In an uncontrolled pilot study, five veterans from recent wars with combat-related PTSD were trained in transcendental meditation and followed for 12 weeks. All participants improved on the primary PTSD symptom measure, with an average score reduction of 31.4 points. Significant improvements were also seen in clinician-rated severity, quality of life, and a self-reported PTSD checklist. The findings suggest that TM may help alleviate PTSD symptoms and improve quality of life in this small group, but larger, placebo-controlled studies are needed to confirm efficacy.
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.
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.
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.
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.