A Systematic Review of the Effects of Long-Term and Advanced Meditation on Well-Being, Emotion Regulation, and Interpersonal Relationships
Terje Sparby, Vanessa Naughton, Batool Abbasi, Jerron Chan, Oliver Andersson Hugemark, Matthew D. Sacchet
June 17, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/s4vzr_v2 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review Qualitative |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Attunement Interpersonal communication Transformative learning Interpersonal relationship Rumination Inclusion mineral Mindfulness meditation Psychotherapist Developmental psychology Relation database Cognitive psychology Intrapersonal communication Qualitative research Duration music Clinical psychology |
| Key findings | Long-term and advanced meditators experience greater well-being, relational attunement, and emotional capacities than those with basic practice, with outcomes linked to skill-based proficiency rather than practice duration alone. |
Abstract
Despite rapidly growing interest in meditation, research has disproportionately emphasized short-term outcomes in novices and mindfulness-based practices, leaving advanced and long-term meditation largely unexplored. This review examines how sustained and skill-developed meditation practices positively shape well-being, interpersonal relationships, and emotion regulation. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search of PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Embase on April 5, 2026 identified 1,229 articles; 52 met inclusion criteria. Synthesizing qualitative and quantitative findings, evidence suggests that long-term and advanced meditators experience greater well-being outcomes, including deeper relational attunement and more refined emotional capacities, than those observed in more basic practice. These outcomes appear associated with skill-based proficiency rather than practice duration alone. Yet the field’s continued reliance on temporal criteria, combined with measurement tools poorly suited to more experienced practitioners, may obscure these deeper benefits. Realizing meditation’s full transformative potential requires a reorientation toward investigating meditative skills, stages, and attainments in relation to well-being.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being Diverse adult clinical populations | 2014 | Meta-analysis | n = 3,515 |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Stress Management in Healthy People: A Review and Meta-Analysis Healthy subjects | 2009 | Systematic review and meta-analysis | |
| The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Nonclinical groups of adult meditators | 2012 | Meta-analysis | n = 163 |
| Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse Adults with recurrent depression in full or partial remission | 2016 | Meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomized controlled trials | n = 1,258 |
| Mindfulness‐Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy – a systematic review of randomized controlled trials | 2011 | Systematic review |