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This umbrella review of 34 meta-analyses, representing 235 randomised controlled trials done across 52 countries and 48 957 participants and ten chronic conditions, aimed to evaluate evidence on the efficacy of mobile phone interventions for populations with chronic diseases. We evaluated the strengths of evidence via the Fusar-Poli and Radua methodology. Compared with usual care, mobile apps had convincing effects on glycated haemoglobin reduction among adults with type 2 diabetes (d=0·44). Highly suggestive effects were found for both text messages and apps on various outcomes, including medication adherence (among patients with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa and people with cardiovascular disease), glucose management in type 2 diabetes, and blood pressure reduction in hypertension. Many effects (42%) were non-significant. Various gaps were identified, such as a scarcity of reporting on moderators and publication bias by meta-analyses, little research in low-income and lower-middle-income countries, and little reporting on adverse events., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests SS has received research grants from the US National Institutes of Health and the Mind & Life Institute. OS has received research grants from Ekhaga Foundation and Olle Engkvist Foundation, has once received a payment from Mindfully Sweden for educational content, and was a cofounder of Eudelics AB. STM has received research grants from the National Institutes of Health. JT is an unpaid scientific adviser for Precision Mental Wellness with stock options. SBG has received research grants from the US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, the Hope for Depression Research Foundation, the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Center for Healthy Minds, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison; payments for reviewing grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute; and payments for delivering lectures from Chemnitz University of Technology and Veterans Affairs Canada., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestThe author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: OS was a co-founder of Eudelics AB and has once received a small payment from Mindfully Sweden AB for educational content. PSH was previously in paid advisory relationships with Eleusis Benefit Corporation, Reset Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Silo Pharma and is currently in paid advisory relationships with Bright Minds Biosciences Ltd. and Journey Colab Corporation. PSH is a co-founder of Equulus Therapeutics and Mycelial Health. SBG has no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Scholars warn that partisan divisions in the mass public threaten the health of American democracy. We conducted a megastudy ( n = 32,059 participants) testing 25 treatments designed by academics and practitioners to reduce Americans' partisan animosity and antidemocratic attitudes. We find that many treatments reduced partisan animosity, most strongly by highlighting relatable sympathetic individuals with different political beliefs or by emphasizing common identities shared by rival partisans. We also identify several treatments that reduced support for undemocratic practices-most strongly by correcting misperceptions of rival partisans' views or highlighting the threat of democratic collapse-which shows that antidemocratic attitudes are not intractable. Taken together, the study's findings identify promising general strategies for reducing partisan division and improving democratic attitudes, shedding theoretical light on challenges facing American democracy.

Introduction: Meditation practice and psychedelic use have attracted increasing attention in the public sphere and scientific research. Both methods induce non-ordinary states of consciousness that may have significant therapeutic benefits. Thus, there is growing scientific interest in potential synergies between psychedelic use and meditation practice with some research suggesting that psychedelics may benefit meditation practice. The present study examined individual, psychedelic-related, and meditation-related factors to determine under what conditions meditators perceive psychedelic use as beneficial for their meditation practice., Method: Participants ( N = 863) who had reported psychedelic use and a regular meditation practice (at least 3 times per week during the last 12 months) were included in the study. To accommodate a large number of variables, machine learning (i.e., elastic net, random forest) was used to analyze the data., Results: Most participants ( n = 634, 73.5%) found psychedelic use to have a positive influence on their quality of meditation. Twenty-eight variables showed significant zero-order associations with perceived benefits even following a correction. Elastic net had the best performance (R 2 = .266) and was used to identify the most important features. Across 53 variables, the model found that greater use of psychedelics, intention setting during psychedelic use, agreeableness, and exposure to N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (N,N-DMT) were most likely to be associated with the perception that psychedelics benefit meditation practice. The results were consistent across several different approaches used to identify the most important variables (i.e., Shapley values, feature ablation)., Discussion: Results suggest that most meditators found psychedelic use to have a positive influence on their meditation practice, with: 1) regularity of psychedelic use, 2) the setting of intentions for psychedelic use, 3) having an agreeable personality, and 4) reported use of N,N-DMT being the most likely predictors of perceiving psychedelic use as beneficial. Longitudinal designs and randomized trials manipulating psychedelic use are needed to establish causality.

