Scientific Research on the Benefits of Transcendental Meditation.

Summary of Benefits: Research on the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi^® Programs

The scientific research on the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs is the largest and strongest body of research on any program to develop human potential.

The more than 600 scientific studies conducted at 200 independent universities and institutions in 35 countries and published in over 100 leading scientific journals have documented that this technology benefits every sphere of life: physiological, psychological, sociological, and ecological.

The findings in each area of study have been replicated many times, and meta-analyses, which are the most quantitatively rigorous means to review a body of research, have found a high degree of consistency of the results. Studies using the most sophisticated, rigorous research methodologies designed to prove causality have strongly verified and extended preliminary findings. This demonstrates that the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs actually do cause the wide range of positive changes in mental potential, health, social behavior, and the surroundings.

A Technique for Everyone

Research conducted around the world documents that the program is effective for all cultural and ethnic groups. All age groups benefit, from increased alertness in infants of meditating parents to increased health, happiness, and longevity in meditating elderly. People spanning the full range of socioeconomic levels and intellectual abilities also benefit, adding to the universality of Maharishi’s program.

Peaceful Mind, Peaceful Body, Peaceful Society

This body of research is unique in the extent of its cross validation—the findings are validated by many different types of physiological, psychological, and sociological measures. For example, the finding that the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs decrease stress is validated by physiological changes such as decreased cortisol (the major stress hormone), decreased muscle tension, normalization of blood pressure, increased autonomic stability, and increased EEG coherence. At the same time, a variety of psychological changes also indicate decreased stress, including decreased anxiety and depression, decreased post-traumatic stress syndrome, and increased self-actualization.

Stress reduction is also demonstrated by the sociological changes, such as decreased hostility, increased family harmony, and reduced criminal behavior in incarcerated felons. And research even extends the concept of stress reduction to the ecological level. Studies have found that the reduction of stress in meditating individuals creates an influence of harmony in the environment.

Scientists have named this phenomenon the Maharishi Effect—the finding that even one percent of the population practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique—or the square root of one percent practicing the more advanced Transcendental Meditation-Sidhi^SM program—improves the quality of life, as indicated by such changes as reduced crime and sickness in the larger society.

Physiological Benefits

Deep Healing Rest

The original landmark research on the physiological correlates of the Transcendental Meditation technique was published in Science, American Journal of Physiology, and Scientific American in 1970-1972. This research found that the Transcendental Meditation technique produces a physiological state of restful alertness. During the technique the physiology becomes deeply rested, as indicated by significant reductions in respiration, minute ventilation, tidal volume, and blood lactate, and significant increases in basal skin resistance (an index of relaxation).

Transcendental Consciousness, a Unique State of Restful Alertness

At the same time that the physiology is deeply rested, it is also alert rather than asleep, as indicated by an increased abundance of alpha waves in the EEG. These findings led researcher Dr. Keith Wallace to conclude that restful alertness is a fourth major state of consciousness, termed Transcendental Consciousness, that is physiologically distinct from ordinary waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. Many other researchers have confirmed the reality of Transcendental Consciousness.

A More Relaxed, Flexible Physiology Outside of Meditation

The regular experience of alternating 15 to 20 minutes of the Transcendental Meditation technique twice a day with regular daily activity trains the physiology and mind to become more relaxed outside of meditation, as well as more flexible and dynamic. Baseline levels of respiration rate, heart rate, plasma lactate, and skin resistance are all lower. The autonomic nervous system, which regulates vital internal processes, becomes more stable, integrated, and adaptable, as indicated by its increased ability to recover rapidly from the effects of stress.

Increased Orderliness of Brain Functioning

As one practices the Transcendental Meditation program, brain functioning becomes more orderly, as indicated by the growth of physiological correlates of creativity and intelligence, such as shorter latencies of cognitive evoked potentials, faster paired H-reflexes, increased EEG coherence, shorter inspection time, and faster choice reaction time.

Decreased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Improved General Health

Medical researchers have found a reduction of important cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure and serum cholesterol. Large health insurance studies have found that people practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs, in all age groups combined, display a 50 percent reduction in both inpatient and outpatient medical care utilization compared to controls. Hospitalization is 87 percent lower for heart disease and 55 percent lower for cancer. And what is most remarkable, meditators over 40 years old have approximately 70 percent fewer medical problems than others in their age group.

Decreased Biological Age and Increased Life Expectancy

Other research has found that meditating individuals in their mid-50s have a biological age twelve years younger than their chronological age, and that people beginning the practice even at 80 years of age live longer and are healthier and happier than controls of the same age.

