60 Meditation Statistics

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These meditation figures cover the measurement periods and populations identified in the available source material. Estimates, surveys and forecasts retain their reported scope.

Key Meditation Statistics

The main findings are:

  • 17.3% of U.S. adults practiced meditation in the past 12 months in 2022 (United States, adults).
  • Among U.S. adults who practiced yoga, 57.4% also practiced meditation as part of yoga in 2022 (United States, adults who practiced yoga).
  • 5.4% of U.S. children ages 4–17 used meditation in 2017 (United States, children ages 4–17).
  • A systematic review of stand-alone mindfulness exercises included 18 eligible studies and 1,150 participants (published 2018; studies through review search; Mixed study populations).
  • A meta-analysis of mindfulness meditation for primary headache included 10 RCTs plus one controlled clinical trial (review published 2018; Adults with primary headache pain).
  • A mindfulness-meditation insomnia meta-analysis included 6 randomized controlled trials and 330 participants (review published 2016; Patients with insomnia).
  • 7.5% of U.S. adults practiced meditation in 2002 (United States, adults).
  • Among yoga-practicing adults, 52.9% of men practiced meditation as part of yoga (2022; United States, adult men who practiced yoga).
  • 1.9% of 34,525 U.S. adults reported practicing mindfulness meditation in the prior 12 months in 2012 (United States, adults).
  • Stand-alone mindfulness exercises had an anxiety symptom standardized mean difference of 0.39 versus controls after excluding one outlier (review published 2018; Participants in 18-study meta-analysis).
  • The primary-headache meta-analysis included 315 patients (review published 2018; Adults with primary headache pain).
  • Subgroup effects across selected insomnia sleep outcomes had absolute SMDs ranging from 0.44 to 1.09 (review published 2016; Patients with insomnia).
  • The adult meditation-use percentage increased by 9.8 percentage points from 2002 to 2022 (2002–2022; United States, adults).
  • Among yoga-practicing adults, 59.3% of women practiced meditation as part of yoga (2022; United States, adult women who practiced yoga).
  • Among exclusive mindfulness-meditation practitioners in the 2012 survey, 73% cited general wellness and disease prevention as a reason (United States, adult exclusive mindfulness-meditation practitioners).

Contents

NHIS nationally representative survey measure; past-year practice, not frequency or duration.

NHIS past-year practice estimate; questionnaire and survey context differ across years.

Difference between NCCIH-reported NHIS percentages; not a causal trend estimate.

Descriptive ratio; survey wording and classification may affect comparability.

Ranking is among the seven approaches listed by NCCIH, each measured as past-year use.

Comparator measure, not meditation; past-year NHIS use.

Meditation statistics by age, sex, race and income in 2022

  • Among U.S. adults who practiced yoga, 57.4% also practiced meditation as part of yoga in 2022 (United States, adults who practiced yoga). (Yoga and Meditation Use Among…)
  • Among yoga-practicing adults, 52.9% of men practiced meditation as part of yoga (2022; United States, adult men who practiced yoga). (Yoga and Meditation Use Among…)
  • Among yoga-practicing adults, 59.3% of women practiced meditation as part of yoga (2022; United States, adult women who practiced yoga). (Yoga and Meditation Use Among…)
  • Among yoga-practicing adults, 62.0% of those ages 18–44 practiced meditation as part of yoga (2022; United States, yoga practitioners ages 18–44). (Yoga and Meditation Use Among…)
  • Among yoga-practicing adults, 53.9% of those ages 45–64 practiced meditation as part of yoga (2022; United States, yoga practitioners ages 45–64). (Yoga and Meditation Use Among…)
  • Among yoga-practicing adults age 65 and older, 49.1% practiced meditation as part of yoga (2022; United States, yoga practitioners age 65+). (Yoga and Meditation Use Among…)
  • Among yoga-practicing adults, 56.7% of non-Hispanic Asian adults practiced meditation as part of yoga (2022; United States, non-Hispanic Asian yoga practitioners). (Yoga and Meditation Use Among…)
  • Among yoga-practicing adults, 70.7% of non-Hispanic Black adults practiced meditation as part of yoga (2022; United States, non-Hispanic Black yoga practitioners). (Yoga and Meditation Use Among…)
  • Among yoga-practicing adults, 54.0% of non-Hispanic White adults practiced meditation as part of yoga (2022; United States, non-Hispanic White yoga practitioners). (Yoga and Meditation Use Among…)
  • Among yoga-practicing adults, 70.8% of adults reporting other or multiple non-Hispanic races practiced meditation as part of yoga (2022; United States, other/multiple-race non-Hispanic yoga practitioners). (Yoga and Meditation Use Among…)
  • Among yoga-practicing Hispanic adults, 66.8% practiced meditation as part of yoga (2022; United States, Hispanic yoga practitioners). (Yoga and Meditation Use Among…)
  • Among yoga-practicing adults below 200% of the federal poverty level, 65.3% practiced meditation as part of yoga (2022; United States, yoga practitioners below 200% FPL). (Yoga and Meditation Use Among…)
  • Among yoga-practicing adults at 200% to under 400% of the federal poverty level, 56.7% practiced meditation as part of yoga (2022; United States, yoga practitioners at 200%–<400% FPL). (Yoga and Meditation Use Among…)
  • Among yoga-practicing adults at 400% of the federal poverty level or higher, 55.7% practiced meditation as part of yoga (2022; United States, yoga practitioners at 400%+ FPL). (Yoga and Meditation Use Among…)

