Does meditation help with loneliness?
Meditation can ease loneliness, but meditating alone with an app is still being alone. In trials, mindfulness courses reduced loneliness, and in one a regular health class did about as well, which suggests meeting the same people regularly is a big part of what helps. A live group gives you both: the practice, and the same faces twice a week.
Pause + Expand · Updated September 2026
Two kinds of loneliness we hear about
When people tell us why they joined, we hear two stories. In the first, their life has shifted. They have grown, or changed direction, and the friends they have had for years don't resonate in the same way anymore. They are not alone, exactly. They are just not met.
In the second, they are getting older, and the circle has simply got smaller. Friends have moved, or passed, or drifted, and there are fewer people to call.
It is not only an older person's problem. Statistics Canada found that 13% of Canadians always or often feel lonely, and the youngest adults feel it most.
What the research says: the practice helps, and so do the people
In two trials published in 2025, older adults who took an eight week mindfulness course felt less lonely than those on a waiting list. But in the second trial, a health programme of the same length did about as well, and the benefit of both lasted for months.
That is an honest and useful finding. Part of what helps with loneliness is the method, and part of it is simply meeting regularly with other people.
An app is still you, alone
Most advice for loneliness offers a recording: a calm voice, in your ear, in an empty room. It can help you feel better for ten minutes. But for loneliness, the other people are the point.
Meditation Club is a live room. The same two teachers, and many of the same people, every Monday and Wednesday morning since March 2020.
Camera off, and still part of it
You do not have to talk, and you do not have to be seen. People who keep their camera off still chime in on the chat, and they are as much a part of the morning as anyone. There is no pressure to do more than be there.
Friendships that grow on their own
We have never promised anyone friends. But over the years we have watched it happen. Members meet up. They travel together and come to retreats together. Some who live near each other drive over to meet in person.
In the spring of 2020, everyone bonded through the pandemic. Since then, they have bonded over something more lasting: showing up for their own practice, and being real with each other. Through health struggles, cancer, divorce, buying a new house, all the ups and downs, they have grown together.
When you come back, people are glad
If you miss a few weeks, nobody makes a point of it or makes you feel bad. The room is simply happy to see you, and often someone will reach out to you directly.
A place to be on Monday and Wednesday
When members say the Club gives their mornings meaning, this is what they mean: they know where they are going to be on a Monday and a Wednesday. It gives the week a direction, somewhere to start from on Monday and somewhere to come back to midweek.
For a lot of people, that consistency is the first thing loneliness takes away. It is also one of the easiest things to give back.
Also asked
- Can meditation cure loneliness?
- No. It can ease it, and research suggests it helps most alongside regular time with other people.
- Do I have to talk or be on camera?
- No. Plenty of members keep their camera off and only ever type in the chat.
- Is it only for older people?
- No. Our members range from their mid thirties to their seventies, and in Canada the youngest adults report the most loneliness.
- What if it feels like more than loneliness?
- Please talk to someone today. In Canada and the US you can call or text 988, any time.