Meditation and Mental Health (Depression, Anxiety, and Stress) in Saudi Arabia
N. Alhusseini, Sami A. Almustanyir, Dalia Hamdan, Raghad Ijazi, Reema Aldhalaan, Areej Abdul Ghani Alfattan, A. Omair
Journal of Complementary Medicine Research 2021 DOI: 10.5455/jcmr.2021.12.02.21 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 902 |
| Population | General population in Saudi Arabia |
| Topics | Anxiety Depression Meditation |
| Key findings | Among 902 Saudi respondents, 75% reported practicing some form of meditation, most commonly exercise (43%). Severe or extremely severe depression was more common among non-meditators (38%) than meditators (29%), and severe or extremely severe stress was also more common among non-meditators (38% vs 28%), while anxiety did not differ significantly between groups. The authors report an association between meditation and mental health status. |
Abstract
Introduction: Meditation encompasses any practice that connects an individual to their inner self. All these practices essentially serve to relax and divert both the mind and the body away from worries and concerns. The popularity of meditation has grown tremendously in the last century. Due to its correlation with mental health, research efforts spiked to uncover an association.
Purpose: The main objective is to measure the frequency of meditation among the Saudi population and to understand its impact on mental health (depression, anxiety, and stress).
Methods: We used a cross-sectional design among the population in Saudi Arabia. A validated online questionnaire was distributed via social media channels using convenience sampling. Chi-square tests was used to determine associations between meditation, demographics, depression, anxiety, and stress.
Results: A total of 902 respondents answered the survey. The majority, (75%) reported practicing some form of meditation and the most common meditation practice was exercise, which was reported by 390 (43%). The proportion of those with severe/extremely severe depression was higher in the group that did not meditate (38%) as compared to 29% in the group that meditated (p=0.03). A similar difference was seen for the stress levels, with 38% of the non-meditating group having severe/extremely level of stress as compared to 28% in the meditating group (p=0.03). There was no significant difference in the anxiety level between the two groups (p=0.38).
Conclusion: Meditation practice frequency is relatively high in Saudi Arabia. Our study uncovered an association between meditation and mental health status. Due to the limited meditation studies among the Saudi population, further research is essential to better understand the relationship between mental health and meditation.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on anxiety, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychological flexibility mediates the relations between acute psychedelic effects and subjective decreases in depression and anxiety. International sample of people who reported having used a psychedelic | 2020 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 985 |
| The Challenging Experience Questionnaire: Characterization of challenging experiences with psilocybin mushrooms Internet survey respondents reporting challenging experiences with psilocybin | 2016 | Questionnaire development and validation | |
| Psychedelics and Mental Health: A Population Study Adult population in the United States | 2013 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 130,152 |
| Ecstasy/MDMA attributed problems reported by novice, moderate and heavy recreational users Ecstasy users who participated in a WWW study of recreational drug use | 2002 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 282 |
| 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) used in a naturalistic group setting is associated with unintended improvements in depression and anxiety. Adults who used 5-MeO-DMT in a group setting with structured procedures | 2019 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 362 |