Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Deutsche Zeitschrift für Akupunktur March 1, 2014 M. Goyal, Sonal Singh, E. Sibinga et al.
A systematic review of 47 randomized clinical trials with 3,515 participants found that mindfulness meditation programs produce small to moderate reductions in anxiety, depression, and pain compared to active placebo controls. At 8 weeks, anxiety improved with an effect size of 0.38 and depression with 0.30; these benefits persisted at 3–6 months with effect sizes of 0.22 and 0.23 respectively. Pain showed an effect size of 0.33. Evidence for stress/distress and mental health-related quality of life was low. Meditation programs showed no effect or insufficient evidence for positive mood, attention, substance use, eating habits, sleep, and weight, and were not better than drugs, exercise, or other behavioral therapies.