Efficacy of Transcendental Meditation to Reduce Stress Among Health Care Workers: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
JAMA Network Open September 1, 2022 Sangeeta P Joshi, An-Kwok Ian Wong, Amanda Brucker et al.
Transcendental Meditation (TM) practiced for 20 minutes twice daily over three months did not significantly reduce acute psychological distress in health care workers compared with usual wellness resources, but it did significantly improve emotional exhaustion, insomnia, and anxiety. In a randomized clinical trial of 80 health care workers at an academic medical center, those assigned to TM showed a reduction of 5.6 points on the Global Severity Index versus 3.8 points in the control group, a difference that was not statistically significant. However, TM led to greater improvements in burnout, insomnia, and anxiety scores at three months. The findings suggest TM may be a safe strategy for alleviating chronic stress among health care workers.