Benefits of Meditation: What the Research Shows, and What It Doesn't

What "meditation" means here

Most of the research looks at mindfulness programs that run for about eight weeks. The best known are Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), which was designed to prevent depression from coming back. Both combine a weekly group session with daily practice at home.

In other words, the effects described below come from people who practiced for a substantial amount of time every day over several weeks. A few minutes a day won't necessarily produce the same results. Keep that in mind as you read.

Anxiety and low mood

This is where the evidence is strongest. A 2014 meta-analysis in JAMA Internal Medicine pooled 47 controlled trials with 3,515 participants and found moderate-strength evidence that mindfulness meditation programs improve anxiety, depression, and pain. The improvements were small to moderate, and the authors noted they were similar to what you would expect from antidepressants in a primary care population.

In 2023, JAMA Psychiatry published a clinical trial of 276 adults diagnosed with anxiety disorders that compared an eight-week MBSR course with escitalopram, an antidepressant used to treat anxiety. MBSR was found to be noninferior to the medication. Keep in mind that this was a structured treatment program led by trained instructors. It does not mean you can stop your medication and meditate on your own instead.

Preventing depression from returning

Depression often comes back after recovery. A 2016 analysis that combined individual patient data from nine MBCT trials (1,258 participants) found that people who received MBCT had roughly a 30 percent lower risk of relapse within 60 weeks than those who did not. On the strength of this evidence, MBCT is included in clinical guidelines in the United Kingdom and elsewhere as an option for preventing relapse.

Stress

It may come as a surprise, but the evidence that meditation reduces stress is weaker than the evidence for anxiety or depression. The same 2014 meta-analysis rated the evidence for improvements in stress and psychological distress as low. That doesn't mean it has no effect; it means there aren't yet enough high-quality studies to say so with confidence.

Sleep

A 2019 meta-analysis of 18 controlled trials (1,654 participants) found that mindfulness meditation produced a modest improvement in sleep quality. It did not, however, outperform proven treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. If you've been sleeping poorly for a long time, talking to a doctor should come first.

Focus and attention

Some studies report that even brief training can change how attention works. In a 2010 experiment, participants who meditated for 20 minutes a day on four days scored higher on tests of attention and working memory. But this was a single small study, and it didn't show how much better people could concentrate in daily life. The fairest summary is that the effects on focus are promising but still being studied.

Blood pressure and heart health

In a 2017 scientific statement, the American Heart Association said meditation may lower cardiovascular risk, while noting that the quality of the research is still limited. It concluded that meditation may be considered as an addition to lifestyle changes and standard treatment. It is not a replacement for blood pressure medication.

What slow breathing does

Slow breathing, under about ten breaths a minute, is often paired with meditation and has been studied on its own. A 2018 systematic review found that slow breathing was linked to greater heart rate variability, a sense of calm, and lower anxiety. The number of studies was small and the size of the effect is unclear, but the results do support the common experience that lengthening the out-breath is a good way into a calmer state.

"Meditation changes your brain" isn't settled

A small study once made headlines for reporting increased gray matter after eight weeks of meditation. But a 2022 study in Science Advances examined brain structure before and after MBSR in two controlled trials with 218 participants in total and found no clear changes. For now, claims that meditation reshapes the brain's structure are best treated as unconfirmed.

What to know before you start

Meditation is often assumed to be completely safe, but it isn't entirely free of side effects. A 2020 systematic review of 83 studies found that about 8 percent of people who meditated reported unwanted experiences, most commonly increased anxiety or low mood. Most were temporary, but if you have a history of trauma or are being treated for a mental health condition, talk with your doctor before you begin.

If you feel intense anxiety or something like panic during a session, it's fine to open your eyes and stop right there. Forcing yourself to keep sitting isn't part of the practice.

How to approach it

What the research supports is that meditation offers a modest but real benefit for anxiety and low mood. Its effects on sleep, focus, and blood pressure are promising, but not yet established. Rather than treating it as a cure-all, think of it as one habit for looking after your mind, and give it a few weeks.

To get started, see how to meditate. It walks you through a practice you can begin with just three minutes.