We investigated whether informal meditation practice (i.e., self-reported application of meditative techniques outside a period of formal meditation) was associated with outcomes in smartphone-based loving-kindness and compassion training. Meditation-naïve participants (n = 351) with clinically elevated symptoms completed measures of psychological distress, loneliness, empathy, and prosociality at baseline and following a two-week intervention. Informal practice, psychological distress, and loneliness were also assessed daily. Steeper increases in informal practice had small associations with pre-post improvements in distress (r = -.18, p = .008) and loneliness (r = -.19, p = .009) but not empathy or prosociality. Using a currently recommended approach for establishing cross-lagged effects in longitudinal data (latent curve model with structured residuals), higher current-day informal practice was associated with decreased next-day distress with a very small effect size (βs = -.06 to -.04, p = .018) but not decreased next-day loneliness. No cross-lagged associations emerged from distress or loneliness to informal practice. Findings suggest that further investigation into a potential causal role of informal practice is warranted. Future studies experimentally manipulating informal practice are needed., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest No donors, either anonymous or identified, have participated in the design, conduct, or reporting of research results in this manuscript. The content of this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of any funding parties. CJD is the primary content developer of the Healthy Minds Program and a scientist at Healthy Minds Innovations, Inc. RJD is the founder, president, and serves on the board of directors for the non-profit organization, Healthy Minds Innovations, Inc. No other authors have conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Importance: While psychedelic-assisted therapy has shown promise in the treatment of certain psychiatric disorders, little is known about the potential risk of psychotic or manic symptoms following naturalistic psychedelic use, especially among adolescents., Objective: To investigate associations between naturalistic psychedelic use and self-reported psychotic or manic symptoms in adolescents using a genetically informative design., Design, Setting, and Participants: This study included a large sample of adolescent twins (assessed at age 15, 18, and 24 years) born between July 1992 and December 2005 from the Swedish Twin Registry and cross-sectionally evaluated the associations between past psychedelic use and psychotic or manic symptoms at age 15 years. Individuals were included if they answered questions related to past use of psychedelics. Data were analyzed from October 2022 to November 2023., Main Outcomes and Measures: Primary outcome measures were self-reported psychotic and manic symptoms at age 15 years. Lifetime use of psychedelics and other drugs was also assessed at the same time point., Results: Among the 16 255 participants included in the analyses, 8889 were female and 7366 were male. Among them, 541 participants reported past use of psychedelics, most of whom (535 of 541 [99%]) also reported past use of other drugs (ie, cannabis, stimulants, sedatives, opioids, inhalants, or performance enhancers). When adjusting for substance-specific and substance-aggregated drug use, psychedelic use was associated with reduced psychotic symptoms in both linear regression analyses (β, -0.79; 95% CI, -1.18 to -0.41 and β, -0.39; 95% CI, -0.50 to -0.27, respectively) and co-twin control analyses (β, -0.89; 95% CI, -1.61 to -0.16 and β, -0.24; 95% CI, -0.48 to -0.01, respectively). In relation to manic symptoms, likewise adjusting for substance-specific and substance-aggregated drug use, statistically significant interactions were found between psychedelic use and genetic vulnerability to schizophrenia (β, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.32 and β, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.02 to 0.32, respectively) or bipolar I disorder (β, 0.20; 95% CI, 0.04 to 0.36 and β, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.33, respectively)., Conclusions and Relevance: The findings in this study suggest that, after adjusting for other drug use, naturalistic use of psychedelic may be associated with lower rates of psychotic symptoms among adolescents. At the same time, the association between psychedelic use and manic symptoms seems to be associated with genetic vulnerability to schizophrenia or bipolar I disorder. These findings should be considered in light of the study's limitations and should therefore be interpreted with caution.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to examine the prevalence and associations of mindfulness meditation use and also its perceived mental health effects during the COVID-19 pandemic., Methods: Using repeated cross-sectional data from broad online samples weighted to be representative of the adult population in Britain, we estimated the prevalence of mindfulness meditation use and employed logistic regression models to investigate sociodemographic and political associations of mindfulness meditation use and also its perceived mental health effects during the COVID-19 pandemic., Results: The findings suggest that 16 percent of adults in Britain had learnt to practice mindfulness in 2021. In covariate-adjusted regression models, having learnt to practice mindfulness was more common among young and middle-aged adults, residents in London, and respondents who voted for the Liberal Democrats. Among mindfulness meditation users who reported having practiced mindfulness during the COVID-19 pandemic, 60 percent reported that it positively affected their mental health and 24 percent reported that it negatively affected their mental health. Notably, 41 percent of respondents with children under 18 (versus 13 percent of those without minors) reported negative mental health effects. In covariate-adjusted regression models, negative mental health effects from mindfulness practice during the COVID-19 pandemic were not concentrated in any particular groups, except for respondents with children under 18., Conclusions: Mindfulness meditation has become widespread in Britain, but the results in this study suggest that mindfulness meditation use may be concentrated in certain sociodemographic and political groups. The results also suggest that practicing mindfulness during the COVID-19 pandemic had positive mental health effects for a majority of users, but approximately one-quarter of users reported negative mental health effects. It is therefore important for future research to continue monitoring the prevalence of mindfulness meditation use in society and to investigate under what circumstances, for whom, and in what ways mindfulness-based practices may have negative effects on mental health., Competing Interests: The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: Otto Simonsson previously owned stock in Eudelics AB. Stephen Fisher has a very small number of shares in Deltapoll, but he does not consider this to be a significant conflict of interest. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products associated with this research to declare., (Copyright: © 2024 Simonsson, Fisher. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

It has long been speculated that psychedelic use could provoke the onset of psychosis, but there is little evidence to support this conjecture. Using a longitudinal research design with samples representative of the US and UK adult populations with regard to sex, age, and ethnicity (n = 9732), we investigated associations between psychedelic use and change in the number of psychotic symptoms during the two-month study period. In covariate-adjusted regression models, psychedelic use during the study period was not associated with a change in the number of psychotic symptoms unless it interacted with a personal or family history of bipolar disorder, in which case the number of symptoms increased, or with a personal (but not family) history of psychotic disorders, in which case the number of symptoms decreased. Taken together, these findings indicate that psychedelic use may affect psychotic symptoms in individuals with a personal or family history of certain disorders characterized by psychotic symptomatology., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest PSH has been in paid advisory relationships with the following organizations regarding the development of psychedelics and related compounds: Bright Minds Biosciences Ltd., Eleusis Benefit Corporation, Journey Colab Corporation, Reset Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Silo Pharma. OS was a co-founder of Eudelics AB. Alexander Lebedev is a co-founder of Katharsis Journeys AB., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: Previous research has proposed that there may be potential synergies between psychedelic and meditation interventions, but there are still knowledge gaps that merit further investigation., Methods: Using a longitudinal observational research design with samples representative of the US and UK adult population with regard to sex, age, and ethnicity ( N = 9732), we investigated potential associations between self-reported psychedelic use and meditation practice., Results: The follow-up survey was completed by 7667 respondents (79% retention rate), with 100 respondents reporting psychedelic use during the 2-month study period (1.3% of follow-up respondents). In covariate-adjusted regression models, psychedelic use during the study period was associated with greater increases in the number of days of mindfulness meditation practice in the past week ( B = 0.40, p = 0.004). Among those who reported psychedelic use during the study period, covariate-adjusted regression models revealed that the subjective experience of insight during respondents' most intense psychedelic experience in that period was also associated with greater increases in the number of days of mindfulness and loving-kindness or compassion meditation practice in the past week ( B = 0.42, p = 0.021; B = 0.38, p = 0.017). Notably, more days of loving-kindness or compassion meditation practice in the past week at baseline was associated with less severe subjective feelings of death or dying during respondents' most intense psychedelic experience in the study period ( B = -0.29, p = 0.037)., Conclusions: Psychedelic use might lead to greater engagement with meditation practices such as mindfulness meditation, while meditation practices such as loving-kindness or compassion medication might buffer against certain challenging experiences associated with psychedelic use.