Psychological Benefits

Self-Realization

Transcendental Consciousness is the experience of one’s higher Self, and through regular practice of the Transcendental Meditation program, the Self becomes a stable internal frame of reference, providing an unshakable anchor to life even during dynamic activity. Research shows that this is the best means of reducing anxiety, depression, and anger. Meditators become better able to see another person’s perspective, yet they cannot easily be swayed by social pressure to do something that they judge to be wrong. They tend to perceive the world more positively and holistically.

Increased Comprehension, Focus, Creativity and Intelligence

Numerous studies have found that the practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs increases broad comprehension and improves the ability to focus sharply (field independence). Creativity increases, as measured by tests of both verbal and pictorial fluency, flexibility, and originality. Perception becomes more accurate and less driven by preconceptions and misconceptions. Basic memory processes improve.

School children who practice the Transcendental Meditation technique significantly improve in their basic skills in mathematics, reading, language, and study skills within a semester. Studies of elementary school students, high school students, college students, and adults have found significant increased IQ scores compared to non-meditating controls over the same period. A ten-year longitudinal study following meditating college students after they graduated found significant increases in holistic measures of self development (ego development) compared to data sets for graduates of three control universities matched for gender and age.

Improved Moral Reasoning and Emotional Maturity

Studies have found that people who regularly practice the Transcendental Meditation technique reach higher levels of moral reasoning, autonomy, and integration than has ever been seen in any other group. Comprehensive reviews of the research literature have found that the Transcendental Meditation technique is unparalleled in its ability to fully develop the unique potential of the individual. This technique makes a person more self-sufficient, more spontaneous, more productive, better able to meet challenges, and more capable of warm interpersonal relationships.

Sociological Benefits

Decreased Use of Drugs and Alcohol

As the mind and body achieve a more ideal state through the Transcendental Meditation program, the desire to chemically alter one’s state naturally decreases. A quantitative review of 198 studies found that the Transcendental Meditation program is the most effective means of preventing and treating drug and alcohol abuse. A study of high school and college drug users in a rehabilitation center found an 89 percent reduction in drug usage, and even transient, chronic (“skid row”) alcoholics were found achieve a 65 percent abstinence rate.

Decreased Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome

A study of war veterans with post-traumatic adjustment problems found that the Transcendental Meditation technique produced significant decreases in emotional numbness, alcohol consumption, family problems, insomnia, unemployment, and overall post-traumatic stress disorder, in comparison to controls receiving psychotherapy.

Benefits for Businesses

The Japanese Ministry of Labor commissioned a five-month study of the effects of the Transcendental Meditation program on 447 employees in a major heavy industry. The study found decreased physical complaints, decreased anxiety, decreased depression, decreased smoking, decreased insomnia, decreased digestive problems, and a decreased tendency towards neurosis and psychosomatic problems among those who learned this technique compared to non-meditating controls.

Effective Criminal Rehabilitation and Prevention

The Transcendental Meditation program has been widely used for effective prison rehabilitation. Studies indicate that it produces positive changes in health, personality development, behavior, and reduced recidivism (lower return to prison) among inmates. One study of recidivism found that 259 inmates of Folsom and San Quentin prisons and Deuel Vocational Institute in California who learned the Transcendental Meditation technique had 35-40 percent fewer new prison terms compared to the matched controls, whereas it is known that traditional prison education, vocational training, and psychotherapy do not consistently reduce recidivism.

A large scale study of 11,000 prisoners and 900 staff officers in Senegal, West Africa in 1987 found that the Transcendental Meditation program markedly decreased prison violence, health problems and that it reduced recidivism to a mere eight percent.

Ecological Changes

Coherent Collective Consciousness

Maharishi has brought to light that the most important single ecological consideration is a pervasive field of collective consciousness—the collective influence of the consciousness of individuals that comprise a society. Stressed individuals create an atmosphere of stress in collective consciousness that reciprocally affects the thinking and actions of every individual in that system. Maharishi maintains that crime, drug abuse, armed conflict, and other problems of society are more than just the problem of individual criminals, drug users, and conflicting factions in society. Such problems are more fundamentally symptoms of stress in collective consciousness.

