A systematic review of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in healthy individuals

Stress has become a global public health problem with a variety of negative health consequences, including anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disease, and even suicide.  Mindfulness-based stress reduction offers an effective way of reducing stress by combining mindfulness meditation and yoga in an 8-week training program that communicates the importance of lifelong practice and engagement. The purpose of this study was to look at studies from January 2009 to January 2014 and examine whether mindfulness-based stress reduction can be utilized as a potentially viable method for managing stress. A systematic search from Medline, CINAHL and Alt HealthWatch databases was conducted for all types of quantitative articles involving mindfulness-based stress reduction interventions targeting healthy adults.  A total of 17 articles met the inclusion criteria. Ten of these were from the United States, one from Australia, one from Canada, four from the United Kingdom, and one from Spain. Of the 17 studies, 16 demonstrated positive changes in psychological or physiological outcomes related to anxiety and/or stress. Despite the limitations of not all studies using randomized controlled design, having smaller sample sizes, having different outcomes, mindfulness-based stress reduction appears to be a promising modality for stress management.