Meditation Research: A Narrative Review
September 16, 2026 DOI: 10.61440/jcpn.2026.v4.91 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review |
|---|---|
| Interventions | Meditation Mindfulness meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | The review reports that meditation is associated with reduced stress and depression and with physiological changes including increased heart rate variability and decreased respiration rate, blood pressure, inflammation, pain, concussion symptoms, and sleep disturbances. Neural correlates include increased default and salience network integration, opioid activity, theta waves, connectivity, and brain volume, with decreased alpha waves and brain age. A few negative effects are also reported, including increased risk-taking, anxiety, and depression. |
Abstract
Current publications on meditation and mindfulness meditation are reviewed in this paper. The prevalence of meditation has been estimated at 18%. Psychological problems have been reduced by meditation including stress and depression. The physiological effects that have been reported for meditation include increased heart rate variability and decreased respiration rate, blood pressure, inflammation, pain, concussion symptoms, and sleep disturbances. Several neural functions have also been associated with meditation including increased functional integration in the default and salience networks, increased opioid activity, increased theta brain waves, decreased alpha brain waves, increased connectivity between brain regions, increased brain volume and decreased brain age. Surprisingly, a few negative meditation effects have also been reported including increased risk-taking, anxiety and depression. Methodological limitations include the separate study of variables that are related such as respiration and heart rate variability and brain connectivity and volume.