How much meditation practice is needed before meaningful, lasting change occurs? This is an important question because newer mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), such as meditation apps, often rely on less intensive practice than traditional in-person interventions. 

Bowles & Van Dam [Applied Psychology: Health & Wellbeing] conducted a longitudinal analysis examining dose-response relationships between meditation practice and wellbeing in meditators with varied personality types and practice histories.

Participants were 1,052 meditators (average age = 47 years; 69% female; average lifetime meditation practice = 1,172 hours) from Australia (50%), North America (27%), and Europe (19%). Volunteering participants were drawn from an earlier cross-sectional study of 1,668 meditators recruited from online forums, social media platforms, and meditation communities.

Data were collected in two phases: In the first 8-week phase, participants completed weekly surveys about their meditation practice. In the second phase, participants were recontacted 3 to 4 years later and asked to complete another survey. 

Only 578 participants from the original sample completed the later survey. Those who continued into Phase 2 tended to be older, more experienced, and to report greater baseline wellbeing and conscientiousness. Measures included practice frequency and duration, goals, personality traits, and self-reported outcomes (life satisfaction, positive and negative affect, and distress).

Observational results suggested that both lifetime meditation experience and recent practice dose statistically predicted lower distress and greater life satisfaction. Clinically meaningful improvements were estimated at 25 meditation hours per month for life satisfaction, 41 hours per month for positive affect, 18 hours per month for negative affect, and 33 hours per month for distress. Practice frequency was generally a stronger predictor of benefit than practice session length, although time spent sitting contributed modestly to higher life satisfaction and lower negative affect. 

Meditators with higher baseline negative emotionality benefited most in terms of reduced distress and negative affect. Over time, greater cumulative practice also predicted a higher valuation of spiritual growth as a practice goal.

The longitudinal observation of self-selected meditators over time suggests dose-dependent benefits of meditation on wellness outcomes in a large sample of meditators. The amount of practice time needed for improvement seems consistent with practice times suggested in 8-week MBI programs modeled after Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), but exceeds the amount of practice typically involved in app-based programs.

Limitations of the study include the absence of random assignment to different meditation practice doses, differences in the composition of the retained sample, and reliance on self-reported practice amounts. 

Reference:

Bowles, N. I., & Van Dam, N. T. (2025). Dose–response effects of reported meditation practice on mental-health and wellbeing: A prospective longitudinal study. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being.

Link to study