Meditation apps are the most commonly used mental health apps. However, the optimal dosing of app-delivered meditation practice has not been established. We examined whether the distribution of meditation practices across a day impacted outcomes in a distressed population. We investigated the effects of meditation practice frequency in a 2-week compassion-based meditation intervention delivered via the Healthy Minds Program app. Undergraduates with clinically elevated depression and/or anxiety ( N = 351) were randomized to a massed (one 20-min meditation per day) or distributed condition (two 10-min meditations per day). Psychological distress (primary outcome; composite of depression and anxiety), experiential avoidance, fear of missing out, loneliness, and self-compassion were assessed pre- and post-intervention. Psychological distress, loneliness, and informal meditation practice were also assessed daily. Practice time and frequency were assessed using app data. Results support feasibility of the study design, success of the manipulation, and acceptability of the intervention. Pooled across conditions, participants exhibited pre-post improvements on all outcomes (absolute value of ds = 0.12-0.63, p ≤ .010) and trajectories of improvement on daily distress and loneliness ( p ≤ .010). No between-group differences were observed on changes in pre-post or daily measures ( ps = .158-.729). When total amount of meditation practice per day is held constant, the distribution of practice may not influence outcomes for distressed beginners. Although only a first test of dose frequency effects, findings support flexibility in the distribution of meditation throughout the day, which may increase accessibility. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Psychedelic substances induce profound alterations in consciousness. Careful preparation is therefore essential to limit adverse reactions, enhance therapeutic benefits, and maintain user safety. This paper describes the development of a self-directed, digital intervention for psychedelic preparation. Drawing on elements from the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) framework for developing complex interventions, the design was informed by a four-factor model of psychedelic preparedness, using a person-centred approach. Our mixed-methods investigation consisted of two studies. The first involved interviews with 19 participants who had previously attended a 'high-dose' psilocybin retreat, systematically exploring their preparation behaviours and perspectives on the proposed intervention. The second study engaged 28 attendees of an ongoing psilocybin retreat in co-design workshops, refining the intervention protocol using insights from the initial interviews. The outcome is a co-produced 21-day digital course (Digital Intervention for Psychedelic Preparation (DIPP)), that is organised into four modules: Knowledge-Expectation, Psychophysical-Readiness, Safety-Planning, and Intention-Preparation. Fundamental components of the course include daily meditation practice, supplementary exercises tied to the weekly modules, and mood tracking. DIPP provides a comprehensive and scalable solution to enhance psychedelic preparedness, aligning with the broader shift towards digital mental health interventions., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Whereas findings from case reports and cross-sectional studies suggest that naturalistic psychedelic use may be associated with unusual visual experiences that occur after the acute pharmacological effects have subsided, such findings need to be replicated in longitudinal studies to better understand potential cause-and-effect relationships., Aims: To investigate longitudinal associations between naturalistic psychedelic use and unusual visual experiences., Methods: Using a longitudinal observational research design with samples representative of the US and UK adult populations with regard to sex, age, and ethnicity ( N  = 9732), we investigated the relationship between psychedelic use during the 2-month study period and changes in past-week unusual visual experiences., Results: The follow-up survey was completed by 79% of respondents ( n  = 7667), with 100 respondents reporting psychedelic use during the 2-month study period (1.3% of those who responded at follow-up). In covariate-adjusted regression models, the results showed that, as hypothesized, psychedelic use during the 2-month study period was associated with greater increases in unusual visual experiences. Notably, there was an interaction between lifetime psychedelic use and psychedelic use during the study period on unusual visual experiences such that those who used psychedelics for the first time reported greater increases in unusual visual experiences., Conclusions: Psychedelic use may elicit unusual visual experiences that occur after the acute pharmacological effects have subsided, especially among those who have not used psychedelics previously. Future longitudinal studies are warranted to further elucidate these relationships., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: PSH is on the scientific advisory board of Bright Minds Biosciences Ltd., Eleusis Benefit Corporation, Journey Colab Corporation, and Reset Pharmaceuticals Inc. OS was a co-founder of Eudelics AB.