Reduced Crime Rate and Improved Quality of Life

Maharishi has introduced a new theoretical understanding of society, which concludes that the only practical way to handle large-scale problems is to approach them holistically by creating coherence in collective consciousness. Citing the general principle of physics that the coherent elements of a system exert an influence proportional to their number squared, Maharishi has estimated that one percent of the population practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique—or as few as the square root of one percent practicing the TM-Sidhi program together—would be enough to create an influence of coherence in collective consciousness capable of neutralizing the stresses that are the root cause of social problems.

Extensive scientific research on the city, state, national, and international levels has confirmed Maharishi’s prediction. A study of 160 US cities found a significant reduction in crime trend from 1974 to 1978 in proportion to the number of people in the city who had learned the technique by 1973. The study controlled for demographic variables known to influence crime.

Research has further demonstrated that when groups practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs are introduced into a city, state, or country anywhere in the world, then crime decreases, there are fewer traffic accidents, and the quality of life improves in that area.

World Peace

Since 1979, Maharishi University of Management has had a group of Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi participants that has varied in size from a few hundred to over 8,000. Published research has shown that increases in the size of the group have an influence in both the United States and Canada, resulting in fewer violent deaths due to homicides, suicides, and traffic fatalities, a reduction in unemployment and inflation; and a general improvement in the quality of life.

Studies have shown that when the University group, or a similar group located anywhere in the world, is sufficiently large, that is, approaching the square root of one percent of the world population (7,000), that international relations improve and regional conflicts decrease world-wide.

The conclusion of this research is that the only viable means of reducing and eventually eliminating the age-old problems of society and creating world peace is the ecological and truly systemic approach of creating coherence in collective consciousness through the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs.

Conclusion—Life in Accord with Natural Law

This remarkable body of research showing that the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs produces basic improvements on all levels of life—health, mental potential, social behavior, and world peace—confirms that this technology of consciousness operates on the most fundamental level of nature’s functioning, enlivening the unified field of Natural Law in the consciousness of the individual and in society, so that life may be lived in accord with Natural Law.

