Consciousness and cognitionDec 16, 2025

How Psychedelic Use and Meditation Together May Affect Mental Well-Being

Psychedelic Science Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Dec 25, 2025

Abstract

Study 1 involved 679 participants and found that meditation is consistently linked to well-being, while the link for psychedelics may depend on meditation practice.

Both meditation and psychedelics were linked to greater well-being and psychological flexibility when considered separately.
When analyzed together, the positive effects of psychedelics on well-being decreased or disappeared, but meditation remained associated with positive outcomes.
There may be a weak synergy effect when both practices are combined.
In Study 2 with 137 participants, those using meditation alone or both practices reported greater improvement in well-being than those using psychedelics alone.
All groups experienced positive changes, but meditation could enhance the benefits of psychedelic experiences.

Simplified

Psychedelic substances and meditation can elicit personally meaningful experiences that support well-being, yet their relative and combined contributions remain unclear. Meditation typically produces gradual improvements through sustained practice, whereas psychedelics may induce acute shifts. To examine these dynamics, we re-analysed data from two cross-sectional online surveys using multiple regression models. In Study 1 (N = 679), we assessed associations of cumulative psychedelic use and meditation practice with well-being, ill-being, and psychological flexibility. When examined separately, both practices were associated with greater well-being and flexibility. However, when considered jointly, the associations for psychedelics were reduced or became nonsignificant, whereas meditation remained consistently associated with the outcomes. Weak evidence also emerged for a potential synergy effect via an interaction between the two practices. In Study 2 (N = 137), we examined perceived well-being changes following a personally meaningful experience facilitated by psychedelics alone, meditation alone, or both combined. Participants in the combined and meditation groups reported significantly greater improvements compared with the psychedelic-only group, although all groups showed positive change on average. Together, these findings suggest that meditation may enhance the benefits of psychedelic experiences and that meditation practice can confound associations between psychedelic use and well-being. More broadly, they highlight the importance of considering both practices together when evaluating their contributions to mental health outcomes.

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How Psychedelic Use and Meditation Together May Affect Mental Well-Being

Abstract

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