The effects of body scan meditation: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Summary & key facts

This review pooled 14 randomized trials to see what a single mindfulness practice—the body scan—does on its own. The body scan produced a small increase in measured mindfulness versus passive control (Hedges' g = 0.268, 95% CI 0.032–0.504). Study quality was generally low and results varied a lot between studies. The authors conclude that doing only the body scan is not enough to improve health-related outcomes.

Key facts:

• The review included 14 independent randomized controlled trials with no limits on the populations studied.
• Body scan alone showed a small positive effect on mindfulness compared with passive control: Hedges' g = 0.268 (95% CI = 0.032 to 0.504), p < .05.
• Outcomes in the included trials were grouped into seven categories for analysis.
• The meta-analysis used robust variance estimation to combine results across studies.
• Study quality was judged to be low across the trials reviewed.
• There was high heterogeneity across studies, meaning results differed substantially between trials.
• Long-term body scan interventions had a low attrition (dropout) rate in the reviewed studies.
• The authors concluded that a sole body scan meditation is not effective enough to improve health-related outcomes.

Abstract

Standardized mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has been proved to be effective across many populations while the time commitment for the standardized intervention leads to high attrition rate. To address the problem, there has been a growing interest in conducting a single component of MBSR such as body scan. However, the impact of a sole mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of body scan meditation. A search of databases, including PubMed, Embase, EBSCO, Cochrance, Proquest Dissertations, and Theses, was conducted for randomized controlled trials with no population restriction. Fourteen independent articles were identified and outcomes were divided into seven categories. A meta-analysis with robust variance estimation was conducted separately for different outcome categories. Body scan only had small effect on mindfulness when compared with passive control (Hedge's g = .268, 95% CI = [0.032, 0.504], p < .05). The attrition rate of long-term interventions was low. The quality of these studies was low. There was high heterogeneity across studies. A sole body scan meditation is not effective enough to improve health-related outcomes.

Topics

Art Therapy and Mental Health COVID-19 and Mental Health Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions

Categories

Clinical Psychology Psychology Social Sciences

Tags

Attrition Clinical psychology Dentistry Environmental health Internal medicine Intervention (counseling) Law Medicine Meditation MEDLINE Meta-analysis Mindfulness Mindfulness-based stress reduction Philosophy Political science Population Psychiatry Psychological intervention Psychology Randomized controlled trial Systematic review Theology