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	HOME 1 Discover the Benefits Benefits for Your Mind Benefits for Your Body Benefits for Relationships Benefits for the World Benefits for Students Benefits for Professional Life Does It Work for Everyone? What Meditators Say What Research Says – View Research Charts – Summary of Benefits – Reversal of Aging The TM Program at a Glance What the TM Technique Is Why It’s Unique What Is Transcendental Consciousness? Frequently Asked Questions 2 Learn to Meditate 3 Enjoy Advanced Courses 4 Explore Related Programs quick links Founder: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Online Introductory Videos Sign up for a free Ezine Read our Latest Professional Report The TM program in the news Resources Scientific Research Better Memory Younger Biological Age Increased Personal Development Decreased Terrorism There are more than 600 scientific studies documenting the benefits of the Transcendental Meditation program. Click here to see a complete list	A remarkable body of research on the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs confirms the benefits of this powerful technology of consciousness. Summary of Benefits: Research on the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi^® Programs The scientific research on the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs is the largest and strongest body of research on any program to develop human potential. The more than 600 scientific studies conducted at 200 independent universities and institutions in 35 countries and published in over 100 leading scientific journals have documented that this technology benefits every sphere of life: physiological, psychological, sociological, and ecological. The findings in each area of study have been replicated many times, and meta-analyses, which are the most quantitatively rigorous means to review a body of research, have found a high degree of consistency of the results. Studies using the most sophisticated, rigorous research methodologies designed to prove causality have strongly verified and extended preliminary findings. This demonstrates that the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs actually do cause the wide range of positive changes in mental potential, health, social behavior, and the surroundings. A Technique for Everyone Research conducted around the world documents that the program is effective for all cultural and ethnic groups. All age groups benefit, from increased alertness in infants of meditating parents to increased health, happiness, and longevity in meditating elderly. People spanning the full range of socioeconomic levels and intellectual abilities also benefit, adding to the universality of Maharishi’s program. Peaceful Mind, Peaceful Body, Peaceful Society This body of research is unique in the extent of its cross validation—the findings are validated by many different types of physiological, psychological, and sociological measures. For example, the finding that the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs decrease stress is validated by physiological changes such as decreased cortisol (the major stress hormone), decreased muscle tension, normalization of blood pressure, increased autonomic stability, and increased EEG coherence. At the same time, a variety of psychological changes also indicate decreased stress, including decreased anxiety and depression, decreased post-traumatic stress syndrome, and increased self-actualization. Stress reduction is also demonstrated by the sociological changes, such as decreased hostility, increased family harmony, and reduced criminal behavior in incarcerated felons. And research even extends the concept of stress reduction to the ecological level. Studies have found that the reduction of stress in meditating individuals creates an influence of harmony in the environment. Scientists have named this phenomenon the Maharishi Effect—the finding that even one percent of the population practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique—or the square root of one percent practicing the more advanced Transcendental Meditation-Sidhi^SM program—improves the quality of life, as indicated by such changes as reduced crime and sickness in the larger society. Physiological Benefits Deep Healing Rest The original landmark research on the physiological correlates of the Transcendental Meditation technique was published in Science, American Journal of Physiology, and Scientific American in 1970-1972. This research found that the Transcendental Meditation technique produces a physiological state of restful alertness. During the technique the physiology becomes deeply rested, as indicated by significant reductions in respiration, minute ventilation, tidal volume, and blood lactate, and significant increases in basal skin resistance (an index of relaxation). Transcendental Consciousness, a Unique State of Restful Alertness At the same time that the physiology is deeply rested, it is also alert rather than asleep, as indicated by an increased abundance of alpha waves in the EEG. These findings led researcher Dr. Keith Wallace to conclude that restful alertness is a fourth major state of consciousness, termed Transcendental Consciousness, that is physiologically distinct from ordinary waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. Many other researchers have confirmed the reality of Transcendental Consciousness. A More Relaxed, Flexible Physiology Outside of Meditation The regular experience of alternating 15 to 20 minutes of the Transcendental Meditation technique twice a day with regular daily activity trains the physiology and mind to become more relaxed outside of meditation, as well as more flexible and dynamic. Baseline levels of respiration rate, heart rate, plasma lactate, and skin resistance are all lower. The autonomic nervous system, which regulates vital internal processes, becomes more stable, integrated, and adaptable, as indicated by its increased ability to recover rapidly from the effects of stress. Increased Orderliness of Brain Functioning As one practices the Transcendental Meditation program, brain functioning becomes more orderly, as indicated by the growth of physiological correlates of creativity and intelligence, such as shorter latencies of cognitive evoked potentials, faster paired H-reflexes, increased EEG coherence, shorter inspection time, and faster choice reaction time. Decreased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Improved General Health Medical researchers have found a reduction of important cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure and serum cholesterol. Large health insurance studies have found that people practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs, in all age groups combined, display a 50 percent reduction in both inpatient and outpatient medical care utilization compared to controls. Hospitalization is 87 percent lower for heart disease and 55 percent lower for cancer. And what is most remarkable, meditators over 40 years old have approximately 70 percent fewer medical problems than others in their age group. Decreased Biological Age and Increased Life Expectancy Other research has found that meditating individuals in their mid-50s have a biological age twelve years younger than their chronological age, and that people beginning the practice even at 80 years of age live longer and are healthier and happier than controls of the same age. Psychological Benefits Self-Realization Transcendental Consciousness is the experience of one’s higher Self, and through regular practice of the Transcendental Meditation program, the Self becomes a stable internal frame of reference, providing an unshakable anchor to life even during dynamic activity. Research shows that this is the best means of reducing anxiety, depression, and anger. Meditators become better able to see another person’s perspective, yet they cannot easily be swayed by social pressure to do something that they judge to be wrong. They tend to perceive the world more positively and holistically. Increased Comprehension, Focus, Creativity and Intelligence Numerous studies have found that the practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs increases broad comprehension and improves the ability to focus sharply (field independence). Creativity increases, as measured by tests of both verbal and pictorial fluency, flexibility, and originality. Perception becomes more accurate and less driven by preconceptions and misconceptions. Basic memory processes improve. School children who practice the Transcendental Meditation technique significantly improve in their basic skills in mathematics, reading, language, and study skills within a semester. Studies of elementary school students, high school students, college students, and adults have found significant increased IQ scores compared to non-meditating controls over the same period. A ten-year longitudinal study following meditating college students after they graduated found significant increases in holistic measures of self development (ego development) compared to data sets for graduates of three control universities matched for gender and age. Improved Moral Reasoning and Emotional Maturity Studies have found that people who regularly practice the Transcendental Meditation technique reach higher levels of moral reasoning, autonomy, and integration than has ever been seen in any other group. Comprehensive reviews of the research literature have found that the Transcendental Meditation technique is unparalleled in its ability to fully develop the unique potential of the individual. This technique makes a person more self-sufficient, more spontaneous, more productive, better able to meet challenges, and more capable of warm interpersonal relationships. Sociological Benefits Decreased Use of Drugs and Alcohol As the mind and body achieve a more ideal state through the Transcendental Meditation program, the desire to chemically alter one’s state naturally decreases. A quantitative review of 198 studies found that the Transcendental Meditation program is the most effective means of preventing and treating drug and alcohol abuse. A study of high school and college drug users in a rehabilitation center found an 89 percent reduction in drug usage, and even transient, chronic (“skid row”) alcoholics were found achieve a 65 percent abstinence rate. Decreased Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome A study of war veterans with post-traumatic adjustment problems found that the Transcendental Meditation technique produced significant decreases in emotional numbness, alcohol consumption, family problems, insomnia, unemployment, and overall post-traumatic stress disorder, in comparison to controls receiving psychotherapy. Benefits for Businesses The Japanese Ministry of Labor commissioned a five-month study of the effects of the Transcendental Meditation program on 447 employees in a major heavy industry. The study found decreased physical complaints, decreased anxiety, decreased depression, decreased smoking, decreased insomnia, decreased digestive problems, and a decreased tendency towards neurosis and psychosomatic problems among those who learned this technique compared to non-meditating controls. Effective Criminal Rehabilitation and Prevention The Transcendental Meditation program has been widely used for effective prison rehabilitation. Studies indicate that it produces positive changes in health, personality development, behavior, and reduced recidivism (lower return to prison) among inmates. One study of recidivism found that 259 inmates of Folsom and San Quentin prisons and Deuel Vocational Institute in California who learned the Transcendental Meditation technique had 35-40 percent fewer new prison terms compared to the matched controls, whereas it is known that traditional prison education, vocational training, and psychotherapy do not consistently reduce recidivism. A large scale study of 11,000 prisoners and 900 staff officers in Senegal, West Africa in 1987 found that the Transcendental Meditation program markedly decreased prison violence, health problems and that it reduced recidivism to a mere eight percent. Ecological Changes Coherent Collective Consciousness Maharishi has brought to light that the most important single ecological consideration is a pervasive field of collective consciousness—the collective influence of the consciousness of individuals that comprise a society. Stressed individuals create an atmosphere of stress in collective consciousness that reciprocally affects the thinking and actions of every individual in that system. Maharishi maintains that crime, drug abuse, armed conflict, and other problems of society are more than just the problem of individual criminals, drug users, and conflicting factions in society. Such problems are more fundamentally symptoms of stress in collective consciousness. Reduced Crime Rate and Improved Quality of Life Maharishi has introduced a new theoretical understanding of society, which concludes that the only practical way to handle large-scale problems is to approach them holistically by creating coherence in collective consciousness. Citing the general principle of physics that the coherent elements of a system exert an influence proportional to their number squared, Maharishi has estimated that one percent of the population practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique—or as few as the square root of one percent practicing the TM-Sidhi program together—would be enough to create an influence of coherence in collective consciousness capable of neutralizing the stresses that are the root cause of social problems. Extensive scientific research on the city, state, national, and international levels has confirmed Maharishi’s prediction. A study of 160 US cities found a significant reduction in crime trend from 1974 to 1978 in proportion to the number of people in the city who had learned the technique by 1973. The study controlled for demographic variables known to influence crime. Research has further demonstrated that when groups practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs are introduced into a city, state, or country anywhere in the world, then crime decreases, there are fewer traffic accidents, and the quality of life improves in that area. World Peace Since 1979, Maharishi University of Management has had a group of Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi participants that has varied in size from a few hundred to over 8,000. Published research has shown that increases in the size of the group have an influence in both the United States and Canada, resulting in fewer violent deaths due to homicides, suicides, and traffic fatalities, a reduction in unemployment and inflation; and a general improvement in the quality of life. Studies have shown that when the University group, or a similar group located anywhere in the world, is sufficiently large, that is, approaching the square root of one percent of the world population (7,000), that international relations improve and regional conflicts decrease world-wide. The conclusion of this research is that the only viable means of reducing and eventually eliminating the age-old problems of society and creating world peace is the ecological and truly systemic approach of creating coherence in collective consciousness through the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs. Conclusion—Life in Accord with Natural Law This remarkable body of research showing that the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs produces basic improvements on all levels of life—health, mental potential, social behavior, and world peace—confirms that this technology of consciousness operates on the most fundamental level of nature’s functioning, enlivening the unified field of Natural Law in the consciousness of the individual and in society, so that life may be lived in accord with Natural Law. NEXT: Reversal of Aging

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Scientific Research

A remarkable body of research on the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs confirms the benefits of this powerful technology of consciousness.

Summary of Benefits: Research on the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi® Programs