Mindfulness
April 1, 2026
Vasil Kolev, Peter Malinowski, Antonino Raffone et al.
Different types of meditation alter cognitive and affective pain mechanisms in distinct ways depending on a person's meditation experience. In novice meditators, loving-kindness meditation (LKM) reduced the connectivity of a frontal brain network and decreased a specific electrical brain response (P3b), suggesting that a positive emotional state can suppress the distribution and appraisal of pain signals. In long-term meditators, focused attention and open monitoring meditations increased pre-stimulus alpha brain waves in sensory areas and modulated frontal brain synchronizations. Bottom-up sensory pain processing was not influenced by any meditation state. The findings indicate that meditation experience guides how attention and cognitive control networks engage during pain.
Mindfulness
March 27, 2026
Paulina Lamas-Morales, Carlos García-rubio, María Beltrán-ruiz et al.
A systematic review of 18 studies (2457 participants) found that deconstructive meditative practices, such as Vipassana and insight meditation, may improve depression, anxiety, stress, and psychological well-being in adults. Mindfulness, non-attachment, and insight were identified as possible mechanisms of change. Results varied by study design and intervention duration, and the limited number of randomized controlled trials and methodological heterogeneity restrict generalizability. The evidence suggests these practices can be effective, but higher-quality studies are needed to confirm clinical applications.
Mindfulness
March 26, 2026
Céline Stinus, Sophie Berjot
A randomized controlled trial compared two meditation styles—focused-attention and self-inquiry—against a wait-list control group among 147 participants. Both meditation types reduced depressive symptoms and identity threat more than no meditation, with similar effectiveness. Focused-attention meditation also reduced dysfunctional attitudes more than self-inquiry or the control. Cognitive decentering (the ability to observe thoughts without identification) mediated the benefits of focused-attention meditation, while self-inquiry meditation showed exploratory links to increased feelings of connectedness to humanity and nature. The findings suggest that different meditation practices improve well-being through partially distinct psychological mechanisms, though the connectedness results require cautious interpretation.
Mindfulness
March 25, 2026
Tanaphong Uthayaratana, William H. O’Brien, Teerawan Teerapong et al.
A meta-analysis of Buddhist-derived interventions found that they improve well-being across multiple outcomes. Compared to control groups, the interventions showed a small but significant effect (d = 0.11). Pre-post comparisons within intervention groups revealed a large effect (d = 0.85). Interventions combining multiple Buddhist components yielded the largest effect versus controls (d = 0.15), while those emphasizing panna (insight into impermanence, change, connectedness, and suffering) showed the largest pre-post gains (d = 1.15). The analysis included studies published up to July 2, 2025, and used random effects models with moderator analyses.
Mindfulness
February 25, 2026
Cate Bailey, Nicholas T. van Dam, Jonathan N Davies et al.
A nationally representative Australian survey compared quality of life, health service use, and costs among meditators, other contemplative practitioners, and non-practitioners. Unadjusted quality-of-life scores were higher for non-practitioners, and this difference persisted after accounting for demographics but disappeared when mental health service use was included. Unmet mental-health service need was highest among meditators (13.9%) versus non-practitioners (2.4%). The average annual cost of contemplative practice was $1,281 per person. The findings provide preliminary data for future economic evaluations of contemplative practices.
Mindfulness
February 24, 2026
Larissa Bartlett, Rohan Puri, Amanda L. Neil et al.
A new 9-item scale, the Observed Mindful Behaviours (OMB), measures how attentive, aware, and accepting a person appears to someone who knows them. Based on data from 190 pairs of raters and targets, the scale shows good reliability and validity. Observed mindful behavior aligns moderately with self-reported trait mindfulness and interpersonal mindfulness, and correlates positively with empathy and psychological capital, and negatively with psychological inflexibility, distress, and anger reactivity. It does not relate to prosocial intentions. The OMB can complement self-report measures in mindfulness research.
Mindfulness
November 24, 2025
Liudmila Gamaiunova, Nicolas Pellerin
Two brief meditations—focused and deconstructive—administered before a social stress task increased heart rate variability prior to the stressor, indicating reduced physiological activation, compared to an active control condition. However, this effect did not persist during the stress task itself. Anticipatory cognitive threat appraisal decreased across all conditions, showing no specific meditation benefit. The findings suggest that even a single, short meditation session can lower physiological arousal before a stressful event, and that deconstructive meditations may offer stress-reducing potential similar to better-studied attentional meditations.
Mindfulness
November 1, 2025
Alex K. Gearin, Chantelle W. M. Suen, Frances K. Y. Ng
A survey of 164 meditators in Hong Kong found that 21% reported negative effects from meditation, yet 63% believed the practice is entirely risk-free, revealing a gap between experience and perception. Two motivational profiles emerged: "Utilizers" meditate mainly for stress and anxiety relief, practice fewer hours, expect immediate benefits, and view thoughts and feelings as private; "Cultivators" prioritize self-awareness and spiritual growth, practice longer, have lower expectations of immediate improvement, and more often perceive nature as healing. Qualitative responses described learning difficulties, technique confusion, and physical, psychological, and spiritual distress, though some participants reframed these as growth opportunities. The findings suggest tailoring meditation programs to different motivational profiles may enhance safety and effectiveness.
