Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness meditation is the practice of holding attention on a chosen anchor — usually the breath — and returning to it each time the mind wanders, typically for 10–45 minutes per session.

What published research reports

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 47 randomised trials with 3,515 participants, published in JAMA Internal Medicine (2014), reported that structured mindfulness meditation programmes produced moderate improvements in anxiety, depression and pain, and small improvements in stress and quality of life — effects comparable to what would be expected from other active treatments, but with little evidence that meditation outperformed them. The NIH's National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health reports that meditation practices are generally considered safe for healthy people, with most studied programmes running eight weeks.

References

• Goyal M, et al. Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174(3):357–368. PubMed
• National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Mind and Body Practices. nccih.nih.gov