Meditation and workplace health: a systematic review and meta-analysis of mental and cardiometabolic outcomes among employees
Mahesh Kumar Khanal, Peter Saunders, Kathy Nguyen, Moza Al Hatmi, Hind Mohammed A. Asiri, Wejdan Shahin, Rebecca Millar, Leila Karimi, Barbora de Courten
Health Psychology Review April 16, 2026 DOI: 10.1080/17437199.2026.2652892 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 23,080 |
| Population | Employees, primarily healthcare professionals and educators |
| Intervention | Transcendental Meditation |
| Duration | Within three-month follow-ups; long-term follow-up for some outcomes |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation |
| Keywords | Transcendental meditation Psychological intervention Mental health Distress Intervention counseling Clinical psychology Psychological resilience Burnout Randomized controlled trial Depression economics Mindfulness meditation |
| Key findings | Meditation significantly improved mental health outcomes (stress, distress, anxiety, depression, well-being, resilience, sleep) but not cardiometabolic risk markers. |
Abstract
Employees are severely affected by psychological distress, poor cardiometabolic health, and reduced productivity. Meditation has emerged as a potential strategy to enhance overall health. This systematic review synthesised the effectiveness of meditation for improving employees’ mental health and cardiometabolic risk (CMR) markers across 132 randomised controlled trials (145 intervention groups and 23,080 participants). Most interventions were Mindfulness and Transcendental Meditation, conducted in the USA, and targeting healthcare professionals and educators. Results showed that meditation significantly improved perceived stress (g = −0.51), distress (g = −0.49), job stress (g = −0.53), anxiety (g = −0.38), depression (g = −0.39), well-being (g = 0.41), resilience (g = 0.38), and sleep (g = −0.33), with most effects sustained within three-month follow-ups. Effects on perceived stress, distress, and well-being were sustained at long-term follow-up. Interventions did not show statistically significant differences in blood pressure, cortisol level, heart rate variability, or inflammatory markers. The findings require cautious interpretation due to moderate-to-substantial heterogeneity, high risk of bias, and limited CMR marker studies. The evidence certainty was moderate for well-being and sleep, and low to very low for the remaining outcomes.
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 |
Citations in the library
Cites 42
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
- The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin May 14, 2012
- How long does a mindfulness‐based stress reduction program need to be? A review of class contact hours and effect sizes for psychological distress Journal of Clinical Psychology March 23, 2009
and 37 more in the library