A new review paper reveals that meditation apps are not just a trend; they are scientifically proven tools offering significant mental health benefits. With millions of users worldwide, these apps bring meditation right to your pocket, providing an accessible, flexible and personalized way to manage stress, anxiety and insomnia.
Meditation apps are rapidly becoming a global phenomenon with millions of downloads and a widespread user base. According to a recent review paper published in the journal American Psychologist, these apps are not just popular but are also proving to be effective tools for improving mental health.
“Meditation apps, such as Calm and Headspace, have been enormously popular in the commercial market,” lead author J. David Creswell, a health psychologist at Carnegie Mellon University, said in a news release. “What they’re doing now is not only engaging millions of users every day, but they’re also creating new scientific opportunities and challenges.”
The convenience of meditation apps — available on smartphones, computers and wearable devices — makes them accessible to people worldwide, including those in remote areas.
“You can imagine a farmer in rural Nebraska not having many available opportunities to go to traditional group-based meditation programs, and now they have an app in their pocket which is available 24/7,” added Creswell, who is also the William S. Dietrich II Professor in Psychology and Neuroscience.
The digital nature of these apps also opens doors for extensive scientific research.
“Historically, I might bring 300 irritable bowel syndrome patients into my lab and study the impacts of meditation on pain management,” Creswell added. “But now I’m thinking, how do we harness the capacity of meditation apps and wearable health sensors to study 30,000 irritable bowel syndrome patients across the world?”
Combining meditation apps with devices like Fitbit and Apple Watch, which monitor biometrics such as heart rate and sleep patterns, allows for an unprecedented level of integration of physical data into meditation practices.
Meditation apps currently dominate the mental health app market, accounting for 96% of overall users.
“Meditation apps dominate the mental health app market,” added Creswell. “And this paper is really the first to lay out the new normal and challenge researchers and tech developers to think in new ways about the disruptive nature of these apps and their reach.”
These apps often start users with brief training sessions focused on fundamentals like breathing and mindfulness. Data shows that just 10 to 21 minutes of such exercises, performed three times a week, can yield significant results.
“Of course, that looks really different from the daily meditation practice you might get within an in-person group-based meditation program, which might be 30 to 45 minutes a day,” Creswell explained.
The flexibility and convenience of meditation apps attract users who might not have the time or budget for in-person sessions. Users can access guided meditations on-demand, making it easy to fit mindfulness practices into their busy lives.
“Maybe you’re waiting in line at Starbucks, and you’ve got three minutes to do a brief check-in mindfulness training practice,” added Creswell.
Looking ahead, Creswell anticipates further integration of AI into these platforms, offering even greater personalization of the meditation experience.
“People use meditation for different things, and there’s a big difference between someone looking to optimize their free-throw shooting performance and someone trying to alleviate chronic pain,” he added.
However, retaining user engagement remains a significant challenge.
“The engagement problem is not specific to meditation apps,” added Creswell. “But the numbers are really sobering. Ninety-five percent of participants who download a meditation app aren’t using it after 30 days.”
Despite this, the potential for meditation apps to make a difference in mental health remains strong.
“People are suffering right now. There are just unbelievably high levels of stress and loneliness in the world, and these tools have tremendous potential to help,” Creswell added.
While acknowledging that in-person meditation sessions may never be fully replaced, Creswell sees these apps as a beneficial entry point for developing mindfulness skills.
“I don’t think there is ever going to be a complete replacement for a good, in-person meditation group or teacher,” he added. “But I think meditation apps are a great first step for anyone who wants to dip their toes in and start training up their mindfulness skills. The initial studies show that these meditation apps help with symptom relief and even reduce stress biomarkers.”
Source: Carnegie Mellon University