The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
October 9, 2013
David W. Orme-Johnson, Vernon A Barnes
151 citations
Practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique reduces trait anxiety more effectively than treatment as usual and most active alternative treatments, with the largest benefits seen in people who initially have high anxiety. Across 16 studies involving 1,295 participants, the effect size compared to treatment as usual was d=-0.62. Individuals with initial anxiety in the 80th to 100th percentile—such as patients with chronic anxiety, veterans with PTSD, or prison inmates—showed larger reductions (d=-0.74 to -1.2), bringing their anxiety down to the 53rd to 62nd percentile range. Reductions appeared within two weeks and were sustained at three years. No adverse effects were reported.
Psychosomatic Medicine
May 1, 1984
Kheireddine Badawi, Robert K. Wallace, David W. Orme-Johnson et al.
91 citations
During the Transcendental Meditation program, 18 practitioners showed 52 periods of spontaneous respiratory suspension (RS) that sometimes corresponded to experiences of pure consciousness. In 19 artifact-free RS periods from 11 subjects, mean total EEG coherence across all frequencies and nine electrode derivations increased significantly compared to before and after the RS periods. A control group of 30 subjects voluntarily holding their breath showed no significant change in EEG coherence. Heart rate decreased significantly during RS in both groups, while EEG alpha power did not change significantly in either group. These results help characterize the physiological correlates of pure consciousness during the Transcendental Meditation program.
Current Hypertension Reviews
October 1, 2012
Vernon A Barnes, David W. Orme-Johnson
87 citations
Stress is thought to worsen the development and progression of cardiovascular diseases. The Transcendental Meditation technique produces both immediate and long-term reductions in sympathetic nervous system activity and stress reactivity. In adolescents at risk for hypertension, it lowers resting and ambulatory blood pressure, reduces left ventricular mass and cardiovascular reactivity, and improves school behavior. In adults with mild or moderate essential hypertension, it decreases blood pressure and the need for anti-hypertensive medication. It also reduces symptoms of angina and carotid atherosclerosis, lowers cardiovascular risk factors like alcohol and tobacco use, decreases medical care utilization for cardiovascular diseases, and significantly lowers cardiovascular and all-cause illness and death.
International Journal of the Addictions
January 1, 1991
Paul Gelderloos, Kenneth G Walton, David W. Orme-Johnson et al.
81 citations
A review of 24 studies on Transcendental Meditation (TM) for treating and preventing substance misuse found positive effects across all studies, including those with noninstitutionalized users, treatment program participants, and prisoners with heavy use histories. While some survey studies could not exclude self-selection or responder biases, longitudinal random-assignment studies with objective measures also showed positive results. The evidence indicates TM addresses multiple factors underlying chemical dependence, offering immediate distress relief and long-term improvements in well-being, self-esteem, personal empowerment, and psychophysiological health.
Psychosomatic Medicine
July 1, 1973
David W. Orme-Johnson
20 citations
People who regularly practiced Transcendental Meditation showed lower physiological stress responses than nonmeditators. In a test with 14 meditators and 16 controls, a loud tone (100 dB) was played at irregular intervals. Meditators habituated faster—their galvanic skin response (GSR) to the tone diminished more quickly—and they made fewer multiple responses, indicating greater autonomic stability. In two additional experiments, meditators also produced fewer spontaneous GSRs both during meditation (compared with rest) and while out of meditation with eyes open. The findings suggest that regular meditation practice is associated with more stable autonomic nervous system functioning under stress.
Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania)
December 12, 2024
David W. Orme-Johnson, Vernon A Barnes, Brian Rees et al.
5 citations
All categories of meditation helped reduce PTSD symptoms, with Transcendental Meditation (TM) producing significantly larger reductions than other types. A meta-analysis of 61 studies with 3,440 subjects compared four meditation approaches: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, other mindfulness techniques, Transcendental Meditation, and other non-mindfulness, non-TM methods. TM's effect size (Hedges's g = -1.13) was significantly larger than the others, which ranged from -0.52 to -0.66 and did not differ from each other. Trauma populations included war veterans, refugees, earthquake and tsunami victims, survivors of interpersonal violence, nurses, and prison inmates. No serious side effects were reported. A Phase 3 clinical trial testing TM against standard treatment was recommended.
Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania)
April 3, 2025
David W. Orme-Johnson, Vernon A Barnes, Brian Rees et al.
