Transcendental Meditation may be an effective way to reduce depression, anxiety, blood pressure and anger among college students at risk for high blood pressure, says a new study set to appear in the December 2009 issue of the American Journal of Hypertension.
The study was conducted at American University using 298 college students randomly placed in either a Transcendental Meditation group or a wait-list control group over a three-month period. A subset of 159 students considered to be at risk for high blood pressure were analyzed separately. At baseline and again after three months, blood pressure, psychological distress and coping ability were evaluated for this group.
Among the students at risk for high blood pressure, significant improvements in blood pressure, psychological distress and coping were observed. Compared to the controls, the students practicing Transcendental Meditation experienced a reduction of 6.3 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure and 4.0 mm Hg in diastolic blood pressure. This amount of reduction in blood pressure is associated with a 52% lower risk of developing high blood pressure in later years, according to the authors.
These results are important because "psychological distress such as anxiety, depression, and anger contribute to the development of hypertension in young adults," said lead author Sanford Nidich, of the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention at Maharishi University of Management. "This has major implications for the prevention of hypertension, heart attacks and strokes in adulthood," added Nidich's co-author, Robert Schneider, director of the Institute.
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Unfortunately most TM research cannot be trusted. The Org has a long history of not only deception, but of concealing suicides and depression brought on by the technique. I wouldn’t trust these people any more than I would the Scientologists.
Independent research on TM and Blood Pressure (BP) has shown that TM is actually the poorest of all meditation techniques for lowering BP. It is also the most expensive.
Albert I’d have to agree with you there. These people have a long history of junk science and cultish behavior.
When a guru is found to be having sex with their students, I always see that as a warning sign, although I’m sure there were many more, like their money laundering, lavish lifestyles, etc.
Over 350 peer-reviewed studies have been published showing benefits from the TM technique, on research done at over 250 medical schools and institutions by more than 350 different scientists. None of these studies show any negative effects. The NIH has given over $26 million for TM research, and the grants keep coming ($2 million more announced last month). Why? Because of the solid, 40 year history of professional, independent and well-controlled research showing promising results from TM. The American Heart Association last week issued a press release praising the science behind TM and its benefits for reducing heart attacks.
I wouldn’t be surprised if both of the negative, disingenuous comments slamming here TM are from the same person posing as an innocent reader (pretending to be an “MD”, no less). Certainly the false, unsupportable statement about the TM organization’s alleged “history of deception” is an absurd attempt at deception itself, posted in the same copy-and-past wording by the same anti-meditation activist who goes berserk every time another article or study comes out on TM. If you want opinions of REAL doctors and scientists about TM, go to http://www.DoctorsOnTM.org or search the studies yourself on the NIH site http://www.PubMed.org. Not once has there ever been an accusation of deception or faulty research by the peer-reviewers, only by a couple of people like these with an axe to grind.
A small handful of people (literally 2 or 3, who also maintain multiple negative Web sites) troll the Internet trying to Swiftboat TM. But they never provide a shred of evidence, they just make sweeping defamatory statements such as these that contain not a grain of truth. Sex with students? Another outrageous lie. There are some nasty people out there.
But TM is a wonderful, innocent practice, with a systematic, comprehensive training program that allows everyone to enjoy results right away. The free lifetime follow-up and support makes it the best deal in the universe. And if anyone can’t afford the reasonable tuition, there are grants and scholarships to make it comfortable for everyone to learn.
TM has hundreds of studies, many performed at independent universities and published in well known, peer reviewed, medical journals. The comments by Albert Lackie MD are not only factually incorrect but irresponsible. In her book “Stress Management”, author Cotton says: “Interestingly, in spite of TM’s status outside the mainstream of the health system and mental health practice, it has been subject to a significant amount of empirical evaluation, much of which has in fact supported its claims of effectiveness in countering the physiological effects of stress.”
These are strange comments from Mr. Lackie and Mr. Roberts. This study was done at the American University in conjunction with faculty at AU. The research was published in American Journal of Hypertension, a peer-review journal. Perhaps Ms. Schimelpfening should consider whether these comments should be posted on this web site, as they are a misrepresentation on the research and also slanderous.
Anyone looking to decipher what is rigorous research should look for the phrase “published in peer-reviewed journals”. The Transcendental Meditation Technique has at least 350 studies published in peer-reviewed journals that attest to the benefits the technique has been bringing to people all over the world for over 50 years. There is no other alternative approach that can make that claim. The research that demonstrates it’s superiority over other alternative approaches to normalizing blood pressure are particularly numerous.. Just one specific example: According to a definitive new meta-analysis of 107 previous studies on stress reduction programs and high blood pressure, published in the American Journal of Hypertension (Vol. 21, 3: 310-316), the Transcendental Meditation technique was found to produce a statistically significant reduction in high blood pressure—an effect not found with other forms of relaxation, meditation, biofeedback or stress management.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070628160734.htm