A 6-week meditation-based group intervention for Binge Eating Disorder (BED) was tested in 18 obese women. Binges dropped from an average of 4.02 per week to 1.57 per week, and binge severity also decreased. Scores on the Binge Eating Scale, depression, and anxiety inventories all fell significantly, while participants' sense of control increased. More time spent on eating-related meditation exercises predicted greater reductions on the Binge Eating Scale. The findings suggest that meditation training may be a useful component in treating BED.
Psychedelic experiences may help people adopt healthier behaviors, according to a survey of 271 adults. Participants reported changes across 74 behaviors after their most impactful psychedelic experience. The most common changes were increases in contemplative practices (63%), time spent in nature (55%), and personally meaningful social activities (54%). Most changes were in a healthy direction. Higher perceived meaningfulness of the experience and having a set intention beforehand were significantly associated with overall healthy change. The study cannot establish causality but suggests that intention and meaningfulness are candidate mechanisms for how psychedelics might facilitate positive behavior change.