Dose-response Relationship of Reported Lifetime Meditation Practice with Mental Health and Wellbeing: a Cross-sectional Study.
Nicholas Bowles, Jonathan N. Davies, Nicholas T. van Dam
Mindfulness 2022 DOI: 10.1007/s12671-022-01977-6 (opens in new tab)
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Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1,668 |
| Population | Meditators recruited from meditation practice communities and social media |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Dose Response |
| Citations | 54 |
| Key findings | Historical meditation practice (accumulated lifetime hours) was significantly associated with favorable psychological outcomes, with non-linear effects showing strongest associations for approximately the first 500 hours before plateauing. |
Abstract
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 meditators practice, examine any possible dose-response relationships between historical practice and measures of psychological wellbeing, and explore which characteristics of practice most strongly predict favorable psychological outcomes. One thousand six hundred and sixty-eight meditators (M = 1095 h practice, SD = 2365) responded to advertisements in meditation practice communities and social media. We explored associations between demographics, meditation practice characteristics, and outcomes including positive and negative affect, psychological distress, and life satisfaction in a cross-sectional study design. Historical meditation practice (accumulated lifetime hours) was significantly associated with favorable psychological outcomes (|r| ranging from .18 to .28). Model fit was optimized with a generalized additive model (average increase in R 2 = 2.22), indicating non-linear effects. The strength of association between practice time and outcomes was generally strongest for approximately the first 500 h, before plateauing. Several practice types including Vipassana (as taught by S.N. Goenka) and cultivating practices (e.g. compassion, lovingkindness) were more strongly predictive of favorable psychological outcomes. Benefits of meditation accrue over time in a non-linear manner, and show variation based on practice context. These results highlight the importance of understanding how the benefits of meditation accrue over longer time durations than typical standardized programs. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12671-022-01977-6.
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
Cited by 39
- A Framework for the Empirical Investigation of Mindfulness Meditative Development Mindfulness April 13, 2023
- Mindfulness meditation and psychedelics: potential synergies and commonalities Pharmacological Reports November 6, 2023
- A randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for major depressive disorder in undergraduate students: Dose- response effect, inflammatory markers and BDNF. Psychiatry Research 2024
- Decoding Depth of Meditation: Electroencephalography Insights From Expert Vipassana Practitioners Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science October 17, 2024
- Incidence and Predictors of Meditation-Related Unusual Experiences and Adverse Effects in a Representative Sample of Meditators in the United States Clinical Psychological Science January 6, 2025
and 34 more in the library
Cites 32
- Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2003
- Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 2000
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
- Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 8, 2004
- What defines mindfulness-based programs? The warp and the weft Psychological Medicine December 29, 2016
and 27 more in the library