Meditation and spiritual practices in mental health: A comprehensive literature review
International Journal of Applied Research January 1, 2026 U Vijayabanu, Aswathi Bimal
Meditation and spiritual practices show meaningful benefits for stress, anxiety, depression, quality of life, and resilience across clinical and non-clinical populations, based on evidence from Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, yoga, Transcendental Meditation, loving kindness practices, and mantra chanting. Neurobiological changes include alterations in cortical structure, default mode network activity, stress hormone regulation, inflammatory pathways, and markers of cellular aging. However, heterogeneity in study quality, publication bias, and inconsistent control conditions complicate interpretation. Overall, these practices are moderately effective for common mental health difficulties, comparable to other psychosocial approaches and non-inferior to first-line pharmacotherapy for anxiety disorders.