1 citation
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 15 controlled trials on the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique for treating PTSD, involving 1,248 participants across civilian and military populations, found that TM produced a large reduction in PTSD symptoms compared to other treatments (effect size g = -1.01). TM worked as well as prolonged exposure therapy but significantly faster, showing benefits by week six. The effects were consistent across age, sex, and military or civilian status, with no single study reducing the overall effect. The authors recommend larger phase-III trials comparing TM with established first-line PTSD treatments.
The Oxford Handbook of Meditation
December 15, 2020
David W. Orme-Johnson
The Transcendental Meditation technique involves transcending from active to silent mind, creating a feeling of well-being. As the mind settles, the body becomes deeply rested, with reductions in physiological stress markers, slowed breathing, and increased brain wave coherence associated with creativity. Regular practice can help defuse daily stress, leading to a more stress-free, efficient, and resilient body. Well-controlled studies indicate improvements in physical health (reduced hypertension and cardiovascular disease), psychological health (reduced anxiety, depression, and anger), and behavioral changes (reduced drug, alcohol, and cigarette use, and lower recidivism).
Journal of Maharishi Vedic Research Institute
November 1, 2016
David W. Orme-Johnson
A group practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program in Israel had a stronger positive effect on a composite quality-of-life index (crime, auto accidents, fires, national mood, stock market, and war intensity in Lebanon) than did cultural, military, political, or climatic events. Vacations improved the index, while summer heat and the resignation of Prime Minister Begin decreased it. Factor analysis revealed two underlying dimensions: a collective-actor factor (war, national mood, stock prices) and an individual-actor factor (crime, fires, auto accidents). The meditation group positively influenced both factors, with a stronger effect on the collective-actor dimension, suggesting the practice affects society as a whole more than individual behaviors.
Psychological Bulletin
March 1, 2014
David W. Orme-Johnson, Michael C. Dillbeck
Reanalysis of a prior meta-analysis on meditation found that the global index used to compare meditation types was confounded because it aggregated different sets of variables for each group. When composite indices were limited to variables for which each group had at least three studies, effect sizes for the Transcendental Meditation technique were significantly larger than those for mindfulness meditation or other meditations. Quantitative tests did not indicate publication bias for any meditation type, and effect sizes did not differ between studies from researchers affiliated with a TM organization and those from other universities. The reanalysis also identified 35 missed studies on TM and several unreviewed studies on job performance, substance abuse, and prison recidivism.
Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.)
December 1, 2008
David W. Orme-Johnson
Double blinding is not an appropriate control for placebo in meditation research. A viable alternative is to make treatment and control groups equivalent on nonspecific therapeutic attention factors and expectation. High quality meditation research must also use qualified instructors, have high compliance levels, ensure proficient practice, use state-of-the-art measurement methodology, and ensure control subjects are not inadvertently practicing meditation. The AHRQ report did not assess these determinants of research quality. A wide range of study designs have demonstrated that the traditional goal of meditation, a state of inner silence called 'transcendental consciousness,' has unique physiological characteristics with implications for health, cognition, and behavior.
Neuroreport
August 21, 2006
David W. Orme-Johnson, Robert H Schneider, Young D Son et al.
Long-term practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation technique showed 40-50% fewer brain voxels responding to pain in the thalamus and total brain compared to matched controls. After controls learned the technique and practiced for 5 months, their pain response decreased by 40-50% in the thalamus, prefrontal cortex, total brain, and marginally in the anterior cingulate cortex. The findings suggest that Transcendental Meditation longitudinally reduces the affective/motivational dimension of the brain's response to pain.
Medical Hypotheses
January 1, 2006
David W. Orme-Johnson
Regular practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique is associated with fewer nervous system problems and decreased symptoms of epilepsy, according to medical care utilization statistics and clinical studies. The EEG patterns during Transcendental Meditation—frequency, amplitude, areas of activation, and effects—are completely different from those seen in epilepsy. There is no evidence that the technique increases glutamate, a neurotransmitter linked to epilepsy. While meditation may increase serotonin, this effect has been associated only with beneficial outcomes, and the relationship of serotonin to epilepsy must be considered in the context of the abnormal brain tissue causing the condition.
Perceptual and Motor Skills
June 1, 1986
Michael C. Dillbeck, Panayotis D. Assimakis, Dennis Raimondi et al.
College students who practiced the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program showed significant increases in cognitive ability and cognitive style over a 3- to 5-year period, as measured by the Culture Fair Intelligence Test and Group Embedded Figures Test. The findings suggest that these practices contribute to improved cognitive effectiveness, consistent with prior research in educational settings.