In 1979, Jon Kabat-Zinn established the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program at the University of Massachusetts, initially aimed at helping those with chronic illnesses. This initiative paved the way for integrating mindfulness practices into medical treatments, benefiting both healthy individuals and those with various health conditions.
Currently, 17.3% of people in the United States practice mindful meditation, and a large share are between 45 and 65 years old.
Let’s explore more details about Mindfulness, its user count, its usage, benefits, applications, and other latest facts and figures in this article.
Mindfulness Statistics 2024 (Editors Pick)
- Between 200 and 500 million individuals globally engage in meditation and mindfulness practices.
- The share of adults in the United States practicing mindful meditation doubled from 2002 to 2022, from 7.5% to 17.3%.
- Practicing mindfulness can boost employee productivity and focus by 120%.
- Implementing mindfulness practices in the classroom led to a 9% to 15.4% increase in students’ GPA.
- Within just two months, mindfulness practices reduced anxiety levels by 30%, proving to be as effective as conventional medication.
- 79% of adults reported that practicing meditation and mindfulness enhanced their overall health and well-being.
- In January 2024, Better Sleep topped the charts as the most downloaded health and meditation app globally, with 1.04 million downloads.
Global Mindfulness Statistics
- 200 to 500 million people worldwide meditate and practice mindfulness.
According to the latest estimates, between 2% to 6.25% of people worldwide meditate.
The popularity of mindfulness has spiked during the pandemic, and a large share of people worldwide are looking forward to practicing mindfulness every year. The amount of time spent on meditating has grown by 2,900% since March 2020.
Besides, the mindfulness practice is quite popular in the West.
Source: MindWorks, Global Wellness Institute.
- The number of publications on mindfulness reached 2808 in 2020.
The number of publications on Mindfulness was recorded to be less than 100 per year until 2006. However, between 2010 and 2020, the number of publications increased by an average of 23.5% per year.
Besides, 16,581 publications on Mindfulness were published between 1966 and 2021, two-thirds of which were in the period 2016 to 2021.
At the same time, the number of reviews on Mindfulness has also increased, reaching a peak of 405 in 2019.
Source: ResearchGate, Mindful
Mindfulness In The United States
- The percentage of adults in the United States who practiced Mindful meditation doubled between 2002 and 2022.
In 2002, just 7.5% of the people in the United States practiced mindfulness; in 2022, this percentage reached 17.3%.
Mindful meditation was the most popular complementary mental health approach followed by people in 2022.
Here is a table displaying further details about the seven mental health approaches followed by people in the United States in 2022:
| Complementary Mental Health Approaches | Percentage Of People In The United States |
|---|---|
| Mindful Meditation | 17.3% |
| Yoga | 15.8% |
| Chiropractic Care | 11.0% |
| Massage Therapy | 10.9% |
| Guided Imagery/Progressive Muscle Relaxation | 6.4% |
| Acupuncture | 2.2% |
| Naturopathy | 1.3% |
Source: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
Demographics Breakdown Of Mindfulness Practitioners In The United States
- 2.1% of women reported that they practiced Mindfulness, while 1.7% of the men stated the same.
On the other hand, 20.6% of the meditating women and 31.5% of the meditating men stated that they practiced mindfulness.
Male meditators made higher use of mantra, mindfulness, and spiritual meditation. On the other hand, women meditators preferred to pair meditation with yoga, tai chi, or qi gong.
Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)
- 15.9% of the adults aged 45 to 64 years practiced Mindfulness meditations.
According to a 2017 survey conducted in the United States, the largest share of the adults who practiced Mindfulness belonged to the 45 to 64 year age group.
Besides, 13.4% of the adults aged 18 to 44 years and another 13.4% of the adults aged over 65 years practiced mindfulness.
Here is a table displaying a detailed breakdown of the people in the United States who practiced mindfulness meditations by age:
| Age Group | Percentage Of Adults In The US |
|---|---|
| 18 to 44 years | 13.4% |
| 45 to 64 years | 15.9% |
| over 65 years | 13.4% |
Source: NCHS
Benefits Of Mindfulness
The benefits of mindfulness can be observed in various aspects of our lives. Mindfulness is more likely to have a positive effect on our mental and physical health and improve people’s efficiency in student life and work.
Various studies and research conducted over the years have helped us take a closer look at the benefits of adopting mindfulness in our daily lives.
Benefits Of Mindfulness In The Workplace
- Mindfulness increases the productivity and the focus of the employees by 120%.
At the same time, regular and well-practiced mindfulness also led to an 85% decrease in absenteeism.
Additionally, businesses that had meditation programs for their employees witnessed an increase of 520% in their profit.
Further, 60% of the employees who experienced anxiety at their workplace showed an improvement in their mental health at work after practicing mindfulness meditation.
Source: Steeve Gooch
- Over half of American employers offer some form of mindfulness training to their employees.
These investments contribute to the global corporate wellness market, which is valued at over $50 billion.
Source: Harvard Business Review
Benefits Of Mindfulness In Schools
- Practicing mindfulness in the classroom reduces students’ behavior problems by 60%.
At the same time, practicing mindfulness helped minority students close the achievement gap with their white classmates in multiple subjects by 20% to 30%.
Source: InnExplorer.
- Adopting Mindfulness in the classroom improved the GPA of the students by 9% to 15.4%.
The grades of the students in the schools that included mindfulness in their classrooms increased in most subject areas.
A great improvement was seen in maths, where the grades improved by 18% to 28%. Further, the students’ science grades increased by 20% to 23%.
Additionally, the scores of these students on standardized tests in reading increased by 13%.
