Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Transcendental Meditation: Current State of Research
Open accessAbstract
This article summarizes the current state of meditation research, specifically focusing on mindfulness-based stress reduction and transcendental meditation. Despite significant methodological problems with the studies reported to date on the subject, there is consistent evidence that meditation can produce changes in the nervous system and physiology of the meditator, and can help with various psychological markers of well-being. Regarding improvement in specific clinical diseases, research is generally mixed and preliminary. Strong recommendations cannot be made based on current evidence, and further studies are needed. In general, there is a stronger body of evidence supporting mindfulness-based stress reduction than for transcendental meditation.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Our results may be more clinically relevant because MBSR was the most commonly used MBI clinically.
“Since our search included a more homogeneous population and had standardized the dose of the MBI, our results were relatively homogeneous (eg, office DBP) and may be more clinically relevant because MBSR was the most commonly used MBI clinically. 17”
From Effect and Acceptability of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program on Patients With Elevated Blood Pressure or Hypertension: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials (2020) · cites this paper as [17]
The Conclusions (page unavailable) recommend MBSR as an adjunctive treatment for selected clinical conditions, supporting its clinical use. Neither that passage nor the paper’s introduction establishes that MBSR is the most commonly used mindfulness-based intervention clinically; the citing authors’ judgment about their own results is not attributed to this source. (LLM, conf=0.76)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation
Davidson, R. J., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schumacher, J., Rosenkranz, M., Muller, D., Santorelli, S. F., Urbanowski, F., Harrington, A., Bonus, K., & Sheridan, J. F. (2003) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/01.psy.0000077505.67574.e3 · Cited by 2,925 · see citing works
Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Goyal, M., Singh, S., Sibinga, E. M. S., Gould, N. F., Rowland-Seymour, A., Sharma, R., Berger, Z., Sleicher, D., Maron, D. D., Shihab, H. M., et al. (2014) · JAMA Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.13018 · Cited by 2,380 · see citing works
Jain, S., Shapiro, S. L., Swanick, S., Roesch, S. C., Mills, P. J., Bell, I., & Schwartz, G. E. R. (2007) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1207/s15324796abm3301_2 · Cited by 1,300 · see citing works
The psychological effects of meditation: a meta-analysis
Sedlmeier, P., Eberth, J., Schwarz, M., Zimmermann, D., Haarig, F., Jaeger, S., & Kunze, S. (2012) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0028168 · Cited by 910 · see citing works
Fjorback, L. O., Arendt, M., Ørnbøl, E., Fink, P., & Walach, H. (2011) · Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica · doi:10.1111/j.1600-0447.2011.01704.x · Cited by 803 · see citing works
Cultivating mindfulness: effects on well‐being
Shapiro, S. L., Oman, D., Thoresen, C. E., Plante, T. G., & Flinders, T. (2008) · Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1002/jclp.20491 · Cited by 699 · see citing works
Mindfulness for Teachers: A Pilot Study to Assess Effects on Stress, Burnout, and Teaching Efficacy
Flook, L., Goldberg, S. B., Pinger, L., Bonus, K., & Davidson, R. J. (2013) · Mind, Brain, and Education · doi:10.1111/mbe.12026 · Cited by 682 · see citing works
Meditation practices for health: state of the research.
(2007) · PubMed Central · Cited by 516 · see citing works
(2003) · Cited by 402 · see citing works
Garland, S. N., Carlson, L. E., Stephens, A. J., Antle, M. C., Samuels, C., & Campbell, T. S. (2014) · Journal of Clinical Oncology · doi:10.1200/jco.2012.47.7265 · Cited by 329 · see citing works
Romani, M., & Ashkar, K. (2014) · Libyan Journal of Medicine · doi:10.3402/ljm.v9.23556 · Cited by 321 · see citing works
Rosenkranz, M. A., Davidson, R. J., MacCoon, D. G., Sheridan, J. F., Kalin, N. H., & Lutz, A. (2013) · Brain, Behavior, and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2012.10.013 · Cited by 307 · see citing works
Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Goyal, M., Singh, S., Sibinga, E., Gould, N., Rowland-Seymour, A., Sharma, R., Berger, Z., Sleicher, D., Maron, D., Shihab, H., et al. (2014) · Deutsche Zeitschrift für Akupunktur · doi:10.1016/j.dza.2014.07.007 · Cited by 298 · see citing works
Hölzel, B. K., Hoge, E. A., Greve, D. N., Gard, T., Creswell, J. D., Brown, K. W., Barrett, L. F., Schwartz, C., Vaitl, D., & Lazar, S. W. (2013) · NeuroImage: Clinical · doi:10.1016/j.nicl.2013.03.011 · Cited by 281 · see citing works
Lauche, R., Cramer, H., Dobos, G., Langhorst, J., & Schmidt, S. (2013) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2013.10.010 · Cited by 268 · see citing works
Meditation therapy for anxiety disorders
Krisanaprakornkit, T., Sriraj, W., Piyavhatkul, N., & Laopaiboon, M. (2006) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd004998.pub2 · Cited by 232 · see citing works
Krusche, A., Cyhlarova, E., & Williams, J. M. G. (2013) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2013-003498 · Cited by 192 · see citing works
Toward a unifying taxonomy and definition for meditation
Nash, J. D., & Newberg, A. (2013) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00806 · Cited by 177 · see citing works
Mindfulness based intervention in Parkinson's disease leads to structural brain changes on MRI
Pickut, B. A., Van Hecke, W., Kerckhofs, E., Mariën, P., Vanneste, S., Cras, P., & Parizel, P. M. (2013) · Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery · doi:10.1016/j.clineuro.2013.10.002 · Cited by 174 · see citing works
