Meditation Statistics: Popularity, Benefits, Demographics, Business, and Work

Many people now experience stress, anxiety, and depression because of technological addiction and worldwide events.

Because of mandated restrictions brought about by the COVID-19, many people have looked for other ways to de-stress and improve their mental health. One of the activities that many people rely upon right now is meditation. 

In 2021 and 2022, meditation has reached greater heights with 70% of people who have practiced it are still doing it for more than two years. Not only that, but studies show that people who are practicing meditation have tripled since 2021.

There are more meditation statistics data and available. In this article, we will discuss all the statistics that you need to know about meditation.

With this data, you will not only know how many people practice it, but you will also discover its many benefits.

Read on to learn more.

Increased Popularity of Meditation

Meditation has grown to the point where you can learn and practice it through the help of a video tutorial, a blog, or even a mobile app. Because of the ingenuity of many developers, meditation has reached millions of people around the world.

1. There are about 200-500 million people worldwide that practice meditation.

Research shows that there are millions of people around the world who practice meditation thanks to its many benefits. Not only that, but almost 70% of the people who practice meditation have been doing it for more than two years. 

2. A 2017 research shows that 14.2% of US adults (age 18 and above) have meditated in the past 12 months.

Back in 2012, research showed that only 4.1% of US adults have meditated in 2011. In 2017, you can see a significant rise in the numbers because there are about 14.2% of US adults who have practiced meditation in the previous 12 months. 

The rise has been noted because some more schools and companies offer meditation and yoga classes to their students and employees. In addition, more yoga and meditation apps are being downloaded over the years.

3. There are over 14% of Americans who tried meditating at least once.

At least 14% of Americans tried meditating at least once in their lifetime. Research also shows that 40% of adults are practicing meditating at least once a week. In the USA, meditation is considered the second most popular body and mind practice.

4. More different population groups practice meditation.

Research also shows that meditation is being practiced by almost all population groups. 10.9% Hispanic adults, 15.2% white adults, and 13.5% black adults have tried meditation.

5. Over 10 times more children have practiced meditation in 2017 compared to 2012.

There are only about 0.6% of children that practiced meditation in 2012. In 2017, the same research showed that children aged 4-17 practiced meditating in the previous 12 months. Both boys and girls have almost similar numbers who used meditation.

6. Children aged 12-17 practiced meditation compared to children aged younger.

A 2018 study showed that 6.5% of teens aged 12-17 used meditation compared to children aged 4-11 in all different races.

Statistics on Benefits of Meditation

Practicing meditation can provide many benefits not only to your mental and emotional health but also to your physical health. Here are some data about the benefits of meditation:

1. The majority of people meditate to improve their overall health.

The primary motivation for 76% of persons who meditate is to improve their overall health.

Other reasons for meditating, according to mindfulness meditation statistics, include increasing energy levels (60%), improving memory and focus (50%), and reducing worry, stress, and sadness.

2. Meditation reduces anxiety 60% of the time.

Almost two-thirds of those who were anxious were able to lessen their anxiety levels after meditating for 6–9 months. Also, relapses in depression are reduced by roughly 12% when people meditate.

3. Almost 75% of the time, meditation relieves the symptoms of insomnia.

The majority of people who have insomnia meditate every day and can sleep faster. Up to 20 minutes was all it took for 75% of them to fall asleep. In addition, 91% of people with insomnia cut back or stopped taking sleeping pills.

4. Meditation can cut your chances of being admitted to the hospital for cardiovascular disease by 87%.

People who meditate are less likely to get heart disease, according to studies. Meditation, as a type of relaxation practice, lowers stress, which is a known cause of a variety of significant medical disorders.

5. People who suffer from insomnia can cut their wake time in half by meditating.

According to research on the effectiveness of mindfulness-based therapy for insomnia, meditation has a good effect on insomniacs. Therefore, if you practice meditating, you can actually sleep a lot faster and longer.

6. Meditation has been shown to lessen PMS symptoms by 57%.

According to studies, women who practiced meditation had a reduction in both physical and psychological PMS symptoms.

7. 73% of the time, mindfulness meditation can help those with PTSD symptoms.

The efficacy of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for treating PTSD in veterans was investigated in a study. Given that 73% of them reported a reduction in symptoms, more research into the effects of meditation is needed.

8. Back discomfort can be alleviated by meditating.

People with back discomfort who practiced mindfulness meditation saw a 30% improvement in their capacity to do daily duties. According to mindfulness meditation studies, this is one of the confirmed physical advantages of meditation.

9. Meditation can improve your attention span in as little as four days.

A study also showed that practicing mindfulness meditation for a short period of time can improve visuospatial processing, working memory, and executive function.

