Over one-third of older adults report feeling lonely, and loneliness is a stronger predictor of mortality than smoking, physical inactivity, or obesity. It also increases the risk of numerous adverse outcomes, including dementia, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and suicide. Psychosocial interventions that simply increase the frequency of social contact are often ineffective. It may be more important to target the psychological factors that make social interactions feel unrewarding.

Mindfulness-based interventions may help alleviate loneliness by promoting acceptance of difficult emotions and increasing awareness of habitual reactive patterns within the context of social life. 

Dutcher et al. [Journal of Gerontology: Series B] tested the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in reducing loneliness among older adults in two controlled studies. One study compared MBSR to a waitlist control, and another compared MBSR with a Health Enhancement Program (HEP), a standard active comparator often used in behavioral trials.

In the first study, the researchers randomly assigned 219 older adults (average age = 73 years; 62% female; 98% White) to MBSR or a waitlist control. The MBSR program followed the standard 8-week curriculum of two-hour weekly group sessions, a 7-hour retreat, and 45 minutes of daily home practice. Loneliness was assessed at baseline, post-treatment, and 6-month follow-up using the 7-item UCLA Loneliness Scale, which asks participants to rate how lonely they felt in the past month on a four-point Likert scale.

In the second study, 190 older adults (average age = 70 years; 78% female; 85% White) who reported moderate loneliness on a short version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale were randomly assigned to MBSR or HEP. MBSR followed the same format as in Study 1. HEP matched MBSR in duration, frequency of meetings, and homework assignments. HEP content emphasized strength, balance, flexibility, aerobic exercise, nutrition, and managing emotions through writing and music. Loneliness in this study was assessed with the full 20-item UCLA Loneliness Scale, and follow-up occurred at 3 months rather than 6.

In the first study, there were no significant group differences immediately after the intervention, but by the 6-month follow-up, the MBSR group had a significant reduction in average loneliness scores compared with waitlist controls. Score improvements were small, decreasing from 12.4 to 11.9 in the MBSR group and remaining unchanged at 11.9 in the control group.

In the second study, both groups showed significant decreases in average loneliness scores from baseline to post-treatment and from post-treatment to follow-up, with no significant differences between groups. MBSR scores declined from 43.1 to 39.8 and HEP scores declined from 41.7 to 38.6 from baseline to follow-up. 

Both groups also demonstrated increased mindfulness scores on the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire over time, though with null between-group differences. While higher mindfulness scores correlated with lower loneliness at one time point, mindfulness and loneliness change scores were not correlated.

Overall, findings from two studies suggest that MBSR and the general health promotion program (HEP) each led to small reductions in self-reported loneliness scores among older adults. These improvements emerged or persisted three to six months after the intervention, indicating that simply receiving structured attention within a research study may partly or fully account for the observed effects.

The specific mechanisms for these modest improvements remain uncertain, including whether they stem from shared group experiences or from distinct components of each intervention.  

Reference:

Dutcher, J. M., Brown, K. W., Lindsay, E. K., Greco, C. M., Wright, A. G. C., Gallegos, A. M., Heffner, K. L., & Creswell, J. D. (2025). Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Loneliness in Older Adults: Two Randomized Controlled Trials. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B. 

Link to study