Breath Counting Task
Measure sustained attention and mindfulness by tracking accuracy in a simple breath-counting exercise.
Estimated duration: 5–15 minutes
About This Experiment
The Breath Counting Task is a behavioral measure of mindfulness and sustained attention. Participants count their breaths from 1 to 9 and then reset, pressing one button for counts 1–8 and a different button on count 9. Miscounts and missed resets reveal lapses in attention and mind-wandering. This task bridges contemplative practice and cognitive science, providing an objective metric for mindfulness-related attention.
How It Works
- You breathe naturally and count each exhale silently.
- Press one button for counts 1 through 8.
- Press a different button on count 9 to reset the cycle.
- Continue for several minutes while the task records your accuracy.
Key Metrics
Counting Accuracy
Proportion of correctly counted breath cycles
Reset Accuracy
How reliably you reset the count at 9
Mind-Wandering Index
Frequency of miscounts indicating attention lapses
Task Duration
Total time spent in the breath counting exercise
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