PLoS One
November 7, 2018
Cassandra Vieten, Helané Wahbeh, B Rael Cahn et al.
124 citations
A survey of 1120 meditators found that most report having had anomalous and extraordinary experiences during meditation, such as mystical, transpersonal, or difficult phenomena. While meditation research has largely focused on clinical effectiveness and neural correlates, these less-studied experiences may be crucial for psychological and spiritual development, act as mediators of meditation's benefits, or be important outcomes themselves. A task force of researchers and teachers developed recommendations to expand research into these areas, which represent largely uncharted scientific terrain suitable for rigorous investigation.
Journal of Clinical Psychology
February 24, 2009
Melissa Tanner, Fred Travis, Carolyn Gaylord-King et al.
58 citations
A 3-month randomized waitlist-controlled trial with 295 university students examined whether practicing the Transcendental Meditation program increases mindfulness, measured by the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills. Participants who learned TM showed greater increases in overall mindfulness scores over time compared to those on the waitlist. All mindfulness subscales were positively correlated at the start, and these correlations did not change over time or differ between groups. This suggests that previously reported positive correlations between observing and accepting-without-judgment skills only among meditators may stem from self-selection rather than a direct effect of meditation practice.
Heart Mind
September 18, 2023
Robert H Schneider, Fred Travis, Tony Nader
9 citations
More than 50% of US physicians report at least one symptom of burnout, and 28% of cardiologists report mental health conditions. Burnout is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) through mechanisms like sympathetic nervous system activation and inflammation. The Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique has been studied in four recent trials among healthcare providers, showing reductions in burnout, stress, anxiety, and depression, and improvements in resilience. TM is also associated with reduced blood pressure and CVD risk. The authors propose a systems medicine model called the Square of Health, integrating spiritual, mental, physical, and environmental domains, with a unified field of consciousness as the foundation, to address burnout and CVD.
Journal of Traumatic Stress
February 1, 2014
Brian Rees, Fred Travis, David Shapiro et al.
Among Congolese refugees with posttraumatic stress, learning Transcendental Meditation was followed by large reductions in PTSD symptoms within 10 days. Average scores on a standard PTSD checklist fell from 77.9 to 48.0 in 10 days, then further to 35.3 at 30 days. The effect size at 10 days was very large (d = 4.05). No adverse events occurred, and all 11 participants completed the study.
Journal of Traumatic Stress
April 1, 2013
Brian Rees, Fred Travis, David Shapiro et al.
In a matched single-blind pilot study, Congolese refugees in Kampala, Uganda who learned Transcendental Meditation (TM) showed substantial reductions in posttraumatic stress symptoms. The TM group's average PCL-C score dropped from 65 (severe symptoms) at baseline to below 30 after 30 days of practice, remaining low at 135 days. The control group's scores trended upward. Effect size was large (d > 1.0). Compliance was good, with no adverse events. The results suggest TM may be an effective, safe intervention for reducing PTS symptoms in this population.
Cardiology research and practice
March 21, 2011
David A F Haaga, Sarina Grosswald, Carolyn Gaylord-King et al.
A randomized trial with 295 university students found that Transcendental Meditation instruction reduced alcohol use among male students but not female students, compared to a wait-list control group. No significant differences were observed for smoking or illicit drug use. The authors suggest TM instruction could help reduce alcohol consumption in male university students.
Cognitive processing
February 1, 2010
Fred Travis, David A F Haaga, John Hagelin et al.
A 10-week random assignment study of 38 college students (average age 23.7 years) compared EEG brainwave patterns during eyes-closed rest and Transcendental Meditation (TM) practice. During TM, compared to rest, there was higher alpha1 frontal log-power and lower beta1 and gamma frontal and parietal log-power; higher frontal and parietal alpha1 interhemispheric coherence and higher frontal and frontal-central beta2 intrahemispheric coherence. Sources of alpha1 activity were found in midline cortical regions overlapping the default mode network (DMN). Greater activation in DMN areas during TM suggests meditation may produce a foundational or 'ground' state of cerebral functioning that underlies both rest and focused cognition.
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
February 1, 2009
Fred Travis, David A F Haaga, John Hagelin et al.
College students who learned Transcendental Meditation (TM) showed improved brain integration scores and reduced sleepiness over ten weeks, while those who had not yet learned showed declines or no change. The study also found differences in how quickly students adapted to repeated loud tones. These results suggest that practicing TM may benefit college students' cognitive and physiological functioning.