Relaxation is measured in several different ways: participation in practices, perceived stress, psychological outcomes, biomarkers, blood pressure and sleep. The figures below distinguish those measures, populations and periods rather than treating relaxation as one standardized population metric.
Key Relaxation Statistics
The most useful headline figures span participation, stress and outcomes:
- In 2022, 17.3% of U.S. adults practiced meditation.
- From 2002 to 2022, meditation use among U.S. adults rose from 7.5% to 17.3%.
- In 2022, 15.8% of U.S. adults practiced yoga.
- In 2022, 10.9% of U.S. adults used massage therapy.
- In 2022, 6.4% of U.S. adults used guided imagery or progressive muscle relaxation.
- In 2012, 10.9% of U.S. adults used deep breathing exercises during the previous 12 months.
- In 2023, U.S. adults rated average stress 5.0 on a 1–10 scale.
- In 2023, 24% of U.S. adults rated their average stress 8–10.
- In 2023, adults aged 18–34 reported mean stress of 6.0 on a 1–10 scale.
- In 2023, adults aged 65 and older reported mean stress of 3.4 on a 1–10 scale.
- In active-control randomized trials, mindfulness meditation improved anxiety at eight weeks with an effect size of 0.38.
- Across stress-management studies through 2023, the pooled cortisol effect versus controls was Hedges g=0.282.
- In adults with hypertension or prehypertension, breathing control lowered systolic blood pressure by 6.65 mmHg versus passive comparators.
- In adults with hypertension or prehypertension, progressive muscle relaxation lowered systolic blood pressure by 7.46 mmHg in a short-term network estimate.
- Progressive muscle relaxation improved adult sleep quality with pooled Hedges g=−1.24 in randomized trials.
- A single session reduced physiological stress reactivity in 71% of studies measuring physiological outcomes among healthy adults.
Contents
- Relaxation practice participation in the United States
- Stress levels and age-group relaxation data
- Meditation, relaxation and psychological outcomes
- Cortisol and physiological stress markers
- Blood pressure and cardiovascular measures
- Sleep, quality of life and recovery
Relaxation Practice Participation in the United States
Survey estimates show that relaxation-related participation depends heavily on the practice definition. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health notes that meditation, yoga, breathing, imagery, massage and progressive relaxation are related but not interchangeable categories.
U.S. adult participation in 2022
| Practice or approach | U.S. adults in 2022 |
|---|---|
| Meditation | 17.3% |
| Yoga | 15.8% |
| Massage therapy | 10.9% |
| Guided imagery or progressive muscle relaxation | 6.4% |
| Acupuncture | 2.2% |
| Naturopathy | 1.3% |
These are NHIS self-report estimates for U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized adults. Yoga includes movement and breathing, massage is a complementary approach, and the guided-imagery/progressive-relaxation category combines two practices; none is a direct measure of a person’s relaxation state. Meditation and Mindfulness: Effectiveness and Safety
Meditation participation also has a longer historical comparison:
- U.S. adult meditation use rose from 7.5% in 2002 to 17.3% in 2022.
- The comparison spans NHIS survey waves, so practice definitions and wording may have changed over time.
The earlier 2012 NHIS snapshot used different practice categories and a past-year recall period. In that year, 10.9% of adults reported deep breathing exercises, 8.0% reported meditation and 2.1% reported progressive relaxation during the previous 12 months. 10 Most Common Complementary Health Approaches Among Adults—2012
Relaxation and Stress Trends Across U.S. Adults
Perceived stress is not the inverse of relaxation, but it provides context for why people may seek breathing, meditation or other practices. The APA’s 2023 online national adult survey reported an average stress rating of 5.0 on a 1–10 scale.
| U.S. adult group | Mean stress in 2023 |
|---|---|
| All adults | 5.0 |
| Ages 18–34 | 6.0 |
| Ages 35–44 | 5.7 |
| Ages 45–64 | 5.0 |
| Ages 65 and older | 3.4 |
The share of adults reporting very high average stress also changed across the available survey years: 24% rated stress 8–10 in 2023, compared with 19% in 2019. This cross-wave comparison should be read with the survey context in mind rather than as a direct measure of relaxation participation.
Stressors were widespread in the 2023 survey. Health-related stressors were reported by 65% of adults, money by 63% and the economy by 64%; respondents could select multiple stressors. Stress in America 2023: A nation recovering from collective trauma
The APA survey used an online national adult sample and reported a margin of error of approximately ±2.5 percentage points. Its percentages describe reported stressors, not the number of people using relaxation techniques.