5-MeO-DMT is a tryptamine being developed as a potential antidepressant that may display a distinct therapeutic mechanism due to its unique pharmacology and subjective effects compared to typical psychedelics. In this article, we parallel the relatively distinct phenomenology and behavioral effects of the acute and post-acute effects of 5-MeO-DMT to those induced by epileptiform activity, particularly in instances within epileptogenic zones of the temporal lobes. This is done by reviewing aberrant 5-HT 1A receptor functioning in epilepsy, noting that 5-MeO-DMT has notable 5-HT 1A receptor agonist properties-and then comparing the acute behavioral and subjective effects induced by 5-MeO-DMT to those that occur in seizures. It might be that 5-MeO-DMT's therapeutic mechanism is partly mediated by evoking temporary epileptiform activity, suggesting a similarity to electroconvulsive therapy. It is also noted that "reactivations," the sudden re-experiencing of drug effects common after 5-MeO-DMT but not after typical psychedelics, may suggest that 5-MeO-DMT produces recurrent epileptiform activity. Overall, this review indicates that further evaluation of 5-MeO-DMT's unique mechanisms in research settings and among naturalistic users are warranted., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Rationale: Research on psychedelics has recently shown promising results in the treatment of various psychiatric disorders, but relatively little remains known about the psychiatric risks associated with naturalistic use of psychedelics., Objective: The objective of the current study was to investigate associations between naturalistic psychedelic use and psychiatric risks., Methods: Using a sample representative of the US adult population with regard to sex, age, and ethnicity (N=2822), this study investigated associations between lifetime naturalistic psychedelic use, lifetime unusual visual experiences, and past 2-week psychotic symptoms., Results: Among respondents who reported lifetime psychedelic use (n=613), 1.3% reported having been told by a doctor or other medical professional that they had hallucinogen persisting perception disorder. In covariate-adjusted linear regression models, lifetime psychedelic use was associated with more unusual visual experiences at any point across the lifetime, but no association was observed between lifetime psychedelic use and past 2-week psychotic symptoms. There was an interaction between lifetime psychedelic use and family (but not personal) history of psychotic or bipolar disorders on past 2-week psychotic symptoms such that psychotic symptoms were highest among respondents who reported lifetime psychedelic use and a family history of psychotic or bipolar disorders and lowest among those who reported lifetime psychedelic use and no family history of psychotic or bipolar disorders., Conclusions: Although the results in this study should be interpreted with caution, the findings suggest that lifetime naturalistic use of psychedelics might be associated with more unusual visual experiences across the lifetime, as well as more psychotic symptoms in the past 2 weeks for individuals with a family history of psychotic or bipolar disorders and the reverse for those without such a family history. Future research should distinguish between different psychotic and bipolar disorders and should also utilize other research designs (e.g., longitudinal) and variables (e.g., polygenic risk scores) to better understand potential cause-and-effect relationships., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Previous research has suggested that classical psychedelics can foster significant and enduring changes in personality traits and subjective wellbeing. Despite the lack of evidence for adverse effects on mental health stemming from psychedelic use, concerns persist regarding the capacity of these substances to modulate information processing and attitudes towards factual data. The aim of the present study was to investigate the propensity for accepting alternative facts and the general treatment of knowledge within a sample of 392 participants, 233 of whom reported at least a single incidence of psychedelic use in their lifetime. To do this, we leveraged step-wise methods of linear modelling investigating effects of demographics, psychiatric conditions and concomitant drug use. Our findings revealed a moderate positive association between psychedelic use and beliefs in alternative facts, as well as the specific belief that facts are politically influenced. However, no links were found for favouring intuition over evidence when confirming facts. Among other investigated drugs, only alcohol was negatively associated with beliefs in alternative facts. Taken together, our results support the link between psychedelic use and non-conformist thinking styles, which can be attributed to the psychological effects of the drugs themselves, but may also mirror a common trait related to unconventional beliefs and illicit substance use., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

We conducted a meta-analysis using individual participant data from three, two-dose psilocybin trials for depression (N = 102) with the aim of assessing the risk of symptom worsening. Clinically significant symptom worsening occurred for a minority of participants in the psilocybin and escitalopram conditions (∼10%) and for a majority of participants in the waitlist condition (63.6%). Using data from the two trials with control arms, the psilocybin arm showed a lower likelihood of symptom worsening versus waitlist, and no difference in the likelihood of symptom worsening versus escitalopram. The limitation of a relatively small sample size should be addressed in future studies., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: OS was a co-founder of Eudelics AB. RCH is a scientific advisor to Synthesis Institute, Osmind, Journey Colab, Maya Health, Mydecine, Beckley Psytech and Mindstate. AKD is a board member of Source Research Foundation and Lead Training at Fluence. DJN is a scientific advisor to COMPASS Pathways who have an interest in psilocybin therapy for depression. He is also chair or PAREA (Psychedelic access and research European alliance) and a member of the UK Drug Science charity's Medical Psychedelic Working Group. DE is a scientific advisor to Clerkenwell Health, Aya Biosciences, Field Trip Health, Mindstate, Pangea Botanica, and Smallpharma LTD. RRG is on the Board of Directors of the Heffter Research Institute. All other authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Previous research suggests that mindfulness meditation and psychedelic substances show promise as mental health interventions, but relatively little remains known about their potential impact on leadership outcomes., Aims: This study aimed to investigate if and how mindfulness meditation and psychedelic use may impact leadership among respondents with a management position as their primary role at work., Methods: Using samples representative of the US and UK adult populations with regard to sex, age, and ethnicity, this study used quantitative and qualitative methods to examine if and how mindfulness meditation and psychedelic use may impact leadership., Results: Among respondents with a management position as their primary role at work ( n  = 3,150), 1,373 reported having tried mindfulness meditation and 559 reported having tried psychedelics. In covariate-adjusted regression analyses, both lifetime number of hours of mindfulness meditation practice and greater psychological insight during respondents' most intense psychedelic experience were associated with describing a positive impact on leadership (ORs = 2.33, 3.49; p s < 0.001), while qualitative analyses revealed nuances in the type of impacts mindfulness meditation and psychedelic use had on leadership. There were several subthemes (e.g., focus, creativity, patience, empathy, compassion) that were frequently reported with both mindfulness meditation and psychedelic use. There were also unique subthemes that were more commonly reported with mindfulness meditation (e.g., improved sleep, stress reduction, calming effects) and psychedelic use (e.g., greater self-understanding, less hierarchical attitudes toward colleagues, positive changes in interpersonal attitudes and behaviors), respectively., Conclusion: Although causality cannot be inferred due to the research design, the findings in this study suggest potential complementary effects of mindfulness meditation and psychedelic use on leadership, which could inspire new approaches in leadership development., Competing Interests: PH was on the scientific advisory board of Bright Minds Biosciences Ltd., Eleusis Benefit Corporation, and Reset Pharmaceuticals Inc. OS was a co-founder of Eudelics AB. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Simonsson, Stenfors, Goldberg, Hendricks and Osika.)

