Key Meditation Statistics:
- It is estimated that up to 500 million people globally practice some kind of meditation.
- About 14% of adults and 7% of children in the US have meditated recently.
- The mindfulness and meditation industry is worth $1.7 billion in the US.
- By 2027, the meditation industry is expected to be valued at $9 billion.
- Calm and Headspace make up 70% of the meditation app market share.
- Around 23% of Gen Z meditates on a regular basis, more than twice as much as Baby Boomers.
- Meditation has been shown to reduce stress, release tension, and lower your risk of heart disease.
- During the COVID-19 pandemic, Fitbit saw 29 times as many meditation logs created as during previous years.
Meditation & Mindfulness Statistics
- Up to 500 million people globally practice meditation.
- About 14% of adults and 7% of children in the US have meditated recently.
- Studies show that meditation can improve anxiety about 60% of the time.
- Meditation lowers your risk of coronary disease hospitalization by up to 87%.
- Meditation cuts the awake time of insomniacs in half.
- Meditation is practiced on a daily basis by 2 out of 3 Buddhists.
- Meditation has grown in popularity in recent years, with users tripling since 2012.
- Meditation can reduce PTSD symptoms by up to 70% in sufferers.
Meditation is a type of mindfulness that has been practiced for thousands of years. In fact, in religions like Buddhism, meditation is a key part of spiritual wellness. While meditation hasn't always been popular in the West, it has grown significantly in North America over the past decade.
Studies have established numerous health benefits of meditation. One of the biggest physical health benefits is that it can reduce the risk of severe heart disease. People who meditate are less likely to be hospitalized for heart disease. Meditation also reduces your cortisol levels, which means that it stabilizes your chemical stress.
In the United States, meditation has grown exponentially over the past decade. There was also a much greater interest in meditation and mindfulness when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Meditation apps brought in record profits and saw millions of downloads.
Benefits of Meditation for Mental Health
- Regular meditation improves your cognition and focus, according to research from Harvard.
- Mindfulness helps you focus on yourself and your surroundings, reducing social anxiety and improving self esteem.
- Meditation lowers your body's cortisol levels by up to 60%, cutting your stress more than in half.
- Meditation reduces symptoms of depression and can reduce relapses by 12%.
- Meditation has a positive effect on the centers of the brain involved in addition and self harm.
- Meditation has been shown to reduce chronic back pain in some patients by up to 30%.
Harvard researchers made the amazing discovery that meditation affects your brain itself. People who meditated were shown to have more gray matter growth in the parts of the brain responsible for concentration and memory. This indicates that meditation can actually sharpen your concentration and memory over time.
Psychologists have noted that meditation is very effective at reducing social anxiety. When you meditate, you focus on yourself. You're given a chance to get in touch with your feelings. This can also make it easier for you to find positive attributes about yourself.
Meditation has been shown to be a key part of managing anxiety and depression. Not only does it reduce the risk of depression relapses, but it can also reduce anxiety symptoms by up to 60% over time. It only takes 5 minutes of meditation for your body to release some of its tension and stress.
Meditation has had some benefits for chronic pain sufferers as well. In one study of people with chronic back pain, regular meditation helped reduce the pain by up to 30%.
Demographics of Meditation Users
- 16% of people practicing meditation in the US are women, while 12% are men.
- About 66% of Buddhists meditate on a daily basis, as this is a key part of their religious practice.
- About 14% of people in the United States meditate regularly.
- About 7% of US children meditate on a regular basis.
- Meditation is most popular in the 45 to 65 year old age group in the US, with 16% of the population practicing it regularly.
- Meditation is about as popular as yoga in the US, and the two are often practiced side by side.
The most popular activity for body and mind wellness in the US is yoga, with meditation coming in just behind. Many people choose to practice both yoga and meditation as a part of their morning routine. While meditation is a common part of spiritual practice in Buddhism, it's less common for people outside the Buddhist faith to engage.
In the United States, about 14% of the total adults meditate. The largest demographic for meditation is those in the Gen Z generation. About 23% of them meditate on a regular basis, more than double the number of Baby Boomers.
Women in the United States are slightly more likely to practice meditation than men. About 16% of women engage in regular meditation, while about 12% of men do. Meditation has become more popular with men as successful entrepreneurs and celebrities explain their positive experiences with it.
