This paper examines the relationship between mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) and creativity in workplace settings. Because only three — and highly heterogeneous — studies met the criteria for a systematic review, the authors conducted a critical narrative synthesis instead. A comprehensive search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science (up to February 2025) following PRISMA...
BACKGROUND: Meditation use has grown significantly in recent decades. However, population prevalence data is largely absent in Australasia. METHODS: We surveyed adults in Australia (n = 2,072) and New Zealand (n = 571) in 2023, using census-informed quotas for age, gender, ancestry/ethnicity, region and income. We calculated lifetime and past year meditation use estimates and conducted...
Introduction: Psychological resilience is crucial for adolescent athletes facing competitive pressures, yet effective interventions remain understudied. This study examined the associations between mindfulness training and psychological resilience development in adolescent athletes. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 60 adolescent athletes (aged 14-18 years) from a...
BMJ OpenDecember 3, 2025Lovisa Af Ekenstam, Per Nyman, Olov Änghagen et al.
Introduction: Psychosocial stress is a major public health concern, contributing to significant suffering and costs to society. There is a lack of effective interventions that could be offered at an early stage to people who need to reduce their stress in life. Recent advances in psychology have provided evidence-based exercises suitable for testing in an entirely digital intervention. This...
Sleep disturbances and mental health issues represent escalating global health challenges, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and increased digital media consumption. Digital mindfulness-based interventions (DMBIs) have emerged as a scalable and accessible alternative, but no prior meta-analysis has rigorously isolated the effects of standalone DMBIs on sleep and mental health. We conducted a...
The self-reference effect (SRE) describes enhanced memory and perception for self-related information. Using a perceptual matching paradigm across three experiments, this study examined the SRE and two associated phenomena in a Chinese sample: self-retention (difficulty updating self-associations) and self-obstruction (interference from self-cues). Study 1 established the basic SRE, revealing...
In Buddhism, Meditation and Free Will: A Theory of Mental Freedom, Rick Repetti explains how the dynamics of Buddhist meditation can result in a kind of metacognition and metavolitional control that exceeds what is required for free will and defeats the most powerful forms of free will skepticism. This article argues that although the Buddhist path requires and enhances the kind of mental and...
I first attempt a taxonomy of meditation in traditional Indian Buddhism. Based on the main psychological or somatic function at which the meditative effort is directed, the following classes can be distinguished: (1) emotion‐centered meditation (coinciding with the traditional samatha approach); (2) consciousness‐centered meditation (with two subclasses: consciousness reduction/elimination and...
As science and religion researchers begin to engage questions of mental health, mindfulness may prove to be a fruitful area of investigation. However, quantifying the physical effects of mindfulness on the brain is difficult because mindfulness deals with the problem of mental and physical interaction or, the mind/body problem. One system of understanding which may aid science and religion...
Mindfulness can be understood as the mental ability to focus on the direct and immediate perception or monitoring of the present moment with a state of open and nonjudgmental awareness. Descriptions of mindfulness and methods for cultivating it originated in eastern spiritual traditions. These suggest that mindfulness can be developed through meditation practice to increase positive qualities...