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Cited by 58Mindfulness and Compassion InterventionsPsychological Well-being and Life SatisfactionReligion, Spirituality, and Psychology

Dose–response Relationship of Reported Lifetime Meditation Practice with Mental Health and Wellbeing: a Cross-sectional Study

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Bowles, Nicholas I., Davies, Jonathan N., Van Dam, Nicholas T.·2022·Mindfulness
DOI 10.1007/s12671-022-01977-6PMC PMC9517970

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Abstract

Objectives: Meta-analyses of meditation studies have revealed mixed modest evidence of benefits across a range of outcomes. However, because this evidence-base is predominantly from brief interventions, it is unclear whether it accurately reflects how contemporary meditators practice or the dose-response relationship between amount of practice and outcome. This study sought to characterize how contemporary meditators practice, examine any possible dose-response relationships between historical practice and measures of psychological wellbeing, and explore which characteristics of practice most strongly predict favorable psychological outcomes. Methods: = 2365) responded to advertisements in meditation practice communities and social media. We explored associations between demographics, meditation practice characteristics, and outcomes including positive and negative affect, psychological distress, and life satisfaction in a cross-sectional study design. Results: = 2.22), indicating non-linear effects. The strength of association between practice time and outcomes was generally strongest for approximately the first 500 h, before plateauing. Several practice types including Vipassana (as taught by S.N. Goenka) and cultivating practices (e.g. compassion, lovingkindness) were more strongly predictive of favorable psychological outcomes. Conclusions: Benefits of meditation accrue over time in a non-linear manner, and show variation based on practice context. These results highlight the importance of understanding how the benefits of meditation accrue over longer time durations than typical standardized programs. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12671-022-01977-6.

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  • Sustaining mindfulness practice is essential for achieving and maintaining health benefits, and mindfulness training effects are dose-dependent, at least for the first 500 hours.

    “Research showed that sustaining mindfulness practice is essential for achieving and maintaining health benefits and that mindfulness training effects are dose-dependent, at least for the first 500 h [60].”

    From Mindfulness meditation and psychedelics: potential synergies and commonalities (2023) · cites this paper as [60]

    The Discussion (page not supplied) reports that the association between accumulated meditation hours and favorable psychological outcomes was strongest for approximately the first 500 hours before plateauing. The Limitations and Future Directions section says the cross-sectional design cannot establish causation and calls for longitudinal research; it does not show that sustained practice is essential to achieve or maintain benefits. (LLM, conf=0.89)

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  • Recent studies suggest a longer time frame may be needed to detect a relationship between meditation dose and benefit.

    “However, recent studies suggest a longer time frame may be needed to detect a relationship between meditation dose and benefit (Bowles et al., 2022; Bowles & Van Dam, 2025).”

    From The effects of mindfulness meditation on burnout in clinical genetic counselors: A three-arm randomized controlled trial (2026) · cites this paper as Bowles et al., 2022

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  1. Braun E The birth of insight 2013 University of Chicago Press

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Authors
Bowles, N. I., Davies, J. N., & Van Dam, N. T.
Affiliations
The University of Melbourne (AU)
Corresponding author
Bowles, Nicholas I.
ORCID
Venue
Mindfulness
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2022-09-28
Volume
13
Issue
10
Pages
2529-2546
ISSN
  • 1868-8527 (ISSN-L)
  • 1868-8535
DOI
10.1007/s12671-022-01977-6
PMC
PMC9517970
OpenAlex
W4297495206
Cited by
58
References
72
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 1
FWCI
10.26
Type
journal article
Language
en
Update notices
correction (2023-08-17)
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Mindfulness (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • MindRxiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
Funders
University of Melbourne
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
  • Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
Keywords
meditation practice, dose-response relationship, psychological well-being, mental health, psychological distress, life satisfaction, positive and negative affect, vipassana, compassion meditation, loving-kindness meditation, nonlinear effects

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