The effect of ten versus twenty minutes of mindfulness meditation on state mindfulness and affect.
Scientific reports – November 24, 2023
Source: PubMed
Summary
A brief mindfulness meditation session can significantly enhance state mindfulness. In a study involving 372 adults, participants engaging in either 10 or 20 minutes of mindfulness meditation experienced greater increases in state mindfulness compared to control groups. Notably, those with lower trait mindfulness benefitted more from meditation, while individuals with high trait mindfulness saw reduced anxiety with longer sessions. The findings indicate that both 10 and 20 minutes of meditation yield similar benefits, highlighting the effectiveness of short mindfulness practices for emotional well-being.
Abstract
We aimed to elucidate the effects of "dose" of a single-session of mindfulness meditation on state mindfulness and affect as well as moderators of effects. 372 adults recruited remotely via Amazon's MTurk platform were randomly assigned to either a: 10-min mindfulness meditation, 20-min mindfulness meditation, 10-min control, or 20-min control. Control conditions were recordings of a National Geographic article. Primary outcomes were changes in state mindfulness, anxiety, and negative and positive affect. Moderator variables included neuroticism, trait mindfulness, and prior meditation experience. Collapsing across doses, participants in mindfulness conditions reported greater increases in state mindfulness than in control conditions. There was a greater increase in state mindfulness in the 10-min mindfulness condition versus 10-min control condition. There were no differences between 10- and 20-min mindfulness conditions. Exploratory moderation analyses indicated that meditation (10 or 20) versus control (10 or 20) predicted increased state mindfulness among participants with lower trait mindfulness. Additionally, 20-min versus 10-min meditation predicted greater decreases in state anxiety among individuals with high trait mindfulness. Dose-response relationships were minimal, suggesting that 10 and 20 min of meditation may improve state mindfulness comparably. Findings support the benefits of brief mindfulness meditation and suggest that trait mindfulness moderates certain outcomes.