Conditional estimate among yoga practitioners; it is not the percentage of all adults who meditate.

Conditional NHIS estimate; age-adjusted.

Conditional estimate; age-specific percentage is not age-adjusted.

Conditional age-adjusted estimate.

Conditional age-adjusted estimate; broad residual race category.

Conditional age-adjusted estimate; Hispanic origin may be any race.

Conditional age-adjusted estimate; FPL is based on prior-year family income.

Meditation statistics for children and reasons people practice

NCCIH reports this as child use; it is not an adult estimate and is not a current-year measure.

Older NHIS estimate for mindfulness meditation specifically, not all meditation types.

Reason selected by a subgroup; responses are not mutually exclusive causal explanations.

Approximate self-reported reason; subgroup and multiple-response context.

Meditation statistics for anxiety, depression and psychological stress outcomes

  • A systematic review of stand-alone mindfulness exercises included 18 eligible studies and 1,150 participants (published 2018; studies through review search; Mixed study populations). (Effects of mindfulness exercises as…)
  • Stand-alone mindfulness exercises had an anxiety symptom standardized mean difference of 0.39 versus controls after excluding one outlier (review published 2018; Participants in 18-study meta-analysis). (Effects of mindfulness exercises as…)
  • The 95% confidence interval for the stand-alone mindfulness anxiety effect was 0.22 to 0.56 (review published 2018; Participants in stand-alone mindfulness meta-analysis). (Effects of mindfulness exercises as…)
  • Heterogeneity for the stand-alone mindfulness anxiety effect was I²=18.90% (review published 2018; 18-study stand-alone mindfulness meta-analysis). (Effects of mindfulness exercises as…)
  • Stand-alone mindfulness exercises had a depression symptom standardized mean difference of 0.41 versus controls after excluding one outlier (review published 2018; Participants in 18-study meta-analysis). (Effects of mindfulness exercises as…)
  • The 95% confidence interval for the stand-alone mindfulness depression effect was 0.19 to 0.64 (review published 2018; Participants in stand-alone mindfulness meta-analysis). (Effects of mindfulness exercises as…)
  • Heterogeneity for the stand-alone mindfulness depression effect was I²=33.43% (review published 2018; 18-study stand-alone mindfulness meta-analysis). (Effects of mindfulness exercises as…)
  • A meditation-anxiety meta-analysis included 36 randomized controlled trials and 2,466 observations (review published 2013; Mixed clinical and healthy study populations). (Meditative Therapies for Reducing Anxiety:…)
  • Meditative therapies versus waiting-list controls produced an anxiety SMD of −0.52 (review published 2013; 25 RCTs; 1,608 unique observations). (Meditative Therapies for Reducing Anxiety:…)
  • The 95% confidence interval for meditation versus waiting-list anxiety reduction was −0.62 to −0.41 (review published 2013; 25 RCTs). (Meditative Therapies for Reducing Anxiety:…)
  • Meditative therapies versus attention controls produced an anxiety SMD of −0.59 (review published 2013; 7 RCTs; 466 unique subjects). (Meditative Therapies for Reducing Anxiety:…)
  • The 95% confidence interval for meditation versus attention-control anxiety reduction was −0.79 to −0.39 (review published 2013; 7 RCTs). (Meditative Therapies for Reducing Anxiety:…)
  • Meditative therapies versus alternative active treatments produced an anxiety SMD of −0.27 (review published 2013; 10 RCTs; 581 unique observations). (Meditative Therapies for Reducing Anxiety:…)

Study-count and participant-count context; not an outcome effect by itself.

Small-to-medium pooled effect; excludes one outlier and measures symptoms, not necessarily diagnosed anxiety disorders.

