Unwanted effects: Is there a negative side of meditation? A multicentre survey
Ausiàs Cebolla, Marcelo Demarzo, Patricia Silveira Martins, Joaquim Soler, Javier Garcı́a-campayo
PLoS ONE September 5, 2017 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183137 via OpenAlex
Summary
A survey of 342 meditation practitioners found that 25.4% reported experiencing unwanted effects (UEs) from their practices. Most UEs were temporary and did not lead to discontinuation of meditation or require medical assistance. UEs were more common during individual focused attention meditation sessions lasting over 20 minutes. The study highlights the need for more research on UEs in meditation, suggesting standardized questionnaires for assessment.
Study at a glance
| Design | observational cohort |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 342 |
| Population | meditation practitioners who had at least two months of experience |
| Key finding | 25.4% of meditation practitioners reported experiencing unwanted effects, which were mostly transitory. |
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Despite the long-term use and evidence-based efficacy of meditation and mindfulness-based interventions, there is still a lack of data about the possible unwanted effects (UEs) of these practices. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of UEs among meditation practitioners, considering moderating factors such as the type, frequency, and lifetime duration of the meditation practices. METHODS: An online survey was developed and disseminated through several websites, such as Spanish-, English- and Portuguese-language scientific research portals related to mindfulness and meditation. After excluding people who did not answer the survey correctly or completely and those who had less than two months of meditation experience, a total of 342 people participated in the study. However, only 87 reported information about UEs. RESULTS: The majority of the practitioners were women from Spain who were married and had a University education level. Practices were more frequently informal, performed on a daily basis, and followed by focused attention (FA). Among the participants, 25.4% reported UEs, showing that severity varies considerably. The information requested indicated that most of the UEs were transitory and did not lead to discontinuing meditation practice or the need for medical assistance. They were more frequently reported in relation to individual practice, during focused attention meditation, and when practising for more than 20 minutes and alone. The practice of body awareness was associated with UEs to a lesser extent, whereas focused attention was associated more with UEs. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first large-scale, multi-cultural study on the UEs of meditation. Despite its limitations, this study suggests that UEs are prevalent and transitory and should be further studied. We recommend the use of standardized questionnaires to assess the UEs of meditation practices.