Mindfulness
October 1, 2025
Francesco Tormen, C. Mascarello
In Mahāyāna Buddhism, the path to liberation involves recognizing that all phenomena lack inherent existence. This paper reframes that concept using contemporary psychological and cognitive-science terms, introducing 'critical meta-awareness' as a parallel to the traditional notion of wisdom (prajñā). Wisdom is central to reducing suffering, which stems from identifying with a self and treating cognitive models as objective reality. The paper reviews contemplative research to examine how meditation develops critical meta-awareness and how that awareness relates to well-being. It identifies three Tibetan Buddhist contemplative practices that cultivate such awareness but have been overlooked by research due to their metaphysical framing. The author argues that, secularly reframed, these practices could advance metacognition research and have broader societal applications.
Mindfulness
April 1, 2024
Brentyn J. Ramm, Anna‐lena Lumma, Terje Sparby et al.
Twelve of twenty adults who had never practiced the Headless Way exercises reported a void-like experience after being guided through them, and five reported an experience of awareness itself. These experiences were categorized as subsets of perceptual absences and the sense of not being person-like. The exercises can effectively induce experiences of emptiness and awareness in participants without prior meditation experience. The findings suggest that such experiences can be elicited outside a traditional meditation context, and that the sense of not being person-like and perceptual absences may be precursors to recognizing awareness itself and the void-like nature of the mind.
Mindfulness
December 1, 2024
Math Janssen, Yvonne Heerkens, Beatrice Heijden et al.
Dutch secondary vocational schoolteachers who took a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training reported reduced stress and increased inner calmness, along with gains in being present, taking distance, recognizing and changing dysfunctional patterns, awareness, concentration, acceptance, non-judgment, communication, and compassion toward themselves and others. These experiences were reported immediately after the training and up to 9 months later. Prior to training, teachers expected stress relief and improved personal competencies. The study suggests MBSR can foster both mental health improvements and prosocial competencies in teachers over the short and long term.
Mindfulness
May 1, 2024
Malcolm J. Wright, Julieta Galante, J. S. Corneille et al.
About 45% of people from three international communities—UK online panelists, US-based MTurk workers, and readers of a rationalist blog—report having had at least one sudden unusual mental or somatic experience, not caused by drugs, that is often interpreted as spiritual or mystical. The most common experiences include derealization (17%), unitive experiences (15%), and ecstatic thrills (15%). Following such experiences, respondents reported a mix of positive and negative well-being outcomes; 13% reported moderate or greater suffering and 1.1% reported life-threatening suffering. Of those who suffered, 63% did not seek help. These emergent phenomena appear widespread and can lead to both benefits and harms that are not adequately addressed by clinical practice.
Mindfulness
January 30, 2023
A. Zanesco, Brandon G. King, Quinn A. Conklin et al.
Experienced meditators who attended a month-long insight meditation retreat reported more profound insights, powerful emotional experiences, and non-ordinary sensory or perceptual events compared to similarly experienced meditators who continued daily life. Retreat participants also scored higher on dimensions of mystical experience, including internal unity, transcendence, sacredness, noetic quality, and deeply felt positive affect. The findings suggest that intensive meditation training is associated with a range of profound and mystical-type experiences, which may contribute to psychological or spiritual development, though long-term consequences remain to be understood.
Mindfulness
July 1, 2021
Arturo Ron-Grajales, Araceli Sanz-Martin, Rubén David Castañeda-Torres et al.
A 10-week mindfulness meditation training program improved inhibitory control in young male offenders aged 16–23 who had committed violent crimes. Compared to a control group, those who completed the training showed increased reaction times on the Stop-signal task and fewer errors on the Stroop task, indicating better inhibitory control. The findings suggest that mindfulness meditation may help reduce violent behavior in this population.
Mindfulness
April 29, 2019
J. Michalak, C. Crane, C. Germer et al.
An expert group developed guidelines for responsibly integrating mindfulness practices into individual therapy, informed by a literature review. Recommendations address types of integration, suitable diagnoses, therapist qualifications, case formulation, the inquiry process, optimal practice types and duration, managing difficult experiences, and training programs. The authors note that research on this topic is scarce, so the recommendations are tentative and intended to stimulate further discussion.
Mindfulness
January 1, 2017
Martin Gartenschläger, Mathias Schreckenberger, Hans-Georg Buchholz et al.
Dispositional mindfulness, the trait of being aware of present experiences without judgment, is linked to specific patterns of brain activity at rest. In 32 individuals (23 with mental disorders, 9 healthy controls), higher mindfulness scores on the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale were associated with greater resting glucose metabolism in the superior parietal lobule and left precuneus, core areas of the default mode network involved in sense of self. Conversely, lower metabolism appeared in the left inferior frontal orbital gyrus and bilateral thalamus, regions tied to memory, decision making, and outward attention. These relationships held after adjusting for depression, anxiety, age, and education.