Objectives: While mindfulness in the workplace has received substantial scientific attention in the past decades, it is not yet well-understood if, under what circumstances, and in what ways mindfulness training may be helpful for individuals working in political environments. The aim of this study was to explore the experience of mindfulness training among British politicians, as well as mindfulness facilitators who had taught mindfulness to politicians in the UK Parliament., Method: Between September and November 2021, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with British politicians ( n  = 18) who had experience of mindfulness training and mindfulness facilitators ( n  = 4) who had taught mindfulness to politicians in the UK Parliament. The interview material was analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis., Results: Two main themes related to the experience of mindfulness training in politics were developed during the analytic process: (1) mindfulness approaches addressing particular challenges in political work, and (2) mindfulness sessions and group dynamics. Taken together, mindfulness training helped the politicians to better deal with the demands and stresses of political work, to reconnect with themselves and be more grounded, and - especially when taught in a group setting - to relate to other politicians and their viewpoints in a more humane and constructive way., Conclusions: The results suggest that mindfulness training can be beneficial at both the personal and professional level for individuals working in political contexts, which can provide a rationale for governments to introduce mindfulness-based programs to politicians., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12671-023-02156-x., Competing Interests: Conflict of InterestJB and RO are affiliated with the Mindfulness Initiative., (© The Author(s) 2023. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Objectives: Previous research has investigated potential synergies between classic psychedelics and meditation practice, but relatively little remains known about the relationship between classic psychedelic experiences and engagement with meditation practice.The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between classic psychedelic experiences and engagement with two popular types of meditation: mindfulness meditation and loving-kindness or compassion meditation., Methods: This retrospective, population-based observational study included 2,822 respondents aged 18 years or older in the United States. Using covariate-adjusted regression models, this study examined associations of classic psychedelic experiences with current practice of mindfulness meditation and loving-kindness or compassion meditation., Results: In covariate-adjusted regression models, lifetime classic psychedelic use was associated with a higher frequency of current mindfulness meditation practice but not current loving-kindness or compassion meditation practice. Both psychological insight and "ego dissolution" were associated with a higher frequency of current mindfulness meditation practice and current loving-kindness or compassion meditation practice. Notably, when psychological insight and "ego dissolution" were entered into the regression model simultaneously, only greater psychological insight was associated with having a higher frequency of current mindfulness meditation practice and current loving-kindness or compassion meditation practice., Conclusion: Although the findings in this study cannot demonstrate causality, they suggest that classic psychedelic experiences may exert a positive effect on the cultivation and maintenance of health-related behaviors such as regular meditation practice, with psychological insight appearing to be a stronger predictor than "ego dissolution.", Preregistration: This study was not preregistered., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest PSH is on the scientific advisory board of Bright Minds Biosciences Ltd., Eleusis Benefit Corporation, and Reset Pharmaceuticals Inc. EC is a board member of Osmond Foundation. OS and RC are co-founders of Eudelics AB. The remaining authors have nothing to disclose.

Previous studies have investigated challenging, difficult, or distressing classic psychedelic experiences, but little is known about the prevalence and associations of such experiences. Using nationally representative data of the US adult population (N = 2822), this study examined the prevalence and associations of challenging, difficult, or distressing experiences using classic psychedelics, in a subsample of respondents who reported lifetime classic psychedelic use (n = 613). Of the 613 respondents who reported lifetime classic psychedelic use, the majority of them (59.1 %) had never had a challenging, difficult, or distressing experience using a classic psychedelic, but 8.9 % of respondents reported functional impairment that lasted longer than one day as a result of such experiences. Notably, 2.6 % reported seeking medical, psychiatric, or psychological assistance in the days or weeks following their most challenging, difficult, or distressing classic psychedelic experience. In covariate-adjusted regression models, co-use of lithium, co-use of other mood stabilizers, and six set and setting variables (no preparation, disagreeable physical environment, negative mindset, no psychological support, dose was too large, major life event prior to experience) were associated with the degree of difficulty; and co-use of lithium, co-use of other mood stabilizers, and three set and setting variables (negative mindset, no psychological support, major life event prior to experience) were associated with overall risk of harm. In summary, this study provides insight into the prevalence and associations of challenging, difficult, or distressing classic psychedelic experiences. The findings broadly correspond with findings from previous studies and can inform harm reduction efforts and future experimental research designs., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest PSH is on the scientific advisory board of Bright Minds Biosciences Ltd., Eleusis Benefit Corporation, and Reset Pharmaceuticals Inc. OS and RC are co-founders of Eudelics AB. The remaining authors have nothing to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Despite the well-documented psychological benefits of meditation practice, limited research has examined factors associated with meditation practice persistence. Like other health behaviors (e.g., exercise), non-persistence may undermine the effectiveness of meditation., Methods: We examined rates and correlates of meditation persistence using a population-based sample ( n = 953) in the United States. Persistence was operationalized in two ways: number of lifetime practice sessions (i.e., lifetime persistence) and current practice frequency (i.e., current persistence). Consistent with the National Health Interview Survey, we defined meditation as mindfulness meditation, mantra meditation, and spiritual meditation. We examined factors related to the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA), a theory that has been used to explain adherence to health behaviors., Results: Almost half of the sample (49.3%) indicated lifetime exposure to meditation and a third (35.0%) indicated practice in the past year. Factors positively associated with persistence (lifetime and/or current) included having spoken with a meditation teacher, higher perceived effectiveness of meditation, higher meditation-positive subjective norms, lower perceived barriers, higher conscientiousness, higher wellbeing growth mindset, and retreat experience. Factors negatively associated with persistence included first exposure through various forms of technology and having a mental health motivation for practice. First exposure through a smartphone app and first exposure through friends and family were not associated with lifetime or current persistence. Findings were unchanged after controlling for demographics and applying a false discovery rate p -value adjustment., Conclusions: These findings provide insights into factors that may promote persistence with meditation which can guide the delivery of meditation training., Preregistration: This study was preregistered at the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/4h86s)., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest Richard J. Davidson is the founder, president, and serves on the board of directors for the nonprofit organization, Healthy Minds Innovations, Inc. The remaining authors declare no conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, or publication of this article.

