Digital meditation at scale: a randomized citizen science trial comparing four meditation practices
Helané Wahbeh, Sitara Taddeo, Erik Brinsmead, Michael Kriegsman, Aravind Ravi, Chris Aimone, A Arnaud Delorme
BMC Psychology November 5, 2026 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-026-05869-5 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Preregistered randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1,211 |
| Population | Adults |
| Interventions | nondual meditation classical-music active control |
| Duration | 4-week intervention; outcomes assessed before and after the intervention |
| Measures | Self-report measures of well-being, mood, self-transcendence, nondual awareness, interoception, compassion, self-compassion isolation, and sleep quality; Stroop; N-back; electroencephalography (EEG); heart rate variability (HRV); heartbeat-evoked potentials (HEP) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Four weeks of app-delivered meditation was not superior to an active music control on psychological, cognitive, or physiological outcomes, and no preregistered technique-specific hypothesis was supported. Two non-predicted self-report contrasts survived correction (self-compassion isolation and sleep quality, both q = 0.050), and mantra meditation produced faster working-memory reaction time than body scan. Exploratory moderation suggested higher-neuroticism participants showed greater working-memory speed benefit than controls, a hypothesis-generating result. |
Abstract
This preregistered randomized controlled trial evaluated whether app-delivered meditation improved psychological, cognitive, and physiological outcomes relative to an active control, whether four meditation techniques differed in their effects, and whether individual differences moderated response. A total of 1,211 adults were randomized to four weeks of app-guided loving-kindness, mantra, body scan, or nondual meditation, or to a classical-music active control. Self-report (well-being, mood, self-transcendence, nondual awareness, interoception, compassion), cognitive (Stroop, N-back), and physiological (electroencephalography (EEG), heart rate variability (HRV), heartbeat-evoked potentials (HEP)) outcomes were assessed before and after the intervention and analyzed with linear mixed models and false-discovery-rate correction. No preregistered meditation-versus-control outcome survived FDR correction, and Bayes factors additionally favored the null for the temporal EEG measures. None of the four preregistered technique-specific hypotheses was supported. Two self-report outcomes showed arm differences surviving correction on non-predicted contrasts (self-compassion isolation and sleep quality, both q = 0.050), and mantra participants showed faster working-memory reaction time than body scan participants. The four techniques did not differ from one another. In exploratory moderation analyses, trait neuroticism moderated the meditation effect on working-memory reaction time, with higher-neuroticism participants showing greater benefit in cognitive speed than controls. Four weeks of app-based meditation was not superior to an active music control across psychological, cognitive, and physiological measures, and no preregistered technique-specific hypothesis was supported. The neuroticism finding is hypothesis-generating and warrants replication. Endpoint data were available for 43% of randomized participants and missingness was non-random, which limits inference. This study was preregistered on the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/xdjfq/overview) on October 24, 2024. International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number, ISRCTN10867561, retrospectively registered on August 12, 2026.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |