What meditation actually does

A short read

Before we start

This is about what research finds, including the part that is rarely mentioned. It is not advice to start or stop meditating, and it is not treatment advice. If a practice is making you feel worse, that is worth raising with a teacher or a doctor rather than pushing through.

Sources

Farias M, Maraldi E, Wallenkampf KC, Lucchetti G (2020) — Adverse events in meditation practices and meditation-based therapies: a systematic review, Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. Pooled prevalence 8.3%, but 3.7% in experimental studies against 33.2% in observational ones; commonest effects anxiety, depression and cognitive anomalies
Van Dam NT, Targett J, Davies JN, Burger A, Galante J (2025) — Incidence and Predictors of Meditation-Related Unusual Experiences and Adverse Effects in a Representative Sample of Meditators in the United States, Clinical Psychological Science. 58.4% reported an adverse effect; about 9% reported functional impairment; 6.6% reported strong-intensity extremely unpleasant experiences