Brain and Heart Synchrony: Insights for Youth
Date Published : 31 July 2026
Contributors
Usman Jaffer
Abdul Hamid Abu Sulayman Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Gombak, Kuala Lumpur
Author
Ida Khadija Mohd Fazli
Abdul Hamid Abu Sulayman Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic Psychology Malaysia, Jalan Gombok, Kuala Lumpur
Author
Keywords
Companionship
heart rate variability
inter-brain synchrony
Islamic psychology
youth
Proceeding
Track
General Track
License
Copyright (c) 2026 International Students Conference on Islamic Psychology (ISCIP)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Abstract
The prophetic ﷺ guidance to carefully select one's companionship aligns deeply with contemporary scientific findings on physiological synchrony. This paper thus explores the concepts of brain-to-brain and heart-rate synchrony as mechanisms for youth development, viewed through an integrated Islamic and psychophysiological view. Drawing on recent hyperscanning and cardiac coherence research, it purports that the company a young person keeps directly moulds their neural and autonomic regulation. This paper further examines the importance of synchrony in foundational social domains for youth, including parent-child bonds, friendships, and the wider community through practices like congregational prayer. It is argued that positive synchrony which is fostered in righteous company, is integral to the holistic well-being envisioned in Islam, encompassing cognitive, emotional, social and spiritual health. Conversely, negative synchrony, or co-dysregulation, can arise from detrimental social connections, hindering healthy development. Finally, this paper proposes practical applications, suggesting that by consciously choosing one’s company, youth can actively cultivate the positive neural and cardiac connections that contribute to a balanced and spiritually grounded life manifesting as a valuable khilāfah in the human experience.
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How to Cite
Jaffer, U., & Fazli, I. K. M. (2026). Brain and Heart Synchrony: Insights for Youth. International Students Conference on Islamic Psychology (ISCIP), 2(1), 202-213. https://conference.uii.ac.id/iscip/paper/view/1171