Micro-breathing sessions guided by vibrations on smartwatch can help with balance
HR leaders looking to shield employees from the workload pressures of artificial intelligence (AI) should treat mindfulness at work as a practical tool rather than a perk, according to one expert.
“We are human beings and we need to find our own balance and [it's about] how we get the work done out of AI and obviously how we find our sanity, essentially, in terms of moving ourselves forward," Dhruv Adhia, co-founder of Vancouver-based Prana Labs, tells Canadian HR Reporter.
Adhia says employees are tasked with checking AI output for errors. "You cannot completely, 100% say that everything is correct. So, everybody's going through some sort of QA or proofreading of the work done through them," he says.
That burden echoes Canadian HR Reporter's look at whether HR is at risk of burnout amid the surge in AI, which cites a U.K. survey by the Coders Guild finding 95% of HR leaders report rising workloads.
Micro sessions and early data
Even micro breathing sessions – lasting even just 30 seconds and offered through an app – can be a big help, says Adhia. Micro breathing sessions are guided by vibrations on a smartwatch that tracks heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) – the variation in time between heartbeats, often used as a stress indicator.
"It reads your body signals, and if it finds any clue for stress, then it will give you a gentle nudge," he says of Prana Labs’s app Vayu.
A June 2026 medRxiv preprint on Vayu describes a four- to six-week pilot of 199 adults in Canada, the United States and India. According to Simon Fraser University's Metacreation Lab, a pilot partner, perceived stress fell 2.5 points by week four, while median HRV rose 28.6% from baseline.
Canadian HR Reporter has also covered a separate study showing 10 minutes a day of mindfulness offers promising results.
How can mindfulness help employees?
HR professionals and employers should look into making mindfulness a part of the company culture as they have a lot to gain from it, according to different sources:
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# |
Advantage |
What the evidence shows |
Why it matters for HR |
Source(s) |
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1 |
Lower stress and anxiety |
A meta-analysis of 23 randomized controlled trials of mindfulness training delivered in the workplace found reductions in stress (g = 0.56), anxiety (g = 0.62) and psychological distress (g = 0.69) after training. |
Stress and anxiety feed absenteeism, disability claims and turnover. Reducing them supports the psychological health and safety goals HR teams already manage. |
Bartlett, L., Martin, A., Neil, A.L. et al., "A systematic review and meta-analysis of workplace mindfulness training randomized controlled trials," Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 2019 |
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2 |
Reduced burnout and higher job satisfaction |
A meta-analysis of 56 workplace randomized controlled trials found mindfulness-based programs reduced stress, burnout, mental distress and physical symptoms. They also improved well-being, compassion and job satisfaction, with effect sizes of g = 0.32 to 0.77. |
Burnout and low job satisfaction are leading drivers of attrition. That is especially relevant as AI adoption adds to workloads. |
"Mindfulness-Based Programs in the Workplace: a Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials," Mindfulness, Vol. 11, pp. 1579–1598, 2020 |
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3 |
Better well-being and sleep |
The same 23-trial review found improvements in well-being (g = 0.46) and sleep (g = 0.26). Separately, participants in a University of Bath-led trial reported better sleep quality at follow-up a month after the program ended. |
Poor sleep erodes concentration, safety and decision-making. Well-being gains support engagement and retention strategies. |
Bartlett et al., 2019; University of Bath announcement on the British Journal of Health Psychology study |
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4 |
Short sessions that fit the workday |
A trial of 1,247 adults from 91 countries compared 10 minutes of daily mindfulness through a free app with listening to an audiobook for a month. The mindfulness group reported almost 20% fewer depression symptoms than the audiobook group. |
Brief, app-based sessions are low-cost and scalable. They don't require employees to leave work or block long periods of time. |
Harvard Health Publishing summary of the Aug. 21, 2024 British Journal of Health Psychology study |
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5 |
Quick mood and stress relief through breathwork |
A Stanford-led randomized controlled study found that daily five-minute breathwork and mindfulness meditation both improved mood and reduced anxiety. Breathwork, particularly exhale-focused cyclic sighing, improved mood and physiological arousal more than meditation. |
Five-minute practices can be taken before high-stakes meetings, difficult conversations or investigations. These are common pressure points for HR professionals themselves. |
Balban, M.Y., Neri, E., Kogon, M.M. et al., "Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal," Cell Reports Medicine, Jan. 10, 2023 |
A Deloitte analysis found poor health cost Canada more than $100 billion in economic output in 2025. "If we build that culture and we care for human beings and their needs, and we help them find balance, I think the returns would be wonderful for any given organization," says Adhia.