Meditation and Relaxation Statistics for Anxiety and Depression
Clinical evidence is usually expressed as an effect size rather than as the percentage of people “cured.” In the systematic review of 47 active-control randomized trials, mindfulness meditation produced modest improvements in anxiety and depression, with follow-up estimates generally smaller than immediate post-intervention findings.
| Outcome and period | Effect size |
|---|---|
| Anxiety at 8 weeks | 0.38 (95% CI 0.12–0.64) |
| Anxiety at 3–6 months | 0.22 (95% CI 0.02–0.43) |
| Depression at 8 weeks | 0.30 (95% CI 0.00–0.59) |
| Depression at 3–6 months | 0.23 (95% CI 0.05–0.42) |
| Pain, post-intervention | 0.33 (95% CI 0.03–0.62) |
The population was adults in active-control randomized trials for the anxiety, depression and psychological-stress findings. The review rated the evidence as moderate, and the depression interval at eight weeks included a near-zero lower bound. Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
An older ten-year review of relaxation training examined studies from 1997–2007 among people with anxiety problems or disorders. Between-group anxiety change was Cohen d=0.51 (95% CI 0.46–0.634), while within-study change was Cohen d=0.57 (95% CI 0.52–0.68); within-group estimates are more vulnerable to time and expectancy effects. Relaxation training for anxiety: a ten-years systematic review with meta-analysis
Relaxation Statistics for Cortisol and Physiological Stress Markers
Cortisol studies use different specimens and collection schedules, so pooled estimates should not be treated as one universal biological response. A systematic review of stress-management interventions through 2023 combined blood, saliva and hair cortisol in mixed adult populations.
| Intervention or measure | Pooled Hedges g |
|---|---|
| All stress-management interventions versus controls | 0.282 |
| Cortisol-awakening measures | 0.644 |
| Diurnal cortisol measures | 0.255 |
| Mindfulness and meditation | 0.345 |
| Relaxation interventions | 0.347 |
| Mind-body therapies | 0.129 |
| Talking therapies | 0.107, not statistically significant |
The review also reported g=0.477 for active-control studies and g=0.129 for passive-control studies. Those are subgroup estimates, and passive controls may inflate apparent intervention effects; the categories pooled different interventions and biomarker protocols. Effectiveness of stress management interventions to change cortisol levels: a systematic review and meta-analysis
These results indicate how physiological outcomes are reported, not a guarantee that a particular relaxation routine will change an individual’s cortisol level. Measurement timing and specimen type are central to interpretation.
Relaxation, Blood Pressure and Cardiovascular Measures
A network meta-analysis with a search through 2024 evaluated adults with hypertension or prehypertension. The estimates below are short-term systolic blood-pressure differences versus passive comparators, expressed in mmHg.
| Intervention | Systolic blood-pressure difference |
|---|---|
| Breathing control | −6.65 mmHg (95% CrI −10.39 to −2.93) |
| Meditation | −7.71 mmHg (95% CrI −14.07 to −1.29) |
| Meditative movement | −9.58 mmHg (95% CrI −12.95 to −6.17) |
| Mindfulness | −9.90 mmHg (95% CrI −16.44 to −3.53) |
| Music | −6.61 mmHg (95% CrI −11.62 to −1.56) |
| Progressive muscle relaxation | −7.46 mmHg (95% CrI −12.15 to −2.96) |
| Psychotherapy | −9.83 mmHg (95% CrI −16.24 to −3.43) |
| Multicomponent intervention | −6.78 mmHg (95% CrI −11.59 to −1.99) |
Meditative movement included tai chi and yoga, while music, psychotherapy and multicomponent interventions are comparator or broader categories rather than relaxation alone. The credible intervals are part of each estimate, and the results should not be presented as a substitute for clinical treatment. Effectiveness of stress management and relaxation interventions for management of hypertension and prehypertension: systematic review and network meta-analysis
Relaxation Statistics for Sleep, Quality of Life and Recovery
Progressive muscle relaxation has also been studied through sleep-quality outcomes. A review of randomized trials among adults found a pooled Hedges g of −1.24 (95% CI −1.71 to −0.77), with subjective sleep outcomes and high heterogeneity (I²=85.5%).
Subgroups produced different estimates:
- Among adults with cancer, sleep-quality Hedges g was −1.17 (95% CI −2.24 to −0.09), with I²=86.8%.
- Among adults without cancer in the included trials, Hedges g was −1.29 (95% CI −1.94 to −0.65), with I²=86.5%.
- Adults younger than 55 had Hedges g=−1.40 (95% CI −2.12 to −0.69).
- Adults aged 55 and older had Hedges g=−1.17 (95% CI −2.67 to 0.32), which was not statistically significant because the interval crossed zero.
The meta-regression found no significant association between the number of progressive-relaxation sessions and sleep quality (p=0.2106). This does not establish an optimal dose or prove that more sessions cannot help. The effects of progressive muscle relaxation on sleep quality in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Short-term practice can also be evaluated through stress reactivity. A systematic review of healthy adults covering studies through July 2023 found that a single session of meditation, breathing or yoga reduced physiological stress reactivity in 71% of studies measuring physiological outcomes and reduced psychological stress reactivity in 65% of studies measuring psychological outcomes.
The review covered 31 interventions: 22 meditation, 4 breathing and 5 yoga interventions. These percentages are a narrative synthesis of favorable study results, not pooled effect sizes, and yoga and meditation are broader than relaxation alone. Effect of a single session of yoga and meditation on stress reactivity: A systematic review