Confidence interval around a pooled standardized effect.

Statistical heterogeneity measure, included to qualify the pooled result.

Small-to-medium pooled effect; symptom outcome and outlier exclusion limit generalization.

Statistical heterogeneity measure, not a clinical improvement percentage.

Most trials measured anxiety symptoms as a secondary concern rather than diagnosed anxiety disorders.

Pooled comparison includes waiting-list or treatment-as-usual controls; symptom outcome.

Confidence interval around pooled standardized symptom difference.

Attention-control comparisons can differ in intervention content and expectancy.

Active comparators included exercise, medication, music and relaxation; effects were smaller than versus waiting lists.

Meditation statistics for pain, headache and chronic conditions

Study design mix and adult primary-headache population limit generalization.

Sample count from included controlled studies; not a population prevalence estimate.

Pooled controlled-trial effect; confidence interval crosses a wide range (−1.63 to −0.15).

Confidence interval around pooled standardized pain difference.

Pooled controlled-trial effect, not a percentage reduction in headache days.

Confidence interval around pooled standardized frequency difference.

Subgroup result; the abstract does not provide a pooled percentage improvement.

Range spans different outcomes and is not a single overall meditation effect.

Included conditions were heterogeneous and study quality was mixed.

Different humanistic outcomes are not directly interchangeable.

Meditation statistics for sleep, safety and digital mindfulness tools

  • A mindfulness-meditation insomnia meta-analysis included 6 randomized controlled trials and 330 participants (review published 2016; Patients with insomnia). (Mindfulness meditation for insomnia: A…)
  • Subgroup effects across selected insomnia sleep outcomes had absolute SMDs ranging from 0.44 to 1.09 (review published 2016; Patients with insomnia). (Mindfulness meditation for insomnia: A…)
  • A review of 83 meditation-safety studies including 6,703 participants found negative experiences reported in 55 studies (review published 2020; Meditation-study participants). (Meditation and Mindfulness: Effectiveness and…)
  • The same 2020 review estimated that about 8% of participants experienced a negative effect from meditation (review published 2020; Participants in 83 reviewed studies). (Meditation and Mindfulness: Effectiveness and…)
  • In an analysis of 3 mindfulness-based stress-reduction studies with 521 participants, meditation was not more harmful than no treatment (2020 review analysis; Mindfulness-based stress-reduction participants). (Meditation and Mindfulness: Effectiveness and…)
  • A 2024 meta-analysis pooled 43 randomized controlled trials of mindfulness apps for depression symptoms (published 2024; Mindfulness-app trial participants). (The efficacy of mindfulness apps…)
  • Mindfulness apps reduced depression symptoms versus controls with g=0.24 (published 2024; Mindfulness-app trial participants). (The efficacy of mindfulness apps…)
  • The 95% confidence interval for the mindfulness-app depression effect was 0.17 to 0.31 (published 2024; Mindfulness-app trial participants). (The efficacy of mindfulness apps…)
  • The number needed to treat equivalent for mindfulness apps versus controls on depression symptoms was 13.57 (published 2024; Mindfulness-app trial participants). (The efficacy of mindfulness apps…)
  • The 2024 mindfulness-app meta-analysis included 48 anxiety comparisons and 6,082 participants (published 2024; Mindfulness-app trial participants). (The efficacy of mindfulness apps…)
  • Mindfulness apps reduced anxiety symptoms versus controls with g=0.28 (published 2024; Mindfulness-app trial participants). (The efficacy of mindfulness apps…)
  • The 95% confidence interval for the mindfulness-app anxiety effect was 0.21 to 0.35 (published 2024; Mindfulness-app trial participants). (The efficacy of mindfulness apps…)
  • The number needed to treat equivalent for mindfulness apps versus controls on anxiety symptoms was 11.47 (published 2024; Mindfulness-app trial participants). (The efficacy of mindfulness apps…)

Small evidence base; results apply to insomnia trial participants.

Subgroup range across different outcomes; not one combined sleep score.

Negative-experience reporting varied across studies and does not establish causality.

Review estimate; common reported negative effects were anxiety and depression, and reporting was heterogeneous.

Only three studies; absence of detected excess harm is not proof of zero risk.

The 43 trials contributed depression comparisons; app adherence and populations varied.

Small pooled effect; symptom measure, not a diagnostic remission rate.

Confidence interval around pooled standardized symptom effect.

NNT is converted from a pooled standardized effect and depends on baseline risk assumptions.

Comparison count can exceed study count because trials may contribute multiple comparisons.

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