You've probably heard of mindfulness. These days, it's everywhere, like many ideas and practices drawn from Buddhist texts that have become part of mainstream Western culture.But a review published today in the journalPerspectives on Psychological Scienceshows the hype is ahead of the evidence.Somereviews of studieson mindfulness suggest it may help with psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, and stress.But it's not clear what type of mindfulness or meditation we need and for what specific problem.The study, involving a large group of researchers, clinicians and meditators, found a clearcut definition of mindfulness doesn't exist. This has potentially serious implications. If vastly different treatments and practices are considered the same, then research evidence for one may be wrongly taken as support for another.At the same time, if we move the goalposts too far or in the wrong direction, we might lose the potential benefits of mindfulness altogether.So, what is mindfulness'Mindfulness receives a bewildering assortment of definitions. Psychologistsmeasure the conceptin differing combinations of acceptance, attentiveness, awareness, body focus, curiosity, nonjudgmental attitude, focus on the present, and others.It's equally ill-defined as a set of practices. A brief exercise in self-reflection prompted by a smartphone app on your daily commute may be considered the same as a months-long meditation retreat. Mindfulness can both refer to what Buddhist monks do and what your yoga instructor does for five minutes at the start and end of a class.To be clear, mindfulness and meditation are not the same thing. There are types of meditation that are mindful, but not all mindfulness involves meditation and not all meditation is mindfulness-based.Mindfulness mainly refers to the idea offocusing on the present moment, but it's not quite that simple. It also refers to several forms of meditation practices that aim to develop skills of awareness of the world around you and of your behavioral patterns and habits. In truth,many disagreeabout its actual purpose and what is and isn't mindfulness.What's it for'Mindfulness has been applied to just about any problem you can think upfrom relationship issues, problems with alcohol or drugs, to enhancing leadership skills. It'sbeing used by sportsmento find "clarity" on and off the field andmindfulness programsare being offered at school. You can find it inworkplaces,medical clinics, andold age homes.More than a few popular books have been writtentouting the benefitsof mindfulness and meditation. For example, in a supposedly critical reviewAltered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes your Mind, Brain and Body, Daniel Goleman argues one of the four benefits of mindfulness is improved working memory. Yet, arecent reviewof about 18 studies exploring the effect of mindfulness-based therapies on attention and memory calls into question these ideas.Another common claim is that mindfulness reduces stress, for which there islimited evidence. Other promises, such as improved mood and attention, better eating habits, improved sleep, and better weight control are notfully supported by the scienceeither.And while benefits have limited evidence, mindfulness and meditation can sometimes beharmfuland can lead to psychosis, mania, loss of personal identity, anxiety, panic, and re-experiencing traumatic memories. Experts have suggested mindfulness isnot for everyone, especially those suffering from several serious mental health problems such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.Research on mindfulnessAnother problem with mindfulness literature is that it often suffers from poor research methodology. Ways of measuring mindfulness are highly variable, assessing quite different phenomena while using the same label. Thislack of equivalenceamong measures and individuals makes it challenging to generalise from one study to another.Mindfulness researchers rely too much on questionnaires, which require people to introspect andreport on mental statesthat may be slippery and fleeting. These reports are notoriously vulnerable to biases. For example, people who aspire to mindfulness may report being mindful because they see it as desirable, not because they have actually achieved it.Only atiny minority of attemptsto examine whether these treatments work compare them against another treatment that is known to workwhich is the primary means by which clinical science can show added value of new treatments. And a minority of these studies are conducted in regular clinical practices rather than in specialist research contexts.A recentreview of studies, commissioned by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, found many studies were too poorly conducted to include in the review and that mindfulness treatments were moderately effective, at best, for anxiety, depression, and pain. There was no evidence of efficacy for attention problems, positive mood, substance abuse, eating habits, sleep or weight control.What should be done'Mindfulness is definitely a useful concept and apromising set of practices. It may helppreventpsychological problems and could be useful as an addition to existing treatments. Itmay also be helpfulfor general mental functioning and well-being. But the promise will not be realised if problems are not addressed.The mindfulness community must agree to key features that are essential to mindfulness and researchers should be clear how their measures and practices include these. Media reports should be equally specific about what states of mind and practices mindfulness includes, rather than using it as a broad term.Mindfulness might be assessed, not through self-reporting, but in part using more objectiveneurobiologicaland behavioural measures, such asbreath counting. This is where random tones could be used to "ask" participants if they are focused on the breath (press left button) or if their mind had wandered (press right button).Researchers studying the efficacy of mindfulness treatments should compare them tocredible alternative treatments, whenever possible. Development of new mindfulness approaches should be avoided until we know more about the ones we already have. Scientists and clinicians should use rigorousrandomised control trialsand work with researchers from outside the mindfulness tradition.And lastly, mindfulness researchers and practitioners should acknowledge the reality of occasional negative effects. Just as medications must declare potential side effects, so should mindfulness treatments. Researchers should systematically assess potential side effects when studying mindfulness treatments. Practitioners should be alert to them and not recommend mindfulness treatments as a first approach if safer ones with stronger evidence of efficacy are available.SEE ALSO:Everyone says time is more valuable than money ' but they're missing the most important resource of allJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: Animated map shows what would happen to Asia if all the Earth's ice melted
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