Effects of meditation

The psychological and physiological effects of meditation have been studied. In recent years, studies of meditation have increasingly involved the use of modern instruments, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography, which are able to observe brain physiology and neural activity in living subjects, either during the act of meditation itself or before and after meditation. Correlations can thus be established between meditative practices and brain structure or function.

Since the 1950s, hundreds of studies on meditation have been conducted, but many of the early studies were flawed and thus yielded unreliable results. Another major review article also cautioned about possible misinformation and misinterpretation of data related to the subject. Contemporary studies have attempted to address many of these flaws by employing randomized controlled trials, active control groups, and more rigorous methodological standards, with several meta-analyses of clinical studies also examining the potential mental and physical health effects of meditation across different populations.

An extensive review of 44 meta-analyses, encompassing 336 randomized controlled trials and over 30,000 participants, systematically evaluated the empirical status of mindfulness-based interventions. The authors concluded that these interventions demonstrate substantial transdiagnostic potential, while also identifying ways in which the evidence base could be further strengthened. Further, recent (2026) meta-analyses indicate that second-generation mindfulness-based interventions that incorporate compassion-based practices may be especially benificial for clinical populations.

Some researchers have questioned the validity of self-reported mindfulness, suggesting that increases observed during interventions may be an artefact rather than an intervention effect, as similar increases have also been found in control groups.