Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences
January 31, 2026
Lissy Goralnik, Laurie Thorp, Robert B. Richardson
1 citation
A course integrating contemplative practices with content on individual, community, and social-ecological resilience improved undergraduate wellbeing in three ways: a short-term boost following class sessions, a moderate increase in coping capacity over the semester, and, for some students, lasting lifestyle changes that helped them transcend previous challenges. However, many students experienced persistent stress and limited coping capacity that hindered their readiness for sustainability learning and action. The findings inform the design of sustainability pedagogies and strategies to address the mental health crisis on U.S. campuses.
Scientific reports
January 30, 2026
Lucy B G Tan, Marius Golubickis, C Neil Macrae
1 citation
A brief session of mindfulness-based meditation increases risk-taking behavior, as shown across two experiments using different tasks (Balloon Analogue Risk Task and Bomb Risk Elicitation Task), participants from the UK and Singapore, and both online and in-person settings. Compared to active and passive control conditions, mindfulness meditation led to greater risk taking. Computational modeling traced this effect to a reduction in loss aversion during decision-making.
Journal of psychiatric research
January 29, 2026
Dandan Luo, Wenjun Dang, Jie Luo et al.
A systematic review of 13 clinical studies suggests that Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) may help improve anxiety and depression in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and may relieve psychological stress and improve emotional states in their caregivers. Among adults with ASD (8 studies), MBSR showed potential for reducing emotional symptoms. For ASD caregivers (4 studies), preliminary effects included reduced stress and better emotional well-being. Only one study examined children with ASD, and none covered adolescents. The evidence is limited by small sample sizes and high heterogeneity, so conclusions should be interpreted cautiously.
International journal of environmental research and public health
January 28, 2026
Brittany L Garcia, Maureen A Craig, Nicole Adams et al.
A multi-modal Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) Program for clinicians led to significant improvements in well-being, burnout, perceived stress, stress coping, resilience, and self-compassion at two months, with moderate-to-large effects. These benefits were maintained at eight months, six months after program completion, with small-to-moderate effects. Greater use of stress-management techniques and more days of meditation practice for at least 10 minutes were linked to larger improvements in well-being.
Clinical journal of oncology nursing
January 26, 2026
Amy Caramore, Justin M O'Leary, Raymond E Baser et al.
1 citation
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people with cancer experienced heightened anxiety. A brief, five-minute guided meditation, self-administered via personal mobile devices while waiting after a vaccination, significantly reduced acute anxiety more than usual care. Among 256 adult patients, 14% reported moderate to severe anxiety. The intervention is feasible for outpatient oncology settings and can be implemented by nurses to support emotional well-being.
American journal of veterinary research
January 23, 2026
Aliye Karabulut-Ilgu, Bonnie Hay Kraus, Amelia Mindthoff
A structured mindfulness training program for veterinary students in an anesthesiology course was associated with reduced perceived stress and increased self-compassion, while depression scores remained unchanged. The mindfulness group scored about 9 percentage points higher on the second midterm than the comparison group, but by the final examination all students had improved and no significant differences remained. The training may offer transient academic benefits and support well-being in veterinary education.
Journal of psychosocial nursing and mental health services
January 23, 2026
Havva Kaçan, Havva Enıse Oguz
A six-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program for parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) increased mindfulness and improved stress-coping strategies. Parents who completed the program showed a large increase in mindfulness scores, from an average of 57.9 to 78.5, while a control group showed no change. Self-confident and optimistic coping approaches also improved, and helpless and submissive approaches decreased. The program appears effective for boosting mindfulness and coping in these parents, which may in turn reduce stress for their children.
Appalachian State University
January 21, 2026
Four sessions of mindful walking did not improve trait mindfulness, depression, anxiety, or stress compared to an active control group among 58 non-meditating participants. The mindful walking group's trait mindfulness scores remained stable, while the control group's scores declined after the first session. State mindfulness was consistently higher in the mindful walking group immediately after each session. These results contradict earlier research and question the effectiveness of mindful walking programs for improving mental health outcomes in novice meditators.
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement
January 21, 2026
Samantha Teichman, Rebecca M. Pearson, William A. Cook et al.
An 8-week mind-body course helped older adults navigate change and vulnerability, with 24 participants reporting improved physical and mental health, greater kindness, openness, and curiosity toward themselves and others. Three key themes emerged: learning to be with emotionally challenging experiences, normalizing change and vulnerability, and developing a personal toolkit. Participants also reported a heightened ability to cope with challenges, make intentional life choices, and foster a positive attitude. From a gerontological perspective, the program offered resources for adapting to change and embracing vulnerability as components of healthy aging, suggesting contemplative practice as a form of training for aging well.