Lengacher, C. A., Reich, R. R., Kip, K. E., Barta, M., Ramesar, S., Paterson, C. L., Moscoso, M. S., Carranza, I., Budhrani, P. H., Kim, S. J., et al. (2014) · Biological Research For Nursing · doi:10.1177/1099800413519495 · Cited by 169 · see citing works
Robinson, F. P., Mathews, H. L., & Witek‐Janusek, L. (2003) · The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine · doi:10.1089/107555303322524535 · Cited by 164 · see citing works
Helping the Helpers: Mindfulness Training for Burnout in Pediatric Oncology—A Pilot Program
Moody, K., Kramer, D., Santizo, R. O., Magro, L., Wyshogrod, D., Ambrosio, J., Castillo, C., Lieberman, R., & Stein, J. (2013) · Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing · doi:10.1177/1043454213504497 · Cited by 154 · see citing works
Hou, R. J., Wong, S. Y.-S., Yip, B. H.-K., Hung, A. T. F., Lo, H. H.-M., Chan, P. H. S., Lo, C. S. L., Kwok, T. C.-Y., Tang, W. K., Mak, W. W. S., et al. (2014) · Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics · doi:10.1159/000353278 · Cited by 150 · see citing works
Ong, J. C., Shapiro, S. L., & Manber, R. (2008) · EXPLORE · doi:10.1016/j.explore.2008.10.004 · Cited by 148 · see citing works
Jedel, S., Hoffman, A., Merriman, P., Swanson, B., Voigt, R., Rajan, K. B., Shaikh, M., Li, H., & Keshavarzian, A. (2014) · Digestion · doi:10.1159/000356316 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based stress reduction for prehypertension
Hughes, J. W., Fresco, D. M., Myerscough, R., H. M. van Dulmen, M., Carlson, L. E., & Josephson, R. (2013) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0b013e3182a3e4e5 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
Britton, W. B., Bootzin, R. R., Cousins, J. C., Hasler, B. P., Peck, T., & Shapiro, S. L. (2010) · Substance Abuse · doi:10.1080/08897071003641297 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
Singleton, O., Hölzel, B. K., Vangel, M., Brach, N., Carmody, J., & Lazar, S. W. (2014) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00033 · Cited by 110 · see citing works
Insufficient evidence to conclude whether or not Transcendental Meditation decreases blood pressure
Canter, P. H., & Ernst, E. (2004) · Journal of Hypertension · doi:10.1097/00004872-200411000-00002 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
How mindfulness changed my sleep: focus groups with chronic insomnia patients
Hubbling, A., Reilly-Spong, M., Kreitzer, M. J., & Gross, C. R. (2014) · BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine · doi:10.1186/1472-6882-14-50 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Methodological challenges in meditation research.
Caspi, O., & Burleson, K. O. (2005) · PubMed · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Omidi, A., Mohammadi, A., Zargar, F., & Akbari, H. (2013) · Archives of Trauma Research · doi:10.5812/atr.8226 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Meditation: a modulator of the immune response to physical stress? A brief report.
Solberg, E. E., Halvorsen, R., Sundgot‐Borgen, J., Ingjer, F., & Holen, A. (1995) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.29.4.255 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Canter, P. H., & Ernst, E. (2003) · Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · doi:10.1007/bf03040500 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Rees, B., Travis, F., Shapiro, D., & Chant, R. (2014) · Journal of Traumatic Stress · doi:10.1002/jts.21883 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Bazzan, A. J., Zabrecky, G. P., Monti, D., & Newberg, A. B. (2014) · Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics · doi:10.1586/14737175.2014.892420 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Digital, K. S. E. (2015) · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Blood Pressure Response to Meditation and Yoga: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Park, S.-H., & Han, K. S. (2017) · The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine · doi:10.1089/acm.2016.0234 · Cited by 114 · see citing works
Lee, E. K. P., Yeung, N. C. Y., Xu, Z., Zhang, D., Yu, C.-P., & Wong, S. Y. S. (2020) · Hypertension · doi:10.1161/hypertensionaha.120.16160 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Meditation and blood pressure: a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials
Shi, L., Zhang, D., Wang, L., Zhuang, J., Cook, R., & Chen, L. (2017) · Journal of Hypertension · doi:10.1097/hjh.0000000000001217 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Azizoddin, D., Kvaternik, N., Beck, M., Zhou, G.-H., Hasdianda, M. A., Jones, N., Johnsky, L., Im, D., Chai, P., & Boyer, E. W. (2021) · Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians Open · doi:10.1002/emp2.12619 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Evaluating the impact and effectiveness of meditation in a dance conservatoire context
Petsilas, P., & Massarelli, L. (2024) · Journal of Dance & Somatic Practices · doi:10.1386/jdsp_00119_1 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Medicine meets the soul: Bridging spirituality and health care
Acharya, V. (2025) · Journal of Integrative Medicine and Research · doi:10.4103/jimr.jimr_3_25 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Fergusson, L. C., Cabrejos, J. O., & Bonshek, A. (2023) · Journal of Maharishi Vedic Research Institute · doi:10.66743/tlgz4515
- Authors
- Holt, A.
- Affiliations
- Aurora Health Care (US)
- Corresponding author
- Holt, Adam
- Venue
- Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews
- Publisher
- Aurora Health Care, Inc.
- Published
- 2015-04-30
- Volume
- 2
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 64-68
- ISSN
- 2330-068X (ISSN-L)
- 2330-0698
- OpenAlex
- W2060368480
- Cited by
- 7
- References
- 37
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 0.83
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of patient-centered research and reviews (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Keywords
- mindfulness-based stress reduction, transcendental meditation, meditation, well-being, nervous system changes, physiological changes, psychological markers
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review