Children make up the smallest age demographic for meditation in the US. Still, up to 7% of American children have meditated at some point. Schools have experienced success in integrating meditation into their daily programs.
Meditation & Children
- There are twice as many Gen Z practitioners of meditation as Baby Boomers.
- Nearly 1 in 4 Gen Zers uses mindfulness or meditation as a part of their self care.
- Children often learn about meditation through animated Youtube videos.
- Between 5.4% and 7% of children in the US have meditated on a regular basis.
- Regular meditation has a positive effect on children's attention spans and emotional regulation.
- It is recommended that children meditate for at least 5 minutes a day, though they may meditate for longer if they have the attention span.
While more research is necessary, there are preliminary studies showing that meditation can have a positive effect on a child's developing brain.
Not only does meditation help with concentration and focus, but it also helps with emotional regulation. Children who meditate are less likely to act out in class, and they're more likely to be able to solve problems.
Children can meditate at any age. Some begin meditating as young as 4 years old. The length of time of the meditation will vary depending on the age. For example, a kindergartner probably can't focus for much more than 5 minutes at a time. But a high schooler can probably handle the same guided meditations that adults use.
Meditation has been taught as a skillset to children in terms of focus and behavioral regulation. Children also get a chance to "check in" with themselves, which can help them to be more self aware. The biggest benefits of meditation are in the emotional regulation and focus.
Meditation Industry
- The mindfulness and meditation industry is worth $1.7 billion in the US.
- By the end of 2022, the mindfulness and meditation industry will be worth over $2 billion in the US.
- Apps and classes make up a big part of the meditation industry.
- Most people say that their goal in meditation is to improve their well-being.
- People also say that they meditate to improve their energy, aid their memory, and improve their concentration.
Here is an overview of the U.S. meditation industry's size:
The meditation industry in the US has grown significantly over the past decade. By the end of 2022, it is projected to be worth over $2 billion dollars. By 2027, the industry is projected to be worth over $9 billion dollars.
There are a few different things contributing to this major boom.
First, meditation is one of the fastest growing wellness industries in the US. In fact, meditation is growing faster in North America than anywhere else.
Meditation influencers have had a big impact on the industry. Most people in the US don't meditate regularly, but many people in the US are looking for an easy change to their daily routines.
Another interesting note is that meditation is being integrated with virtual reality augmentation.
Meditation apps and wellness companies are creating their own programs that you can use with a VR headset. This is expected to become one of the biggest draws of the meditation industry in 2023.
Many people turned to meditation during the COVID-19 pandemic. They started with DIY videos on Youtube that guided them through their practices.
Then they downloaded apps to track their progress and keep notes on their moods. Fitbit saw a massive increase in the number of meditation logs that were being kept by people throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
About 3 in every 4 people say that their goal in meditation is for general wellness. Another 60% say that they want to have better energy levels, while half say that they want to improve their concentration. These three reasons make up the vast majority of the reasons that people turn to meditation.
Meditation at Work or School
- Meditation has been shown to reduce school suspensions by about 45%.
- About 52% of employers use some form of mindfulness meditation in their workplace.
- Meditation can increase worker productivity by up to 120%.
- Just 5 minutes of meditation during a work day can reduce stress and release tension.
- Some studies suggest that meditation can help to facilitate creative problem solving in the workplace.
Meditation programs have had a positive impact on behavioral issues. One school found that by implementing regular meditation for students, their suspensions dropped by 45%. Children were more attentive, better at getting their work done, and able to regulate their own emotions much more effectively.
Mindfulness meditations have also become popular in the workplace. Today, over half of all employers integrate a mindfulness program into their office environment.
That number is expected to grow as people learn about the efficacy of meditation.
Meditation has been shown to have a positive impact on all areas of the workplace. One company found that their workers more than doubled their productivity after introducing meditation. Meditation for just 5 minutes can help workers to reduce stress, tension, and muscle aches.
In addition, there is evidence that meditation is helpful for creative problem solving. It's possible that the introspection allows you to make deeper connections within your own brain. People who meditate are more likely to think "outside the box." In fact, several entrepreneurs have stated that this is one of the main reasons that they meditate themselves.
Meditation Apps
- The two top meditation apps are Calm and Headspace, which combined make up 70% of the meditation market share.
- People prefer iOS apps to Android apps when looking for meditation resources.
- The most prized features in meditation apps are activity trackers and media features.
