Predictors of Meditation Success: A Literature Review

Abstract

Despite a wealth of research examining the effectiveness and neurobiological mechanisms of meditation approaches, there is limited information about the factors that may contribute to the successful implementation of long-term meditation practice. This literature review examines studies that explore the experiences of meditators with particular attention to those studies that investigate adherence to practice. The core purpose of this inquiry is to discover the key differences between successful long-term meditators and failed meditators with the aim to establish new insight into the larger field of mind-body medicine and mindfulness interventions in particular. It is well established that meditation has shown promise in improving outcomes for a wide array of physical and mental health concerns in adults who regularly adhere to this ancient practice [1]. Meditation has been associated with improvements in individuals with high anxiety, lowered depression and anxiety symptoms for patients with bipolar disorder, and reduced rates of insomnia [2][3][4]. The physiological effects related to anti-aging management of chronic pain anti-stress, and improved cognitive outcomes for the aged are also well documented and more robust than the current body of research on its therapeutic role in mental health [5][6][7]. The benefits of meditation extend beyond treating physical and mental illness with a number of studies demonstrating the ways in which meditation enhances overall wellbeing, such as positive emotion, cognitive flexibility and attention and enhanced compassion and ethical awareness [8][9][10].The neurobiological mechanisms of action have also been well investigated, suggesting the core reasons for its clinical effectiveness [11]. Studies have shown mindfulness to activate the areas associated with pain management, such as the orbit frontal and cingulated cortices reduce cortisol levels and improve neuroendocrine responses to psychosocial stress [12][13][14]. Lazar et al., tested the hypothesis that regular meditation practice is associated with differences in the structures in the brain and with magnetic resonance imaging determined the thickness of the cerebral cortex of experienced meditators to be significantly different than non-meditators (significance, p<0.001) [15]. It's important to note that this study is cross-sectional and it may be that long-term meditators had greater cortical mass in the first place, potentially contributing to greater motivation and perseverance in meditation. Many psychophysiological studies to date fail to determine whether adherence to meditation is specific to a person's psychological trait or the meditation approach itself. The literature to date also fails to answer whether long-term meditation carries a clear advantage over shorter meditation, and if so how. The present study is a step towards highlighting the link between meditation duration, home practice and potential benefits.Despite the ambiguity in research in terms of the advantages of short-term versus long-term med...

ENIGMA-Meditation: Worldwide consortium for neuroscientific investigations of meditation practices

“…• Several ENIGMA WGs use data-driven methods, such as non-linear, multivariate, machine and deep learning approaches to predict / determine brain-aging related abnormalities in MDD (99) and schizophrenia (129), predict alcohol dependence (100), or classify anxiety disorder cases vs. controls (101) and OCD cases vs. controls (102) based on brain structure. Similarly, ENIGMA-Meditation can develop powerful computational models that use neuroscientific data to distinguish levels of meditation experience or predict individual-level/patient-level responses to specific meditation practices and MIs (130), complementing efforts that predict meditation outcomes using self-report data (131)(132)(133). Such efforts may also help demystify the neuroscientific mechanisms and predispositions underlying various documented contraindications to meditation practice (30,134).…”

Training in tranquil abiding meditation as a treatment for core symptoms and a cognitive remediation program of executive functions in young adults with ADHD: A pilot study.

“…That other "antidote" is more or less similar to the concept of self-efficacy, which again is inspired by the social cognitive theory of Bandura (1986) and very well linked to the practice of meditation in general by Sharma (2013). Studies are also beginning to emerge, assessing the role of self-efficacy with regard to adherence in practice to yoga (Cheung et al, 2016) and mindfulness meditation (Birdee et al, 2018;Kambolis, 2017) therapy programs.…”