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Yoga, mindfulness, meditation, breathwork, and other contemplative practices are increasingly popular for their potential to enhance health and well-being. While these practices often lead to positive and sometimes transformational experiences, new research from Massachusetts General Hospital highlights the prevalence and complexity of altered states of consciousness (ASCs) associated with these activities.
The study, published in the journal Mindfulness, was led by Dr. Matthew D. Sacchet, director of the Meditation Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. The research indicates that ASCs during meditation are more common than previously assumed.
“With more people engaging in mindfulness, meditation, and other contemplative and mind-body practices, we thought that altered states and their effects might be common among the general population. We conducted a series of international surveys to investigate and indeed found that such experiences were widespread,” said Sacchet.
A questionnaire was developed by a panel of experts in psychiatry, neuroscience, meditation, and survey design to explore the experiences of ASCs. The survey reached 3,135 adults in the US and UK, revealing that 45% reported experiencing ASCs at least once, a significant increase from the estimated 5% to 15% who have practiced mindfulness in these populations.
The reported experiences ranged from derealization (feeling detached from the environment) and unitive experiences (a sense of oneness) to ecstatic thrills, vivid perceptions, changes in perceived size, bodily sensations of heat or electricity, out-of-body experiences, and perception of non-physical lights. While many reported positive and even transformational effects on well-being, a substantial minority faced negative outcomes. Specifically, 13% of respondents reported moderate or greater suffering, and 1.1% described their suffering as life-threatening. Alarmingly, 63% of those who experienced suffering did not seek help.
“Rather than being extremely unusual and rare, our study found that altered states of consciousness are a common variant of normal human experience,” said Sacchet. “However, we’ve found that those who experience negative outcomes related to these altered states often do not seek help, and that clinicians are poorly prepared to recognize or support these kinds of experiences. This has contributed to what might be considered a public health issue as a certain proportion of people have difficulty integrating their experiences of altered states into their existing conceptions of self and reality.”
Sacchet emphasized the need for further research to identify characteristics that might predict who is more likely to experience ASCs and associated suffering. He also stressed the importance of applying these findings to improve patient care.
“We should not dismiss meditation and other practices as inherently dangerous but rather we need to better understand and support meditators to fully realize the potential of these practices,” he explained. “Similar to psychotherapy, pharmacology, and other therapeutic tools, it’s important that we learn to best implement and support people when engaging with these powerful practices.”
Ancient meditation manuals from wisdom traditions might offer valuable insights into classifying and managing ASCs, Sacchet suggested. The study advocates for the development of clinical curricula on ASCs to better equip clinicians and instructors of meditation practices with the knowledge to support individuals experiencing these profound states safely.
“Together, these kinds of safeguards will help to ensure that these very promising and powerful practices are taught and experienced safely,” he concluded.
For more information, refer to the study: Malcolm J. Wright et al, “Altered States of Consciousness are Prevalent and Insufficiently Supported Clinically: A Population Survey,” Mindfulness (2024).
