Date of Award

August 2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

F. R. Ferraro

Abstract

Meditation-related practices impact a variety of psychological outcomes. However, as new methods emerge, investigations of novel practices are crucial to promoting effective interventions. This study centrally tests the potential for non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) to improve scores on measures related to anxiety and cognitive performance, and the potential augmentation of NSDR through unilateral cathodal tDCS of the left-DLPFC (i.e., F3). A preregistered design was used to test if NSDR improves scores on measures related to cognitive performance, mediation states, anxiety, if scores from the Learned Helplessness Scale and the Growth Mindset Scale moderate the relationship between the experimental condition and the dependent variables, and if active tDCS enhances benefits over sham. Undergraduate participants (N = 29) completed four sessions (Control, NSDR, active tDCS, and sham tDCS) separated by one week. Each participant took a measure of anxiety before each and after each session, and measures related to cognitive performance (i.e., Stroop, N-Back, Psychomotor Vigilance) were tested after each session. Results showed a significant decrease on the measure that related to the cognitive symptoms of anxiety and significant increases in measures related to meditation states. No consistent findings were discovered related to the measures related to cognitive performance, cathodal tDCS, nor the moderating impact of growth mindset or learned helplessness. The general implications of these findings show that although the effects of NSDR were limited in this study, it may be a promising tool to reduce the cognitive symptoms of anxiety related to cognitive anxiety.

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