Minding the Body: A Meta-analysis of the Effects of Mindfulness Meditation Training on Self-reported Interoception

TL;DR

This study finds that mindfulness meditation training improves self-reported interoception, which may help improve mental wellbeing.

Contribution

A pre-registered meta-analysis showing mindfulness interventions enhance interoception with moderate effect sizes.

Findings

Mindfulness interventions improved self-reported interoception with a small-to-medium effect (g = 0.31).

Mindfulness-based programs had the largest effect (g = 0.41) compared to other types of interventions.

Improvements in interoception were linked to reduced psychological distress.

Abstract

Mindfulness meditation training may cultivate interoceptive awareness and provide therapeutic benefit when implemented within mental and physical health interventions. This pre-registered meta-analysis evaluated the impact of mindfulness interventions on self-reported interoception measures and associated relationships with psychological outcomes. Twenty-nine randomized controlled trials with 2,191 participants (77.8% female, mean age 32.8 years) were meta-analyzed using correlated and hierarchical effects models. Interventions included mindfulness-based programs (k = 15), body-based approaches (incorporating elements like massage, k = 8), and other variations (k = 6). Five SIMs were tested; the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness was the most common (22 studies). Results showed a small-to-medium positive effect on interoception measures across all studies (g = 0.31, p < 0.001, 95% CI [0.21, 0.42]) with low-to-moderate heterogeneity (τ = 0.16). Mindfulness-based programs demonstrated the largest effects (g = 0.41). No evidence of publication bias was found. No other moderators, such as practice dosage or clinical sample, were significant. Improvements in self-reported interoception were similar in size to improvements in self-reported mindfulness and were related to improvements in psychological distress. These meta-analytic findings provide evidence that mindfulness-based interventions lead to adaptive changes in the subjective experience of interoception, perhaps contributing to improved mental wellbeing.

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