There are neurophysiological and phenomenological overlaps between psychedelic and meditative states, but there is little evidence on how exposure to psychedelics might be associated with meditation-related variables. We assessed lifetime classic psychedelic use, ego dissolution during one's most intense experience using a classic psychedelic, and exposure to meditation in a representative sample (n = 953) of American adults. Those who reported experience with meditation were invited to complete a follow-up survey (n = 536, 92.1% response rate) measuring meditation-related variables. Models controlled for a range of potential confounds. Exposure to meditation was associated with lifetime classic psychedelic use and ego dissolution in covariate-adjusted models. In addition, among meditators, greater ego dissolution was associated with more frequent meditation practice. Both lifetime classic psychedelic use and ego dissolution were associated with enlightenment as motivation to practice meditation as well as lower likelihood of overall perceived barriers to meditation practice. Ego dissolution was positively associated with finding meditation more effective. Neither lifetime classic psychedelic use nor ego dissolution was associated with greater likelihood of meditation-related adverse effects. Taken together, results support potential synergy between psychedelics and meditation, but randomized controlled trials are necessary to establish safety and evaluate potential causal relationships.

In two studies using samples representative of the US adult population with regard to age, sex and ethnicity, we investigated relationships between loving-kindness and compassion-based practices with speciesism, animal solidarity and desire to help animals. In a cross-sectional study (Study 1, N = 2,822), results showed that past 30 days practice and estimated lifetime number of hours of lovingkindness or compassion meditation were associated with more animal solidarity and greater desire to help animals. Past 30 days practice was also associated with less speciesism, but only when adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. In an experimental study (Study 2, N = 1,102), results showed that participants randomized to a befriending meditation (a practice similar to loving-kindness and compassion meditation) condition scored higher on animal solidarity and desire to help animals than participants randomized to a control condition. No significant difference was observed on speciesism, but mediation analyses suggested that effects on all three outcomes were mediated through perceived commonality with animals., Competing Interests: OS is a co-founder of Eudelics AB. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials., (Copyright: © 2022 Simonsson et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Preliminary evidence suggests that classic psychedelics may be effective in the treatment of some psychiatric disorders, yet little remains known about their effects on health behavior and physical health., Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate associations of lifetime classic psychedelic use and psychological insight during one's most insightful classic psychedelic experience with health behavior and physical health., Methods: Using data representative of the US population with regard to sex, age, and ethnicity ( N  = 2822), this study examined associations of lifetime classic psychedelic use and psychological insight with health behavior and physical health., Results: Lifetime classic psychedelic use was associated with more healthy tobacco-related and diet-related behavior ( β  = 0.05 and 0.09, respectively). Among lifetime classic psychedelic users ( n  = 613), greater Psychological Insight Questionnaire (PIQ) total scale, PIQ Avoidance and Maladaptive Patterns (AMP) subscale, and PIQ Goals and Adaptive Patterns (GAP) subscale scores were each associated with higher odds of more healthy exercise-related behavior [adjusted odds ratios (aOR) (95% confidence interval, CI = 1.38 (1.13-1.68), 1.38 (1.13-1.68), and 1.32 (1.10-1.60), respectively] and higher odds of having a healthy body mass index (BMI) [aOR (95% CI) = 1.32 (1.07-1.63), 1.36 (1.10-1.69), and 1.23 (1.01-1.50), respectively], and greater GAP subscale scores were associated with more healthy diet-related behavior ( β  = 0.10). All PIQ scales were positively associated with some health behavior improvements (overall, diet, exercise) attributed to respondents' most insightful classic psychedelic experience ( β  = 0.42, 0.18, and 0.17; β  = 0.40, 0.19, and 0.17; and β  = 0.40, 0.15, and 0.15, respectively), but only PIQ total scale and AMP subscale scores were positively associated with alcohol-related health behavior improvements ( β  = 0.13 and 0.16, respectively)., Conclusion: Although these results cannot demonstrate causality, they suggest that psychological insight during a classic psychedelic experience may lead to positive health behavior change and better physical health in some domains, in particular in those related to weight management., Competing Interests: The authors declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: P.S.H. is on the scientific advisory board of Bright Minds Biosciences Ltd., Eleusis Benefit Corporation, and Reset Pharmaceuticals Inc. O.S. and R.C. are co-founders of Eudelics AB., (© The Author(s), 2022.)

Background: Recent research suggests that ayahuasca and its alkaloid-containing ingredients may be helpful in the treatment and prevention of certain movement and neurodegenerative disorders. However, such research is still in its infancy and more studies in normative samples seem necessary to explore effects of ayahuasca on clinically relevant brain structures, such as the corpus callosum., Aims: The purpose of the present study was to investigate links between ayahuasca use and callosal structure in a normative sample., Methods: Using structural imaging data from 22 ayahuasca users and 22 matched controls we compared the thickness of the corpus callosum between both groups at 100 equidistant points across the entire midsagittal surface. In addition, we investigated point-wise correlations between callosal thickness and the number of past ayahuasca sessions., Results: The corpus callosum was significantly thicker within the isthmus in the ayahuasca group than in the control group. There was also a significant positive correlation between callosal thickness and the number of past ayahuasca sessions within the rostral body, albeit none of these effects survived corrections for multiple comparisons. No region was significantly thicker in the control than in the ayahuasca group, and no callosal region was negatively linked to ayahuasca use, even at uncorrected significance thresholds., Conclusion: This study provides preliminary evidence of links between ayahuasca use and the corpus callosum. However, future studies need to replicate these findings, preferably using larger sample sizes and ideally also utilizing longitudinal research designs, to draw any practical conclusion and offer implications for follow-up clinical research., Competing Interests: OS is a co-founder of Eudelics AB. DA serves as a scientific and clinical advisor at Biomind Labs. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Simonsson, Bouso, Kurth, Araújo, Gaser, Riba and Luders.)

