Effectiveness of meditation for fatigue management: Insight from a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis.
General Hospital Psychiatry August 1, 2024 Byung-Jin Park, Yu-Jin Choi, Jin-Seok Lee et al.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 29 randomized controlled trials with 4,104 participants found that meditation significantly reduced fatigue scores by an average of 6.4 points compared to control conditions, after an average meditation duration of 9.6 weeks. The largest reduction occurred in sub-healthy populations (8.2 points), followed by general (6.9 points) and disease groups (5.7 points). Effects were most pronounced for mental fatigue (10.0 points), especially when meditation was guided by an expert and included supplementary homework. The authors conclude that meditation is an effective nonpharmacological intervention for fatigue management.