Does meditation really reduce anxiety?

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1. 1

   Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being

   JAMA Internal Medicine (Goyal et al.)Published Jan 6, 2014Checked Sep 30, 2026

   “After reviewing 18 753 citations, we included 47 trials with 3515 participants. Mindfulness meditation programs had moderate evidence of improved anxiety (effect size, 0.38 [95% CI, 0.12-0.64] at 8 weeks and 0.22 [0.02-0.43] at 3-6 months), depression (0.30 [0.00-0.59] at 8 weeks and 0.23 [0.05-0.42] at 3-6 months), and pain (0.33 [0.03- 0.62]) and low evidence of improved stress/distress and mental health-related quality of life. We found low evidence of no effect or insufficient evidence of any effect of meditation programs on positive mood, attention, substance use, eating habits, sleep, and weight. Clinicians should be aware that meditation programs can result in small to moderate reductions of multiple negative dimensions of psychological stress. Thus, clinicians should be prepared to talk with their patients about the role that a meditation program could have in addressing psychological stress. Stronger study designs are needed to determine the effects of meditation programs in improving the positive dimensions of mental health and stress-related behavior.”

2. 2

   Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction vs Escitalopram for the Treatment of Adults With Anxiety Disorders

   JAMA Psychiatry (Hoge et al.)Published Nov 9, 2022Checked Sep 30, 2026

   “The primary noninferiority sample consisted of 208 patients (102 in MBSR and 106 in escitalopram), with a mean (SD) age of 33 (13) years; 156 participants (75%) were female; 32 participants (15%) were African American, 41 (20%) were Asian, 18 (9%) were Hispanic/Latino, 122 (59%) were White, and 13 (6%) were of another race or ethnicity (including Native American or Alaska Native, more than one race, or other, consolidated owing to low numbers). Baseline mean (SD) CGI-S score was 4.44 (0.79) for the MBSR group and 4.51 (0.78) for the escitalopram group in the per-protocol sample and 4.49 (0.77) vs 4.54 (0.83), respectively, in the randomized sample. At end point, the mean (SD) CGI-S score was reduced by 1.35 (1.06) for MBSR and 1.43 (1.17) for escitalopram. The difference between groups was -0.07 (0.16; 95% CI, -0.38 to 0.23; P = .65), where the lower bound of the interval fell within the predefined noninferiority margin of -0.495, indicating noninferiority of MBSR compared with escitalopram. Secondary intent-to-treat analyses using imputed data also showed the noninferiority of MBSR compared with escitalopram based on the improvement in CGI-S score.”

3. 3

   Effectiveness of mindfulness meditation in intervention for anxiety: A meta-analysis

   Acta Psychologica Sinica (Zhihong et al.)Published Jan 1, 2018Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “摘要： 正念冥想对焦虑的干预效果结论不一, 系统考察其干预效果及影响因素, 有助于理解其作用机制, 并为正念冥想干预焦虑提供实践指导。本研究遵循PRISMA-Protocol, 运用元分析技术, 以即时效果与追踪效果为结果变量, 考察被试特征、干预特征、研究特征和结果分析4个方面(11个变量)的调节作用。通过数据库检索与筛选, 最终纳入东西方国家实证研究共55项(68个独立效应量, 4595名被试)。结果发现：正念冥想对焦虑干预的整体即时效果量达到显著的中等到大效果(g = 0.60), 但追踪效果不显著。单因素回归模型分析表明, 研究质量、国家地域、年龄、干预形式(团体练习vs.个体练习)、家庭练习与脱落率显著调节干预即时效果, 其中国家地域变量对效果量影响程度最大; 多元回归分析显示, 对照组类型、国家地域、练习经验、数据分析方式(ITT vs. PP)对干预效果存在调节作用; 此外, 国家地域与其他变量存在交互作用。后续研究需在研究质量、成本效益、不同焦虑类型及其他调节变量和提供客观评价指标上作改进。”

4. 4

   Effects of Self-Guided Digital Mindfulness Interventions on the Mental Health of Health Care Workers: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

   JMIR mHealth and uHealth (Sasaki et al.)Published Aug 21, 2026Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “The study populations were diverse, covering North America, Europe, Oceania, and Asia. Interventions were delivered via various digital platforms, including commercial mindfulness apps (n=3), social networking service tools (n=3), and web-based programs (n=3), with an average duration of 6.17 weeks (range: 1.5-18 wk). Five studies assessed outcomes only postintervention, and 4 included short-term follow-up (4-12 wk); no long-term effects were evaluated. The meta-analysis showed a significant beneficial effect on depression (standardized mean difference [SMD]=-0.44, 95% CI -0.88 to -0.00; P=.049), anxiety (SMD=-0.29, 95% CI -0.51 to -0.06; P=.011), perceived stress (SMD=-0.42, 95% CI -0.77 to -0.06; P=.02), and well-being (SMD=0.20, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.30; PConclusionsOverall, low to very low certainty evidence suggests that self-guided digital mindfulness interventions may have short-term beneficial effects on depression, anxiety, perceived stress, and well-being among HCWs. Future high-quality studies are needed to examine the long-term effects and cross-cultural generalizability of these interventions.”

5. 5

   Effects of Mobile Mindfulness Meditation on the Mental Health of University Students: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

   Journal of Medical Internet Research (Chen et al.)Published Sep 5, 2022Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “A total of 10 studies, including 958 university students, were selected for this meta-analysis. Results of the primary outcome showed that the MMM groups were more effective than the control groups in decreasing stress (SMD -0.41, 95% CI -0.59 to -0.23; P<.001) and alleviating anxiety (SMD -0.29, 95% CI -0.50 to -0.09; P=.004). However, there was no difference between the MMM groups and the control groups in depression (SMD -0.14, 95% CI -0.30 to 0.03; P=.11). The use of either waitlist control or traditional face-to-face intervention in the control group was identified as the source of heterogeneity. Specifically, the waitlist control subgroup (SMD -0.33, 95% CI -0.53 to -0.13; P=.002) was superior when compared with the face-to-face subgroup (SMD 0.29, 95% CI -0.01 to 0.59; P=.06). MMM was an effective method to reduce stress and anxiety, and to increase the well-being and mindfulness of university students. However, further studies are needed to confirm our findings. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews CRD42022303585; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=303585.”

6. 6

   The Combined Effect of Mindfulness and Physical Activity on Stress: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

   Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) (Liu et al.)Published Sep 11, 2026Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “Compared with passive or general control conditions, combined interventions produced a statistically significant average effect favouring the combined intervention (k = 12; Hedges' g = -0.74, 95% CI -1.21 to -0.27; p = 0.006; I2 = 83.1%; 95% prediction interval -2.27 to 0.79). The combined intervention was not statistically superior to mindfulness alone (k = 2; Hedges' g = 0.49, 95% CI -1.71 to 2.69) or physical activity alone (k = 3; Hedges' g = 0.01, 95% CI -0.50 to 0.52), although both comparisons were imprecise. No formal subgroup test identified a statistically significant moderator. Excluding the most extreme estimate reduced the pooled control-comparison effect to -0.55 (95% CI -0.79 to -0.31) and I2 to 27.9%.ConclusionsCombined mindfulness and physical activity interventions may reduce stress or stress-related psychological outcomes relative to passive or general controls. The current evidence is insufficient to determine whether they provide additional benefit over well-delivered single-component interventions. Substantial heterogeneity and the small number of active-comparator trials warrant cautious interpretation.”