Background: A rise in mental illness is expected to follow the COVID-19 pandemic, which has also been projected to lead to a deep global economic recession, further adding to risk factors., Aims: The aim of this review was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and previous pandemics, epidemics and economic crises on mental health., Method: Searches were conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO and Sociological Abstracts. We included studies of all populations exposed to the COVID-19 pandemic, and other similar pandemics/epidemics and economic crises, compared with non-exposed time periods or regions. The outcome was mental health., Results: The 174 included studies assessed mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic (87 studies), 2008 economic crisis (84 studies) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic (three studies). Outcomes were divided into affective disorders, suicides, mental healthcare utilisation and other mental health. COVID-19 pandemic studies were of lesser quality than those for the economic crisis or SARS epidemic. Most studies for all exposures showed increases in affective disorders and other mental health problems. For economic crisis exposure, increases in mental healthcare utilisation and suicides were also found, but these findings were mixed for COVID-19 pandemic exposure. This is probably because of quarantine measures affecting help-seeking and shorter follow-ups of studies of COVID-19 pandemic exposure., Conclusions: Our findings highlight the importance of available, accessible and sustainable mental health services. Also, socioeconomically disadvantaged populations should be particular targets of policy interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA/"ecstasy") is an empathogen that can give rise to increased pleasure and empathy and may effectively treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Although prior research has demonstrated associations between ecstasy use and favorable mental health outcomes, the associations between ecstasy and physical health have largely been unexplored. Thus, the goal of this study was to examine the associations between ecstasy use and physical health in a population-based survey sample., Method: This study utilized data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2005-2018), a yearly survey that collects information on substance use and health outcomes in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. We used multinomial, ordered, and logistic regression models to test the associations between lifetime ecstasy use and various markers of physical health (self-reported body mass index, overall health, past year heart condition and/or cancer, past year heart disease, past year hypertension, and past year diabetes), controlling for a range of potential confounders., Results: Lifetime ecstasy use was associated with significantly lower risk of self-reported overweightness and obesity (adjusted relative risk ratio range: 0.55-0.88) and lower odds of self-reported past year heart condition and/or cancer (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 0.67), hypertension (aOR: 0.85), and diabetes (aOR: 0.58). Ecstasy use was also associated with significantly higher odds of better self-reported overall health (aOR: 1.18)., Conclusion: Ecstasy shares protective associations with various physical health markers. Future longitudinal studies and clinical trials are needed to more rigorously test these associations.

Objectives: Previous studies have reported links between classic psychedelic use and seizures, but little remains known about prevalence and potential risk factors of classic psychedelic-related seizures., Methods: Using a sample representative of the US adult population with regard to sex, age, and ethnicity (N = 2822), this study examined the prevalence and potential risk factors of classic psychedelic-related seizures, in a subsample of respondents who reported lifetime classic psychedelic use (n = 613)., Results: Among those who reported lifetime classic psychedelic use, 1.5 % reported classic psychedelic-related seizures, a statistic that comports with the prevalence of epilepsy in the US population. Among those who reported seizures while using a classic psychedelic, almost half reported co-use of antidepressants, mood stabilizers, or opioid replacement therapies at the time of the seizures. Notably, classic psychedelic-related seizures were more commonly reported in certain respondents, especially those with a personal or family history of epilepsy., Conclusions: These results suggest that classic psychedelic use could increase the risk of seizures in certain populations, particularly those with a personal or family history of epilepsy., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest PSH is on the scientific advisory board of Bright Minds Biosciences Ltd., Eleusis Benefit Corporation, and Reset Pharmaceuticals Inc. OS and RC are co-founders of Eudelics AB., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Absenteeism from work due to illness, and related costs, has increased steadily during the past decades. In recent years, there has been a reemergence of research on the therapeutic effects of classic psychedelics showing associations with both physical and mental health. However, the association between classic psychedelics and sick leave remains unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between lifetime classic psychedelic use and sick leave in the past 30 days among adults in the United States ( N = 407,717), using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2005-2019), weighted to be representative of the US adult population., Methods: The primary analysis was conducted using multiple linear regression, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, risky behavior, and use of other substances., Results: There was a significant and negative association between lifetime classic psychedelic use and sick leave in the past 30 days (B = -0.09, p < 0.01) when adjusting for all control variables., Conclusion: These findings suggest that classic psychedelics could potentially lead to reduced sick leave and associated costs in the general population, but more research is needed to investigate potential causal pathways of classic psychedelics on sick leave and evaluate possible mechanisms.

Previous research has found associations between classic psychedelic use and nature-relatedness, but the link between classic psychedelic use and human−animal relations remains largely unexplored. Using data representative of the US adult population, with regard to age, sex and ethnicity (N = 2822), this pre-registered study assessed lifetime classic psychedelic use, ego dissolution during respondents’ most intense experience using a classic psychedelic, and three measures related to human−animal relations: speciesism, animal solidarity and desire to help animals. The results showed that lifetime classic psychedelic use was negatively associated with speciesism (β = −0.07, p = 0.002), and positively associated with animal solidarity (β = 0.04, p = 0.041), but no association was found with desire to help animals (β = 0.01, p = 0.542). Ego dissolution during the respondents’ most intense experience using a classic psychedelic was negatively associated with speciesism (β = −0.17, p < 0.001), and positively associated with animal solidarity (β = 0.18, p < 0.001) and desire to help animals (β = 0.10, p = 0.007). The findings indicate that classic psychedelics and ego dissolution may have an impact on human−animal relations. As these results cannot demonstrate causality, however, future studies should use longitudinal research designs to further explore the potential causal link between classic psychedelic use and human−animal relations.