Here is a table displaying the increase in students’ grades in different subjects after they adopted mindfulness in their classrooms.
| Subject | Increase In Grades |
|---|---|
| Maths | 18 to 28% |
| Science | 20% to 23% |
| Reading | 9% to 18% |
| Social Studies | 12% to 30% |
| Writing | 9% to 13% |
| Standardized Test Scores in Reading | 13% |
Source: InnExplorer.
Benefits Of Mindfulness On Mental Health
- Mindfulness helped to reduce anxiety levels by 30% in 2 months and was found to be as effective as a standard drug.
In 2022, a study conducted highlighted that Mindfulness meditation worked head-to-head as a standard drug for treating anxiety.
In this study, the participants were randomly provided with daily use of generic drugs or assigned to a mindfulness program.
After two months, the anxiety levels in the participants decreased by 30% in both groups, and it continued to decrease for the following four months.
Source: AP News.
- 17.5% more people who received MBCT self-help recovered from depression than from CBT self-help.
In a study conducted, 63% of the participants who received Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) self-help recovered from depression.
On the other hand, 74% of the people who were treated with mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) self-help recovered from depression.
These numbers proved that mindfulness was more effective than cognitive-based therapy in recovering depression.
Source: The Guardian
- Children slept for an additional hour after taking mindfulness training.
According to a study conducted in 2021, elementary school children who participated in mindfulness training twice a week for two years experienced an average increase of 74 minutes of sleep per night.
This increase in overall sleep time also encompassed an extra 24 minutes of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which is the phase where memories are consolidated and stored.
Source: CNN
Benefits of Mindfulness On Physical Health
- 60% of the people practiced meditation and mindfulness to improve their energy.
At the same time, 1 in 2 adults stated that meditation helped them to improve their memory or concentration.
Meanwhile, 1 in 3 adults said that they practiced meditation to improve their immune systems.
Here is a table displaying the reasons adults stated for practicing meditation and mindfulness.
| Reason For Practicing Meditation And Mindfulness | Percentage Of Adults |
|---|---|
| For general wellness or general disease prevention | 76.2% |
| To improve energy | 60.0% |
| To improve immune function | 33.8% |
| To improve athletic or sports performance | 18.4% |
| To improve memory or concentration | 50.0% |
Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)
- 61.3% of the adults stated that meditation and mindfulness helped them to cope with health problems.
According to a recent survey, over 3 in 5 adults stated that by adopting meditation in their lives they were able to overcome their health problems.
Further, nearly 9 in 10 people stated that meditation and mindfulness helped reduce stress or aid relaxation, while nearly 4 in 5 adults stated that their overall health improved.
Here is a table displaying the effect of mediation on the overall health of the adults:
| Effect Of Meditation And Mindfulness | Percentage Of Adults |
|---|---|
| Gave a sense of control over health | 59.3% |
| Helped to reduce stress levels or to relax | 89.4% |
| Helped to sleep better | 69.3% |
| Helped to feel better emotionally | 86.6% |
| Made it easier to cope with health problems | 61.3% |
| Improves overall health and makes you feel better | 79.0% |
| Improved relationships with others | 67.4% |
| Improved attendance at job or school (only students/employed) | 26.5% |
Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)
Mindfulness Apps Statistics
- The mobile meditation and mental wellness app market is estimated to be valued at $1.64 billion in 2024.
Comparatively, the market worldwide was valued at $1.39 billion in 2023. That displays an increase of $0.25 billion in market value between 2023 and 2024.
Further, by the end of the year 2033, the mobile meditation and mental wellness app market is estimated to reach a valuation of $7.25 billion.
Here is a table displaying the Mobile meditation app market size worldwide over the years:
| Year | Mobile Meditation App Market Size Worldwide |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 1.39 billion |
| 2024* | 1.64 billion |
| 2025* | 1.93 billion |
| 2026* | 2.28 billion |
| 2027* | 2.69 billion |
| 2028* | 3.17 billion |
| 2029* | 3.74 billion |
| 2030* | 4.42 billion |
| 2031* | 5.21 billion |
| 2032* | 6.15 billion |
| 2033* | 7.25 billion |
*- projected values.
Source: Statista.
- Better Sleep was the most downloaded health and meditation app worldwide in January 2024, with 1.04 million downloads.
Calm was the second most downloaded app worldwide, with 1.01 million downloads recorded in the month of January.
Other mindfulness apps that were downloaded the most worldwide were Sleep Monitor and Sleep Cycle.
Here is a table displaying the number of monthly app downloads recorded in January 2024.
| App | Number Of Monthly Downloads |
|---|---|
| BetterSleep: Relax and Sleep | 1,037,568 |
| Calm | 1,010,835 |
| Sleep Monitor: Sleep Tracker | 880,080 |
| Sleep Cycle – Sleep Tracker | 655,787 |
| Headspace: Sleep & Meditation | 454,321 |
| Fabulous Daily Routine Planner | 404,184 |
| RISE: Sleep Tracker | 389,908 |
| Balance: Meditation & Sleep | 371,448 |
| Sleep Tracker – Sleep Recorder | 284,227 |
| Meditopia: AI, Meditation | 249,142 |
| Insight Timer–Meditate & Sleep | 221,919 |
| Breethe: Sleep & Meditation | 208,525 |
Source: Statista.
Conclusion: Practicing Mindfulness Improves Mental As Well As Physical Health
Mindfulness has proven to be a great tool for improving concentration, stress management, and healing physical health. As a result, Mindfulness apps have managed to grab people’s attention, and hence, their market is estimated to reach $1.64 billion in 2024.
Besides, over 1 in 2 students and employees were able to benefit from practicing mindfulness and improved their performance at school or work.
The results from all the studies conducted on mindfulness stated that practicing it usually helped people. However, a small share of the adults experienced no effect or negative effects. But that was a result of practicing too much mindfulness.
