Photo: Illustration: Stefan Dimitrov
Photo: Illustration: Stefan Dimitrov

Health

The Dark Side of Mindfulness

A prominent psychologist and meditation teacher set out to research the benefits of the practice. What she found alarmed her.

First published in The Atlantic on September 4, 2026.

by Olga Khazan, The Atlantic
September 10, 2026 | reading time: 32 Min.

In 2004, Willoughby Britton, then a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at the University of Arizona, began recruiting participants for a study that, she felt sure, would show meditation improves sleep.

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