The European Union Brexit referendum has divided the British electorate, with high levels of animosity between those who affiliate with the Remain side (Remainers) and the Leave side (Leavers) of the debate. Previous research has shown that a brief befriending meditation reduces affective polarization among Democrats and Republicans in the United States, but the results have not been replicated in a non-US sample and the psychological mechanisms underlying the effects have yet to be examined. The present study therefore used a post-test only randomized controlled design to investigate the effects of a brief befriending meditation on affective polarization among Remainers and Leavers (n = 922). Results showed that participants in the befriending condition scored modestly lower on affective polarization than participants in the attentional control condition (t(921) = 2.17, p = .030, d = 0.14) and that perceived commonality with the political outgroup mediated the effects. In sum, audio-guided befriending practices may be a highly scalable means to reduce high levels of affective polarization through increasing perceived commonality., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Mobile phone-based interventions have been proposed as a means for reducing the burden of disease associated with mental illness. While numerous randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses have investigated this possibility, evidence remains unclear. We conducted a systematic meta-review of meta-analyses examining mobile phone-based interventions tested in randomized controlled trials. We synthesized results from 14 meta-analyses representing 145 randomized controlled trials and 47,940 participants. We identified 34 effect sizes representing unique pairings of participants, intervention, comparisons, and outcome (PICO) and graded the strength of the evidence as using umbrella review methodology. We failed to find convincing evidence of efficacy (i.e., n > 1000, p < 10 -6 , I 2 < 50%, absence of publication bias); publication bias was rarely assessed for the representative effect sizes. Eight effect sizes provided highly suggestive evidence (i.e., n > 1000, p < 10 -6 ), including smartphone interventions outperforming inactive controls on measures of psychological symptoms and quality of life ( d s = 0.32 to 0.47) and text message-based interventions outperforming non-specific controls and active controls for smoking cessation ( d s = 0.31 and 0.19, respectively). The magnitude of effects and strength of evidence tended to diminish as comparison conditions became more rigorous (i.e., inactive to active, non-specific to specific). Four effect sizes provided suggestive evidence, 14 effect sizes provided weak evidence, and eight effect sizes were non-significant. Despite substantial heterogeneity, no moderators were identified. Adverse effects were not reported. Taken together, results support the potential of mobile phone-based interventions and highlight key directions to guide providers, policy makers, clinical trialists, and meta-analysts working in this area., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had adverse mental health effects for many groups in British society, especially young adults and university students. The present study reports secondary outcomes (i.e., symptoms of anxiety and depression) from a randomized waitlist controlled trial, with a one-month post-intervention follow-up, on the effects of a guided, eight-week mindfulness program delivered online during the COVID-19 pandemic among students at the University of Oxford. Longitudinal multilevel models showed greater reductions in anxiety but not depression symptoms for participants in the mindfulness condition relative to participants in the waitlist control condition (time X group B=-0.36, p=.025)., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is common in adolescence and is associated with several adverse outcomes. Despite this, few established treatment options exist. Online treatment seems promising for several conditions; however, knowledge on NSSI is scarce. It is important to explore how online treatment for NSSI is experienced to improve such interventions and learn more about factors that are important in the treatment of adolescents with NSSI., Objective: This study aims to explore the experiences of a novel online treatment for adolescents with NSSI and their caregivers., Methods: A qualitative study using thematic analysis was conducted through semistructured interviews with 9 adolescents and 11 caregivers at treatment termination or at the 6-month follow-up of the online emotion regulation individual therapy for adolescents., Results: A total of 3 overarching themes were identified. The theme support can come in different shapes showed how support could be attained through both interaction with the therapist as well as through the format itself (such as through the fictional characters in the material and the mobile app). Caregivers found it helpful to have their own online course, and adolescents accepted their involvement. The theme self-responsibility can be empowering as well as distressing showed that self-responsibility was highly appreciated (such as deciding when and how to engage in treatment) but also challenging; it caused occasional distress for some. The theme acquiring new skills and treatment effects showed the advantages and challenges of learning several different emotion regulation skills and that decreased emotion regulation difficulties were important treatment outcomes for adolescents. In addition, several different skills seemed to facilitate emotion regulation, and having access to such skills could hinder NSSI., Conclusions: Online emotion regulation individual therapy for adolescents seems to offer an accepted way to deliver family interventions for this target group; facilitate skills training with several means of support, including support from both the mobile app and the therapist; contribute to decreasing emotion regulation difficulties and teaching skills that could hinder NSSI; and cause (in some individuals) distress because of the self-responsibility that is inherent to online formats, which needs to be addressed., (©Olivia Simonsson, Hedvig Engberg, Johan Bjureberg, Brjánn Ljótsson, Julia Stensils, Hanna Sahlin, Clara Hellner. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 23.07.2021.)

The objective of the current study was to investigate the associations between lifetime classic psychedelic use and cardiometabolic diseases. Using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2005-2014), the present study examined the associations between lifetime classic psychedelic use and two types of cardiometabolic disease: heart disease and diabetes. Respondents who reported having tried a classic psychedelic at least once in their lifetime had lower odds of heart disease in the past year (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.77 (0.65-0.92), p = .006) and lower odds of diabetes in the past year (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.88 (0.78-0.99), p = .036). Classic psychedelic use might be beneficial for cardiometabolic health, but more research is needed to investigate potential causal pathways of classic psychedelics on cardiometabolic diseases., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

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Background: In recent years, there has been significant research on the mental health effects of classic psychedelic use, but there is very little evidence on how classic psychedelics might influence physical health., Aims: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the associations between lifetime classic psychedelic use and markers of physical health., Methods: Using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2015-2018) with 171,766 (unweighted) adults aged 18 or above in the United States, the current study examined the associations between lifetime classic psychedelic use and three markers of physical health (self-reported overall health, body mass index, and heart condition and/or cancer in the past 12 months) while controlling for a range of covariates., Results: Respondents who reported having tried a classic psychedelic at least once in their lifetime had significantly higher odds of greater self-reported overall health and significantly lower odds of being overweight or obese versus having a normal weight. The association between lifetime classic psychedelic use and having a heart condition and/or cancer in the past 12 months approached conventional levels of significance, with lower odds of having a heart condition and/or cancer in the past 12 months for respondents who had tried a classic psychedelic at least once., Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that classic psychedelics may be beneficial to physical health. Future research should investigate the causal effects of classic psychedelics on physical health and evaluate possible mechanisms.