Just be: Skilful doing nothing is calming, pleasant, and easy — not aversive
Toby J. Woods, Andrew W. Corcoran, Olivia Carter, Shian-Ling Keng, Jennifer Windt
September 30, 2025 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/8fp6e_v1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 165 |
| Population | Meditation-naive adults |
| Interventions | Stillness Meditation Focused Attention Audiobook |
| Duration | 15-minute session |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Nothing Context archaeology Hypnosis Cognitive psychology |
| Key findings | Stillness Meditation is calming, pleasant, and easy for naive participants, not aversive. |
Abstract
The most well known study on doing nothing concluded that being alone for 15 mins with nothing to do but think is aversive. Here we examine skilful doing nothing in the form of Stillness Meditation. Meditation-naive adult participants (N = 165) were randomly allocated to 15 mins of Stillness Meditation or one of two active controls (Focused Attention and Audiobook). Stillness Meditation participants were found to have acquired the basic skill of doing nothing in the 15 min session. They typically reported the session was calm, pleasant, and easy, and their mean interbeat interval and heart-rate variability significantly increased relative to pre-session baseline. Scores for our primary measure of self-reported calm were significantly higher in the Focused Attention condition than for Stillness Meditation and Audiobook, but there were no significant differences for easiness, pleasantness, or the cardiac measures. The findings validate our Stillness Meditation protocol and provide evidence that skilful doing nothing is calming, pleasant, and easy — not aversive. The protocol constitutes a novel experimental tool that can be used in future studies to enable highly controlled investigations of pure consciousness, the state aimed for in the practice.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |