Background: Meditation has become increasingly popular in recent decades. However, relatively little remains known about the prevalence of and risk factors for adverse experiences related to a single meditation practice. Objective: The objective of our study was to examine adverse experiences associated with 3 brief, digitally delivered meditation practices (mindfulness, self-compassion, and...
Despite decades of meditation research, there is a lack of preregistered and well-powered studies that investigate the effects of brief meditation practices on subjective wellbeing and use data-driven approaches to predict response to these interventions. Using representative samples of the US and UK adult populations with regards to age, sex, and ethnicity (N = 5049), we conducted a...
Background: Previous research indicates that psychedelics may produce outcomes that are dependent on the immediate context. Recent scholarship hypothesizes that such outcomes may also depend on the broader sociocultural context, but empirical data are lacking. Methods: Using a longitudinal observational research design with a large sample of US adults ( N = 21,990) followed during a 2-month...
Background: Digital meditation-based interventions (MBIs) reach vast global audiences with millions of active users, yet concerns persist about the frequency and nature of adverse experiences (ie, AExs) occurring during meditation training. Some researchers have argued that AExs are substantially underdetected and reflect iatrogenic harm caused by meditation (ie, adverse effects [AEfs]). Others...
MindfulnessMay 21, 2026Stephanie H Cook, Erica P. Wood, Mariana Rodrigues et al.
Young sexual and gender minorities (YSGM) experience disproportionate stress and poor mental health compared to young cisgender heterosexual individuals which may, in part, be due to exposure to discrimination. An app-based mindfulness meditation program may be an easily accessible intervention through which to improve mental health and well-being among this population. We utilized the...
This invited commentary responds to Berryman et al. (2025), "The mindful scientist: How meditation could support ethical scientific practice," and offers an implementation-focused perspective on the role of meditation-based ethical development interventions (MBEDs) within contemporary academic systems. We begin by acknowledging the importance of the ethical challenges facing academia and the...
As the cultural, scientific, and legal landscape surrounding psychedelics continues to shift toward greater access and acceptability, it is likely that increasing numbers of women of reproductive age may be exposed to these substances. Despite this, the evidence on antenatal exposure has not been systematically reviewed. To synthesize the human literature on child and maternal outcomes...
Objectives: Digital technology opens the possibility of providing meditation instruction in the midst of daily activities. This study explores the use of "active" meditation practices which involve meditating while completing daily activities (e.g., folding laundry). Method: We use data from public users of the Healthy Minds Program (HMP) meditation app (N = 26,532, Sample 1) and from a...
Second-generation mindfulness-based interventions (SG-MBIs), which integrate ethical and moral practices, have emerged as promising treatments for depressive and anxiety symptoms. This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the effectiveness of SG-MBIs in reducing depression and anxiety among adults. We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) including adults from clinical...
Psychedelic use has been linked to major life changes that may impact health outcomes, yet few studies have systematically examined the prevalence, types, and demographic characteristics that may be associated with such changes. This paper draws subsamples of respondents who endorsed lifetime psychedelic use from two samples of US adults - one nationally representative by age, race/ethnicity,...
BACKGROUND: Naturalistic psychedelic use can result in a range of difficulties that impair social, occupational, and other important areas of functioning. Yet, the prevalence, phenomenology, and etiology of these outcomes remain poorly understood. Recent qualitative research has shown that individuals with long-term difficulties after psychedelic use sometimes attribute their challenges to...
Mindfulness meditation training may cultivate interoceptive awareness and provide therapeutic benefit when implemented within mental and physical health interventions. This pre-registered meta-analysis evaluated the impact of mindfulness interventions on self-reported interoception measures and associated relationships with psychological outcomes. Twenty-nine randomized controlled trials with...
MindfulnessOctober 2, 2025Shani Zohar Puris, Kim Yuval, Gebreyohans Gebremariam et al.
