Can retraining your brain ease long COVID?
NCT ID NCT05956405
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026
Summary
This study tested a program called AIR + Mindfulness, which aims to retrain parts of the brain (amygdala and insula) to reduce long COVID symptoms like fatigue, pain, and brain fog. 120 adults with persistent COVID took part in either the brain retraining program or a relaxation program over two months. The goal was to see if this approach could improve their quality of life.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- AIR + Mindfulness program (behavioral intervention)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a non-drug way to ease long COVID symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, and mood issues.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, completed trial without a placebo control, so results may not be widely applicable. The intervention is behavioral, not a cure, and benefits may vary.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
-
120 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
-
Sep 2023
- Finished
-
Mar 2024
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
18 years and older
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Age: 18-30 years old. * Grant informed consent. * Diagnosis of persistent COVID by primary care physicians. Exclusion Criteria: * Age: \<18 years old * Serious medical or psychiatric illnesses
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Mental health wellness are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Department of Psychiatry. Miguel Servet University Hospital
Zaragoza, 50009, Spain
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a 10-Week group program help clear Post-COVID brain fog?
- Micro-Choices, macro impact? a novel behavioral approach takes on fatigue
- Kindness as medicine: can compassion training beat stress for students?
- AI tool aims to match kids with the right mental health care
- AI could help match troubled youth to the right care setting
- Fish oil and remote rehab: a new hope for long COVID sufferers?