Meditation does not make people happier.
Meditation has no impact on a person's happiness
Experts at the University of British Columbia in Canada have examined more than 500 studies on meditation and mindfulness and found that 95 per cent of trials lacked the evidence to detect any notable benefits from the practice.
In one study offering a two-year mindfulness programme to elderly citizens in Sri Lanka, India, Nepal and Myanmar, the researchers argued that the increased happiness of the participants could have been a result of taking part in the trial - which decreased feelings of loneliness.
Professor Dame Til Wykes, of King's College London, said: "The fact that meditation and mindfulness had poor evidence does need further research because the general public have accepted its power to increase wellbeing as fact.
"This strategy costs money and time and so science should provide robust evidence of benefits so that failure doesn't hit their bank balance and their self-esteem and self-efficacy."