This study tested the feasibility of Mindfulness-SOS for Refugees, a novel lay- and minimally guided mobile health mindfulness- and compassion-based intervention, that is trauma-sensitive and socio-culturally adapted for diverse forcibly displaced people. A pre-registered, nonrandomized, single-arm, open-trial of Mindfulness-SOS as a selective preventive intervention was conducted during the...
Smartphone-based meditation training has jumped onto the world stage, shifting how millions of people learn and practice meditation. This review examines the rapid proliferation of meditation apps and synthesizes current scientific findings on their usage patterns, efficacy, mechanisms of action, and safety. Though research lags well behind public adoption, recent randomized controlled trials...
Current PsychologyJuly 22, 2025Hang Ruan, Jennifer L DelVentura, Andrea C Katz et al.
Mindfulness interventions are associated with improvements in multiple areas of health, including chronic pain functioning, but little is known about how these improvements are best achieved in clinical settings. The present study examined clinical outcomes in a structured mindfulness training protocol in a sample of 112 veterans with chronic pain. Mindfulness practice time and quality, as well...
Psychological ServicesJuly 10, 2025Rachel L. Dyer, Katherine M Zimmerman, Xinxuyang Zhao et al.2 citations
In recent decades, depression and anxiety have worsened among American adults. Meditation apps may provide an accessible route for reducing these symptoms. However, many users experience barriers to persisting in their use of these apps. Prior research has identified psychosocial and practical barriers and facilitators to the use of meditation apps, as well as barriers and facilitators related...
While growing evidence suggests that psychedelic-assisted therapy may have antidepressant effects in certain populations, little is known about the effects of psychedelic use on depressive symptoms in non-clinical, naturalistic settings. This observational cohort study included a large sample of US residents (18-50 years old) and longitudinally evaluated the relationships between naturalistic...
Research on psychedelics has recently shown promising results in the treatment of various psychiatric disorders, but relatively little remains known about the psychiatric risks associated with naturalistic use of psychedelics. The objective of the current study was to investigate associations between naturalistic psychedelic use and psychiatric risks. Using a sample representative of the US...
Mindfulness meditation training may cultivate interoceptive awareness and provide therapeutic benefit when implemented within mental and physical health interventions. This pre-registered meta-analysis evaluated the impact of mindfulness interventions on self-reported interoception measures and associated relationships with psychological outcomes. Twenty-nine randomized controlled trials with...
Objective measurement of mindfulness could help us understand the mechanisms of meditation interventions and how individuals vary in their disposition to be mindful. One proposed measure is the breath-counting task (BCT), which measures how accurately one can count cycles of their breath. Breath counting, which involves sustained attention, meta-awareness, and an internal locus of attention,...
There is burgeoning interest in the application of neuroscientific technology to facilitate meditation and lead to beneficial psychological outcomes. One popular approach is using consumer-grade neurofeedback devices to deliver feedback on brain targets during meditation (mindfulness-based neurofeedback). It is hypothesized that optimizing brain targets like alpha and theta band activity may...
BACKGROUND: Findings from contemporary clinical trials suggest that psychedelics are generally safe and may be effective in the treatment of various psychiatric disorders. However, less is known about the risks associated with psychedelic use outside of medically supervised contexts, particularly in populations that are typically excluded from participation in clinical trials. METHODS:...
Previous research has investigated associations between psychedelic experiences and meditation practice, but knowledge gaps remain. Using a longitudinal research design with a sample of US residents between 18 and 50 years old (N = 13,012), we investigated associations between psychedelic-related and meditation-related variables. The follow-up survey was completed by 7484 respondents, of whom...
Despite growing popularity, associations between dosage and outcomes in meditation app interventions have not been established. We examined this relationship using a range of operationalizations of dosage (e.g., minutes of use, days of use, number and type of activities completed) and strategies for modeling outcomes (e.g., ordinary least squares regression, multilevel modeling, latent class...
INTRODUCTION: Meditation practice and psychedelic use have attracted increasing attention in the public sphere and scientific research. Both methods induce non-ordinary states of consciousness that may have significant therapeutic benefits. Thus, there is growing scientific interest in potential synergies between psychedelic use and meditation practice with some research suggesting that...