Regular meditation practice boosts telomerase, an enzyme linked to Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative illnesses.

10. Meditation has been shown to reduce blood pressure by 80% of the time.

Meditation has been discovered to be effective for hypertension individuals by scientists.

According to meditation statistics, meditation helped 80% of them drop their blood pressure and require less medicine. Furthermore, 16% of patients were able to quit taking their hypertension drugs.

11. Gray matter in our brain can be increased by practicing meditation.

A Harvard study found that practicing mindfulness meditation for at least 30 minutes each day can boost gray matter in the hippocampus. Because this area of the brain is involved in memory and learning, it is one of the more essential meditation facts.

Meditation Users Demographics

There is also data on different types of people that practice meditation.

1. Adults between the ages of 45 and 64 are the most likely to meditate.

In 2017, 15.9% of adults in this age group practiced meditation, compared to 13.4% of adults in the 18–44 and 65+ age groups.

2. The amount of women who meditate is higher than the number of men.

According to the 2017 National Health Interview Survey, 16.3 percent of women and 11.8 percent of men used meditation.

3. Almost 66% of US Buddhists practice meditation at least once a week.

This is not surprising. Other religious organizations in America, however, also practice meditation on a daily basis. For example, 49% of Evangelical Protestants meditate at least once a week, whereas 77% of Jehovah’s Witnesses meditate at least once a week.

According to these meditation facts and figures, roughly 25% of people who do not identify as atheists or do not belong to any religion practice meditation on a regular basis.

4. In 2017, 15.2% of white adults practiced meditation.

In comparison to black (13.5%) and Hispanic (10.9%) adults, they were more likely to practice meditation. This demonstrates that the popularity of meditation differs depending on the population group.

Evolution of the Meditation Industry

As more people seek the restorative effects of meditation, a meditation studio is rewarding for business owners in the health and fitness market.

That, plus the fact that recent employment trends show that more employers are accepting the notion that employee mental health is linked to their performance.

As a result, a portion of the firm budget is given to activities that assist employees in reducing stress and improving focus.

Some organizations have already started offering meditation training at work, and others, such as American Express, Ford, and LinkedIn, host monthly employee training sessions.

This fueled the expansion of meditation apps, boosting their market value and solidifying their position in the alternative health care business.

1. In 2015, the meditation and mindfulness sector made about $1 billion.

The meditation industry’s market worth is expected to double from $1.2 billion in 2017 to approximately $2 billion by 2022.

The value of the meditation market increased from $959 million to $1.08 billion in just one year, according to Marketdata’s statistics, from 2015 to 2016. It is expected to expand at a rate of 11.4 percent every year.

However, the revenue from mindfulness apps or wearable gadgets used during meditation is not included in this piece of meditation business data.

2. Headspace, a meditation app, has been downloaded over 40 million times.

Mindfulness apps, including meditation apps, were the most popular app trend in 2018, according to Apple. They have reached $30 million in investment and over 12 million downloads.

3. Meditation and mindfulness in groups or privately account for 7.4% of the alternative care market.

Meditation courses, websites, and apps earn more than $100 million in income each year. In addition to this, the meditation industry, which includes meditation studios, websites, books, online courses, DVDs, apps, and supplies, is worth $1 billion.

Workplace with Meditation

Mindfulness and meditation have become frequent buzzwords for many employees as firms try to find new ways to boost employee performance. Mindfulness has been proved in numerous studies to boost focus and productivity.

Many organizations have cited its ability to reduce workplace stress, increase employee attention and productivity, and improve mental health as a result of this.

Apple, Salesforce, and Nike are among the companies that offer meditation rooms as a bonus. Employees enjoy a calm environment in these rooms, where they can practice mindfulness meditation or simply lay motionless and clear their minds for roughly ten minutes.

Meditation has been proved to boost critical thinking and creativity in research, so this trend isn’t only for the sake of compassion.

1. In 2018, 52% of firms offered mindfulness classes or training to their workers.

The National Business Group on Health conducts an annual survey that yields this information (NBGH). When compared to the NBGH’s meditation workplace figures, this is a significant increase—from 36% in 2017 to 52% in 2018.

The employees who have also undergone mindfulness classes or training have seen a 120% increase in their productivity and a decrease of almost 85% in absenteeism and profits have soared to 520%.

2. Participants who are prone to distractions benefit after two weeks of mindfulness training because their minds wander less.

60% of employees who were anxious at work improved significantly after practicing meditation.

Conclusion

Studies have shown that practicing meditation doesn’t only provide helpful benefits to your body and mind, but it also affects your productivity in work and the business where you are in.

With all the statistics provided, you can rest assured that, when you practice it yourself, you will also experience all the things that were mentioned.