- People who meditate several times a day will pay over $20 for monthly subscriptions to meditation apps.
- People spend the most time using Insightimer, even though it doesn't account for much of the total market share.
The most popular meditation app on the market is Calm, followed by Headspace. Both of these apps saw a sharp increase in downloads during the COVID-19 pandemic. Headspace has been downloaded over 12 million times and has $30 million in total app funding.
Meditation accounts make up about 7.4% of the total alternative therapy market. In fact, studios that create meditation-related content have managed to garner $660 million in revenue. Meanwhile, meditation apps and courses themselves tend to bring in over $100 million in revenue.
People have a variety of traits that they prioritize when it comes to meditation apps. They want apps that have accessible media. So if the app comes with video or audio of different meditations, it will appeal. They also want apps that allow you to track your progress and activity.
People who meditate multiple times a day tend to be willing to spend money on meditation subscriptions. In fact, many of them will pay over $20 a month to access all the premium content on a mindfulness app.
The meditation app that people spend the most time on is Insightimer. Statistics show that about 63% of time spent on meditation apps is on Insightimer. Another 17% is spent on Calm, while 13% is spent on Headspace. Together, Calm and Headspace make up around 70% of the meditation app market share.
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage of successful people meditate?
- One reporter said that 4 out of every 5 successful people he interviewed did some form of daily meditation.
- Steve Jobs meditated for most of his adult life, and he credited much of his success to this.
- Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, found that 30 minutes of meditation are vital to a successful morning routine.
- Russell Simmons, the co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, says that meditation is key to inspiring his music and creativity.
- Meditation has been shown to reduce stress and have a positive effect on overall leadership skills.
Meditation is practiced by the majority of successful people. Entrepreneurs, authors, influencers, and celebrities alike all talk about it. Many of them say that they take time to meditate each day as a way to get in touch with themselves. Many of them also say that meditation helps them to face the coming day and problem solve more easily.
Steve Jobs, the cofounder of Apple, meditated for most of his adult life. He said that he was constantly aware of how restless his mind was. By meditating, he was able to calm his mind down and focus on the present. Steve Jobs stated that many of his achievements happened because of how he meditated.
Steve Jobs first started meditating when he traveled to India in 1974. His goal was to study the practices of Buddhism and Hinduism.
He found that these spiritual practices were very helpful for cleansing the mind.
When he came back to the US, he continued to engage in daily meditation, work with spiritual leaders, and often go to meditation retreats.
Steve Jobs talked often about how he reaped the many benefits of meditation. For example, he used mindfulness to solve problems more creatively. He was also able to reduce his stress and innovate.
Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, says that one of the most important things for him is having a consistent routine. He says that the more steady his day-to-day life is, the easier it is for him to react to anything new. Meditation is one of the key things that he does on a daily basis.
Jack Dorsey says that he wakes up at 5 AM every morning in order to get his day started early. The first thing he does is meditate for 30 minutes. Then he does a light workout. Only then does he make coffee and log into work. He makes sure to start his day totally checked out from any of the busy online world.
Jack Dorsey also says that this is vital because his workdays sometimes last for 18 hours. He believes that meditating helps him to be more creative and better at problem solving. He advises others to start small with meditation and then build up a practice over time.
How many people benefit from meditation?
- Anywhere from 200 to 500 million people around the globe engage in meditation regularly.
- North America has seen the biggest growth in meditation practitioners, with the number of people meditating tripling in the past decade.
- Measurable physical benefits of meditation can occur within just five minutes of focused breathing.
- About 14% of people in the US have meditated before.
- Meditation sharply increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, with Fitbit showing that 29 times as many people were keeping meditation logs.
How many US adults meditate?
- About 14% of US adults have meditated recently.
- 16% of US women and 12% of US men have meditated recently.
- In North America, the number of meditation practitioners has tripled in just a decade.
- About 21% of people in the US say they have some interest in learning about meditation through virtual classes.
- Demand for meditation apps grew 65% from 2019 to 2020.
How many meditations are there?
- There are hundreds of different kinds of meditation.
- The Headspace app has isolated 16 kinds of meditation, using 8 main techniques.
- Healthline states that there are 9 main categories of meditation, each of which can benefit you differently.
- Everyday Health has written about 7 main categories of meditation, with some overlap with Healthline.
- Some types of meditation originate within spiritual practices like Buddhism.