Psychology of sport and exercise
January 20, 2026
Jeffrey Yu, Jui-Ti Nien, Mu-Yen Chu et al.
3 citations
Among collegiate Taekwondo athletes (N = 105), mindfulness is linked to higher pre-event self-efficacy by reducing cognitive anxiety. This pathway was especially strong for injured athletes, for whom mindfulness had a greater effect on lowering cognitive anxiety. Injury status did not alter the overall indirect pathway, but it did moderate the direct link between mindfulness and cognitive anxiety. The findings suggest that mindfulness can help combat sports athletes, particularly those injured, feel more confident before competition by easing anxious thoughts.
bioRxiv Preprint Server
January 19, 2026
Chuong Ngo, Erkin Bek, Monika Stasytyte et al.
preprint
Focused-attention meditation on the breath reorganizes large-scale brain dynamics by reducing activity in neural networks linked to self-referential and memory-based processing while increasing activity in networks supporting attentional stability and internal monitoring. In 22 experienced practitioners, high-density EEG microstate analysis identified five canonical brain states. Meditation robustly reduced Microstate C, generated in medial and lateral temporal regions including the hippocampus, and increased Microstates D and E, generated in posterior midline regions and frontoparietal networks respectively. These changes suggest that focused-attention meditation downregulates self-referential processing and enhances neural states for attention and internal awareness.
Annals of neurosciences
January 19, 2026
Gurpreet Verma, Vijendra Nath Pathak, Prabhjyot Kour et al.
A one-week meditation intervention reduced depression scores from an average of 54.36 to 28.10 and increased psychological well-being scores from 57.50 to 65.88 among active smokers. After the intervention, the meditation group had significantly lower depression and higher well-being scores compared to a control group that received no treatment. The findings suggest that a brief meditation programme can help reduce depressive symptoms and improve mental well-being in people who smoke daily.
medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences
January 16, 2026
Colleen Caleshu, Maryann Campion, Jehannine J Austin et al.
Mindfulness meditation may reduce burnout and stress among genetic counselors. In a randomized controlled trial with 397 clinical genetic counselors in the US, those assigned to 10 minutes of daily app-based mindfulness meditation for eight weeks showed lower burnout and stress compared to a no-meditation control group. The effect on burnout was large. However, the active control meditation designed to mimic mindfulness without its techniques did not perform as an inert control, so the primary comparison between mindfulness and active control was inconclusive. Further research with more diverse samples and better controls is needed.
Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)
January 16, 2026
Denis Juraga, Darko Roviš, Mihaela Marinović Glavić et al.
A seven-week mindfulness-based community intervention reduced depression and improved self-efficacy among older adults (≥65 years) at a six-month follow-up. In a quasi-experimental study with 257 participants, those in the intervention group showed significantly fewer depressive symptoms and better general self-efficacy, chronic disease self-management self-efficacy, and physical activity and nutritional self-efficacy compared with a non-intervention comparison group. Perceived social support increased within the intervention group, but between-group differences were not statistically significant after adjusting for baseline covariates. The program appears to offer mental health and self-management benefits for older people in community settings.
Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)
January 13, 2026
Andrea Lizama-Lefno, Krystel Mojica, Mayte Serrat et al.
Mindfulness programs reduce anxiety, depression, and stress with moderate efficacy, but their effect sizes are often inflated by methodological limitations. Cognitive and emotional regulation skills—particularly acceptance and non-judgment—sustain long-term benefits more consistently than meditation alone. Psychoeducation and informal practice may be as important as meditation in improving mental health outcomes. The review calls for rigorous longitudinal studies to identify the mechanisms driving clinical change and to distinguish evidence-based applications from overstated claims.
Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)
January 13, 2026
Rebecca Ciacchini, Alessandro Lazzarelli, Giorgia Papini et al.
A 12-week Qigong program for Italian university students was feasible and associated with improvements in mental health and well-being. Of 332 enrolled undergraduates, 114 completed the intervention, which combined static and dynamic Neidan Qigong exercises. Self-report measures showed consistent improvements across mindfulness, interoceptive ability, perceived stress, depression, anxiety, emotion regulation, alexithymia, and sleep quality. The findings are preliminary and uncontrolled, so further research with rigorous designs is needed to confirm stability over time and clarify the role of spontaneous movement.
Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
January 13, 2026
Victor Julián Padilla, Vanessa Muñiz, Katherine Scheffrahn et al.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of five randomized controlled trials found that mindful hypnotherapy—an intervention combining hypnotic induction with mindfulness suggestions—produced large reductions in psychological distress (effect size 0.61) and stress (0.75), and a large increase in mindfulness (1.38) compared to waitlist and active control groups. The authors recommend future research on a wider range of clinical problems, use of active controls, measures of hypnotizability, and studies with diverse populations.