lower in the mindfulness group compared to the control group after six months. The impact of pain on daily life was also reduced, especially regarding mood, sleep, and enjoyment of life. Part of these improvements lasted up to a year after the course.
Mental health: Anxiety symptoms decreased significantly in the mindfulness group. HADS-Anxiety scores (0-21) were on average 2–2.5 points lower than in the control group, both after 6 and 12 months. Depressive symptoms were also significantly reduced according to the HADS-Depression score.
Notably, these effects occurred without any additional psychotherapeutic treatment – solely through mindfulness training.
Sleep: Average insomnia scores were lower in the mindfulness group, particularly six months after the intervention. However, the number of participants with severe insomnia did not decrease significantly. The improvements were thus more about symptom severity than frequency.
Mindfulness training can be a helpful complement to medical treatment for Long COVID.
The authors emphasize that while most of the improvements were statistically significant, they were not necessarily strong enough to fundamentally change daily life.
An important observation is that positive effects tended to decrease over time, suggesting that regular “refresher” sessions (e.g., every six to twelve months) may be necessary.
Study limitations
As with many studies on the still young topic of Long COVID, there are some limitations:
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Study conducted at a single site
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Use of self-report questionnaires, which may be biased
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Relatively small sample size (105 participants)
Overall, the study shows that mindfulness training can be a low-threshold, low-cost, and low-risk complement to medical care for complex conditions such as Long COVID. However, it should not be seen as an alternative to other therapies, as the effects are probably too modest.
The authors recommend one mindfulness course per year, in addition to other treatments, to help Long COVID patients better manage daily life.
