Contemplative Practices Behavior Is Positively Associated with Well-Being in Three Global Multi-Regional Stanford WELL for Life Cohorts.

People who engage in multiple contemplative practices—embodied somatic-observing, non-reactive mindfulness, self-compassion, and compassion for others—report higher well-being across several dimensions, including overall well-being and its constituent domains. This association is comparable to or stronger than the link between physical activity and well-being. The findings come from three large, culturally diverse cohorts in the San Francisco Bay Area, Hangzhou City, and New Taipei City, totaling nearly 20,000 participants. The results suggest that considering a range of contemplative practices, rather than just one, may better capture their relationship with well-being and that such practices could be valuable as part of fundamental lifestyle recommendations.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Positive associations between well-being and a single contemplative practice (e.g., mindfulness meditation) are well documented, yet prior work may have underestimated the strength of the association by omitting consideration of multiple and/or alternative contemplative practices. Moreover, little is known about how contemplative practice behavior (CPB) impacts different dimensions of well-being. This study investigates the relationship of CPB, consisting of four discrete practices (embodied somatic-observing, non-reactive mindfulness, self-compassion, and compassion for others), with multiple dimensions of well-being. As with other canonical lifestyle behaviors, multiple contemplative practices can be integrated into one's daily routine. Thus, it is critical to holistically consider these behaviors, extending them beyond a simple uni-dimensional measure (e.g., daily mindfulness meditation practice). We developed an integrative measure of four types of contemplative practice and found it to be significantly associated with a multi-dimensional measure of well-being. Importantly, our findings were from three large global multi-regional cohorts and compared against better-understood lifestyle behaviors (physical activity). Data were drawn from California/San Francisco Bay Area, (n = 6442), Hangzhou City (n = 10,268), and New Taipei City (n = 3033). In all three cohorts, we found statistically significant (p < 0.05) positive associations between CPB and well-being, both overall and with all of the constituent domains of well-being, comparable to or stronger than the relationship with physical activity across most well-being outcomes. These findings provide robust and cross-cultural evidence for a positive association between CPB and well-being, illuminate dimensions of well-being that could be most influenced by CPB, and suggest CPB may be useful to include as part of fundamental lifestyle recommendations for health and well-being.