Claim reviewed: Meditation practice may help reduce anxiety; evidence for stress is weaker.
What do we know?
In a meta-analysis of 47 randomized trials with active controls (3,515 people), mindfulness meditation programs showed small positive effects on anxiety, depression and pain with moderate-strength evidence; evidence for stress and distress was low.
What don't we know?
This evidence mostly comes from structured 8-week programs; whether listening to a sound session alone has the same effect is unknown. Participants came from diverse clinical populations. The programs were not shown to be better than drugs, exercise or other behavioral approaches, and NCCIH notes that much of the research is preliminary.
Wording we use in the app: Meditation programs have shown small positive effects on some anxiety measures, with moderate-strength evidence.
Sources (2)
Goyal ve ark. 2014 · Meta-analysis · 47 studies · 3,515 participants
In a meta-analysis of 47 randomized trials with active controls (3,515 participants), mindfulness meditation programs showed small positive effects on anxiety, depression and pain with moderate-strength evidence, and low-strength evidence for stress and distress. There was no evidence that the programs were better than drugs, exercise or other behavioral approaches. Participants came from diverse clinical populations.
Versus active controls: anxiety effect size 0.38 (95% CI 0.12-0.64; week 8); pain 0.33 (95% CI 0.03-0.62)
'Moderate' is the authors' strength-of-evidence grade (not GRADE) and applies to anxiety, depression and pain.
Goyal M, Singh S, Sibinga EM, Gould NF, Rowland-Seymour A, Sharma R, et al. Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174(3):357-368. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.13018 PMID 24395196 Go to source
NCCIH 2022 · Institutional page
NCCIH notes that much meditation and mindfulness research has been preliminary or not rigorous and may have been interpreted too optimistically. For anxiety and stress, some analyses found mindfulness-based approaches better than no intervention, while short-term results varied between studies.
The page shows 'Last Updated: June 2022'.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). Meditation and Mindfulness: Effectiveness and Safety. National Institutes of Health; 2022. Go to source
Last reviewed: 3 October 2026 · Next review: 3 April 2027