The effects of body scan meditation: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Ruochen Gan, Liuyi Zhang, Shulin Chen
Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being August 1, 2022 DOI: 10.1111/aphw.12366 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review and meta-analysis Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | body scan meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Body scan Meta-analysis Systematic review |
| Key findings | Body scan meditation alone has only a small effect on mindfulness and is not effective enough to improve health-related outcomes. |
Abstract
Standardized mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has been proved to be effective across many populations while the time commitment for the standardized intervention leads to high attrition rate. To address the problem, there has been a growing interest in conducting a single component of MBSR such as body scan. However, the impact of a sole mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of body scan meditation. A search of databases, including PubMed, Embase, EBSCO, Cochrance, Proquest Dissertations, and Theses, was conducted for randomized controlled trials with no population restriction. Fourteen independent articles were identified and outcomes were divided into seven categories. A meta-analysis with robust variance estimation was conducted separately for different outcome categories. Body scan only had small effect on mindfulness when compared with passive control (Hedge's g = .268, 95% CI = [0.032, 0.504], p < .05). The attrition rate of long-term interventions was low. The quality of these studies was low. There was high heterogeneity across studies. A sole body scan meditation is not effective enough to improve health-related 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
Cited by 21
- Mindfulness Strategies for Metacognitive Skills Training in Special Education: The Role of Virtual Reality Technium Social Sciences Journal September 9, 2022
- Virtual Reality Mindfulness for Meta-Competence Training among People with Different Mental Disorders: A Systematic Review Psychiatry International October 18, 2023
- Neurophysiological mechanisms of focused attention meditation: A scoping systematic review Imaging Neuroscience 2025
- Meditation in the third-person perspective modulates minimal self and heartbeat-evoked potentials. Neuroimage July 1, 2025
- Dhyana yoga, the path of meditative being: Psychotherapeutic insights from the east. Asian Journal of Psychiatry June 1, 2025
and 16 more in the library
Cites 13
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- 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
- Sitting-meditation interventions among youth: a review of treatment efficacy. Pediatrics August 24, 2009
- Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Reduces Anxiety, Depression, and Suicidal Ideation in Veterans Medical Care November 13, 2014
- The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on the Psychological Functioning of Healthcare Professionals: a Systematic Review Mindfulness September 24, 2020
and 8 more in the library