June 25, 2026
Nicholas Bowles, Nicholas T. van Dam, Jonathan N. Davies et al.
preprint
Background/Objectives: Psychological benefits have been demonstrated across a variety of different meditation offerings. There remains, however, limited evidence clarifying how different ‘doses’ of meditation relate to benefits, highlighting fundamental limitations for clinical best practice. The present study aimed to examine dose–response effects across a range of daily mindfulness meditation...
JMIR mHealth and uHealth
June 8, 2026
Julia Adams, Jonathan N. Davies, Prai Wattanatakulchat et al.
Meditation apps are increasingly popular but face significant engagement challenges. Most research does not meaningfully capture real-world engagement or associated user characteristics. Engagement patterns and reasons for engaging or disengaging remain relatively unexplored. This study aimed to examine Medito app user engagement over the first 30 days after download and how intended use,...
Scientific Reports
May 19, 2026
Karin Matko, Cate Bailey, Julieta Galante et al.
Abstract Contemplative practices (including meditation and yoga) are increasingly popular worldwide, especially as alternatives and/or complements to mental health treatment. However, nationally representative samples that allow for accurate estimates of prevalence and relation to mental health are scarce. We conducted a nationally representative, cross-sectional survey in Australia and New...
Mindfulness
February 25, 2026
Cate Bailey, Nicholas T. van Dam, Jonathan N. Davies et al.
Abstract Objectives The prevalence of mental health disorders globally is increasing, and contemplative practices (such as meditation/mindfulness) are recommended by many health professionals to address this issue. These practices now need to be carefully evaluated for safety, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness. We aimed to investigate key data to inform future economic evaluations in this...
Journal of Medical Internet Research
February 2, 2026
Julia Adams, Jonathan N. Davies, Prai Wattanatakulchat et al.
Meditation apps are increasingly popular, yet there is limited understanding of how much users actually engage with them. While meditation apps show promise for supporting mental health, engagement in real-world settings appears to be notably low. The patterns of app use and the factors that influence usage remain relatively unclear. This study aims to examine the extent of meditation app use...
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies
December 4, 2025
Jonathan N. Davies, Cate Bailey, Julieta Galante et al.
1 citation
BACKGROUND: Meditation use has grown significantly in recent decades. However, population prevalence data is largely absent in Australasia. METHODS: We surveyed adults in Australia (n = 2,072) and New Zealand (n = 571) in 2023, using census-informed quotas for age, gender, ancestry/ethnicity, region and income. We calculated lifetime and past year meditation use estimates and conducted...
October 20, 2025
Karin Matko, Cate Bailey, Julieta Galante et al.
preprint
Introduction: Contemplative practices (including meditation and yoga) are increasingly popular worldwide, especially as alternatives and/or complements to mental health treatment. However, nationally representative samples that allow for accurate estimates of prevalence and relation to mental health are scarce. Methods: We conducted a nationally representative, cross-sectional survey in...
JMIR Research Protocols
July 29, 2025
Nicholas Bowles, Alexander Burger, Jonathan N. Davies et al.
Mindfulness meditation has demonstrated modest benefits for mental health and well-being, although the relationship between practice dose and outcomes is unclear. Meta-analyses and randomized controlled trials have shown mixed results so far, although such results may stem from methodological issues rather than reflecting the absence of an underlying effect. Research outside structured programs...
February 17, 2025
Nicholas Bowles, A. Bürger, Jonathan N. Davies et al.
BACKGROUND Mindfulness meditation has demonstrated modest benefits for mental health and well-being, although the relationship between practice dose and outcomes is unclear. Meta-analyses and randomized controlled trials have shown mixed results so far, although such results may stem from methodological issues rather than reflecting the absence of an underlying effect. Research outside...
Clinical Psychological Science
January 6, 2025
Nicholas T. van Dam, Jessica Targett, Jonathan N. Davies et al.
14 citations
Estimates suggest that meditation use is comparable to mental-health-service access in the United States. Understanding meditation-related adverse effects (AEs) is therefore critical. We aimed to (a) estimate the incidence of meditation-related unusual experiences and AEs using different methods and (b) identify sociodemographic and health-related characteristics predicting their incidence. We...
Journal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy
September 1, 2024
Melissa A Day, Natasha Matthews, Jonathan N. Davies et al.
This study investigated the analgesic effects of a single session of mindfulness meditation (MM) and loving-kindness meditation (LKM) relative to a control. A total of 100 adults with chronic or current problematic pain completed a survey and were randomized to a 20-minute MM, LKM, or audiobook control. Co-primary outcomes of pain intensity and unpleasantness and mediators of mindfulness and...
Scientific Reports
July 1, 2024
Jonathan N. Davies, Anna Faschinger, Julieta Galante et al.
45 citations
Meditation, yoga, guided imagery, and progressive relaxation are promoted as complementary approaches for health and wellbeing in the United States, but their uptake by different sociodemographic groups is unclear. This study assessed the prevalence and 20 year trends in the use of these practices in US adults between 2002-2022. We examined practice use and associations with sociodemographic...
Mindfulness
June 1, 2024
Nicholas T. Dam, Jessica Targett, Alex Burger et al.
9 citations
Objectives Meditation is increasingly popular, and yet studies of meditation-related adverse effects, or experiences of unusual psychological states, have mostly focused on those of extremely unpleasant or pleasant nature, respectively, despite the wide range of possible experiences. We aimed to create an instrument to capture meditation-related experiences of varied intensity and subjective...
Pain
October 1, 2023
Jonathan N. Davies, Ben Colagiuri, Louise Sharpe et al.
15 citations
Mindfulness apps are becoming popular treatments for chronic pain and mental health, despite mixed evidence supporting their efficacy. Furthermore, it is unclear whether improvements in pain are due to mindfulness-specific effects or placebo effects because no trials have compared mindfulness against a sham control. The objective of this study was to compare mindfulness against 2 sham...
June 23, 2023
Nicholas Bowles, Jonathan N. Davies, Sarah Strohmaier et al.
10 citations
preprint
Mindfulness meditation is now practiced broadly in both religious and secular contexts, with numerous studies indicating potential benefits across a range of psychosocial domains. However, despite significant research effort, we still know little about dose-response effects – how frequently or for how longindividuals might need to practice mindfulness meditation to achieve certain practice...
Mindfulness
2022
Nicholas Bowles, Jonathan N. Davies, Nicholas T. van Dam
54 citations
Meta-analyses of meditation studies have revealed mixed modest evidence of benefits across a range of outcomes. However, because this evidence-base is predominantly from brief interventions, it is unclear whether it accurately reflects how contemporary meditators practice or the dose-response relationship between amount of practice and outcome. This study sought to characterize how contemporary...