Meditation: A Healthy Activity, but not a Cure-All

Though many use meditation as a way to reduce stress and pain, a recent study shows that meditation may not be so helpful when it comes to getting a better night's rest, helping break an addiction or losing weight.

Unfortunately, researchers found no evidence that meditation programs were better than exercise, drugs or other behavioral therapies for addressing mental health issues as well, according to the latest meta-analysis.

The review found a "small and consistent signal" that stress, anxiety and depression improved in people who practiced mindfulness meditation, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Study results showed that mindfulness meditation seemed to improve anxiety symptoms by 22 to 38 percent, depressive symptoms by 23 to 30 percent and pain by an average of 33 percent, according to Medical Xpress.

They also noted that less-than-robust findings regarding the benefits of such relaxing technique may be due to poor research, with only 47 of 18,753 studies on meditation clinical trials designed and conducted with enough precision to be included in the review.

What do you think?

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the JAMA Internal Medicine.