Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
January 1, 1989
Charles N. Alexander, Ellen J. Langer, Ronnie I. Newman et al.
297 citations
Practicing the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program may improve cognitive function, mental health, and blood pressure in elderly adults, while also increasing survival rates. In a study of 73 residents of homes for the elderly (average age 81), those randomly assigned to TM showed the greatest improvement in learning, cognitive flexibility, mental health, systolic blood pressure, and ratings of behavior and aging, compared to mindfulness training, relaxation, or no treatment. The mindfulness group improved most on perceived control and word fluency. After three years, survival was 100% for the TM group and 87.5% for mindfulness, versus lower rates in the other groups.
Journal of Pain Research
January 1, 2025
Darren K Cheng, Robert Simpson, Rahim Moineddin et al.
A virtual Sahaj Samadhi Meditation program did not significantly outperform an active control (Health Enhancement Program) in reducing depressive symptoms among people with chronic pain and moderate depression. Within the meditation group, depressive symptoms decreased by an average of 3.97 points on the PHQ-9 at 12 weeks and 4.96 points at 24 weeks, both exceeding the minimal clinically important difference, while the control group showed no significant change. The trial enrolled 108 participants, with 89 randomized. The findings suggest potential benefits of the meditation program, but larger trials under non-pandemic conditions are needed to confirm effectiveness.
British Journal of Psychiatry
May 25, 2021
E. Ionson, Jayneel Limbachia, S. Rej et al.
The editors of BJPsych have retracted an article about Sahaj Samadhi meditation's effects on heart rate variability and depressive symptoms in patients with late-life depression. The retraction notice does not provide a reason for the removal, nor does it include any findings, data, or conclusions from the original work.
International Journal of Yoga
January 1, 2020
Kamini Vasudev, Emily Ionson, Samin Inam et al.
A breath-based yoga intervention, Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY), was tested for feasibility in civilians with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from various traumas. Over 9 months, 32 of 47 screened participants enrolled; 21 completed the intervention and 95% of assessments. Participants showed a clinically significant decrease in PTSD symptoms at week 12 (average reduction of 10.68 points on the PCL-5 scale), which further improved by week 24 (average reduction of 16.11 points). The findings suggest SKY can be studied in routine psychiatric care for PTSD from diverse traumas, supporting the need for a future randomized controlled trial.
BJPsych Open
March 1, 2016
A. Vasudev, Amanda Arena, A. Burhan et al.
A 12-week programme of automatic self-transcending meditation (ASTM) added to usual care may lead to significantly greater reductions in depression and anxiety severity in seniors aged 60 years and older, compared with a wait-list control. Late-life depression affects 2–6% of this population, and patients are increasingly seeking non-pharmacological therapies. These preliminary results from an ongoing single-blind randomized controlled trial suggest ASTM may be an effective adjunctive therapy for late-life depression.