The interplay of psychedelic use and meditation in shaping psychological well-being
Andreas Krabbe, Pilleriin Sikka, Jussi Jylkkä
Consciousness and Cognition December 15, 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2025.103977 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 816 |
| Population | Online survey respondents (Study 1: 679; Study 2: 137) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Parapsychology Mental health Consciousness Cognition Mindfulness meditation Psychotherapist Clinical psychology |
| Key findings | Meditation practice remained consistently associated with well-being and psychological flexibility, while associations for psychedelic use were reduced or became nonsignificant when both practices were considered jointly. |
Abstract
Psychedelic substances and meditation can elicit personally meaningful experiences that support well-being, yet their relative and combined contributions remain unclear. Meditation typically produces gradual improvements through sustained practice, whereas psychedelics may induce acute shifts. To examine these dynamics, we re-analysed data from two cross-sectional online surveys using multiple regression models. In Study 1 (N = 679), we assessed associations of cumulative psychedelic use and meditation practice with well-being, ill-being, and psychological flexibility. When examined separately, both practices were associated with greater well-being and flexibility. However, when considered jointly, the associations for psychedelics were reduced or became nonsignificant, whereas meditation remained consistently associated with the outcomes. Weak evidence also emerged for a potential synergy effect via an interaction between the two practices. In Study 2 (N = 137), we examined perceived well-being changes following a personally meaningful experience facilitated by psychedelics alone, meditation alone, or both combined. Participants in the combined and meditation groups reported significantly greater improvements compared with the psychedelic-only group, although all groups showed positive change on average. Together, these findings suggest that meditation may enhance the benefits of psychedelic experiences and that meditation practice can confound associations between psychedelic use and well-being. More broadly, they highlight the importance of considering both practices together when evaluating their contributions to mental health outcomes.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |
Citations in the library
Cites 47
- Validation of the revised Mystical Experience Questionnaire in experimental sessions with psilocybin Journal of Psychopharmacology October 6, 2015
- Home practice in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: A systematic review and meta-analysis of participants' mindfulness practice and its association with outcomes Behaviour Research and Therapy May 10, 2017
- Psilocybin-occasioned mystical-type experience in combination with meditation and other spiritual practices produces enduring positive changes in psychological functioning and in trait measures of prosocial attitudes and behaviors Journal of Psychopharmacology October 11, 2017
- Predicting Responses to Psychedelics: A Prospective Study Frontiers in Pharmacology November 2, 2018
- Emotions and brain function are altered up to one month after a single high dose of psilocybin. Scientific Reports February 10, 2020
and 42 more in the library