Scientific evidence that Transcendental Meditation works
“Just as there are many kinds of medication, there are also many approaches that are termed ‘meditation.’ The vast majority of the research on meditation has been on Transcendental Meditation—and the findings clearly indicate that TM works better than other researched mental techniques to promote health. If research shows that a specific medication helps treat a disorder, it would be irresponsible and illogical to conclude that all medications help treat that disorder. In the same way, research on TM should not be generalized to include other techniques also called ‘meditation.’ We should intelligently choose what works and what is supported by research. Therefore I strongly support the introduction specifically of Transcendental Meditation into our nation’s schools and health care systems.”
—James Krag, M.D., Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, president of the Virginia Association of Community Psychiatrists, and medical director of the Valley Community Services Board in Staunton, Virginia
Scientific Research
More than 600 scientific research studies confirming the benefits of Transcendental Meditation have been conducted in 33 countries at more than 250 independent research institutions, including the medical schools of Harvard, Stanford, Yale, and UCLA in the USA. Over 300 of these studies have been published in leading peer-reviewed scientific journals. Over the past 20 years, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States have awarded more than $25 million for research on the effects of Transcendental Meditation, especially on cardiovascular health.
The scientific research on the Transcendental Meditation program has shown that the daily experience of restful alertness leads to increased creativity, improved learning ability, higher IQ, better moral reasoning, more efficient brain functioning, and a wide range of health benefits including normalized blood pressure, reduced need for doctor visits, and a younger biological age.
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
The CSIRO Healthy Heart Program published in 2008 states, “A recent report suggests that evidence is not strong enough to recommend general meditation as a treatment for high blood pressure. A specific form of meditation, however, known as Transcendental Meditation, has been shown to be very effective”
American College of Cardiology
During its annual convention, the ACC hosted a symposium on the research conducted at more than a dozen independent universities and medical schools on the effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique for reducing heart disease, hypertension, stroke, cholesterol, atherosclerosis, and heart failure.
National Institutes of Health
The NIH has awarded more than $24 million to study the benefits of the Transcendental Meditation technique for improving brain functioning and cardiovascular health during the past 20 years.
American Medical Association
The AMA’s journal Archives of Internal Medicine published a recent study showing the TM technique is highly effective in preventing the risk factors for high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity.
American Psychological Association
During its annual conference last year, the APA featured research on the TM technique that documents the positive, long-term benefits of the practice for self-actualization and self-development.
University students who learned the Transcendental Meditation technique, in contrast to students randomly assigned to a delayed-start group, showed significant improvement over a 10-week period on a Brain Integration Scale comprising several EEG measures during task performance. Components of the Brain Integration Scale on which improvement was measured included increased broadband frontal EEG coherence and more efficient preparatory brain responses to stimuli. Students learning the Transcendental Meditation technique also showed decreased sleepiness and faster habituation to stressful stimuli in comparison to controls.
Reference: International Journal of Psychophysiology 71 (2009): 170–176.
Three randomized controlled studies among secondary school and vocational school students found that, in contrast to controls, those who learned the Transcendental Meditation technique showed significant improvement in five measures of intellectual functioning; they also showed decreased anxiety.
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Master’s degree engineering students who learned the Transcendental Meditation program showed improved performance on their standard examinations after six months, compared with randomly assigned control students from the same academic program.
Reference: British Journal of Educational Psychology 55 (1985): 164–166.
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