In-person mindfulness courses help improve mental health for at least six months, study shows

Adults who voluntarily take part in mindfulness courses are less likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and depression for at least six months after completing the programmes, compared to adults who do not take part, a new analysis pooling data from 13 studies has confirmed. University of Cambridge researchers looked at participants of group-based and teacher-led mindfulness courses, conducted in person and offered in community settings.

These courses, formally known as mindfulness-based programmes (MBPs), often combine elements of meditation, body awareness and modern psychology, and are designed to help reduce stress, improve wellbeing, and enhance mental and emotional “resilience”. They consist of groups of participants led by mindfulness teachers, who promote reflection and sharing over several one-to-two hour sessions.

They pooled and analysed data from 2,371 adults who had taken part in trials to assess the effectiveness of MBPs. Roughly half the participants had been randomly allocated places on mindfulness programmes that lasted for eight weeks, with a one- to two-and-a-half hour session per week and compared them to those that were not through self-reported questionnaires.

The study found that MBPs generated a small to moderate reduction in adults’ psychological distress, with 13% more participants seeing a benefit than those who did not attend an MBP. The researchers found that existing psychological distress, age, gender, educational level and a disposition towards mindfulness did not change the effectiveness of MBPs.

The researchers conducted a systematic review to select previous studies for inclusion in their large-scale analysis. They obtained complete but anonymised data from 13 trials representing eight countries. The median age was 34 years-old, while 71% of participants were women.

Ref: Julieta Galante et al. Systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials assessing mindfulness-based programs for mental health promotion, Nature Mental Health DOI: 10.1038/s44220-023-00081-5