Investigating the effect of transcendental meditation on blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Journal of human hypertension November 1, 2015 Z Bai, J Chang, C Chen et al.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of twelve randomized controlled trials with 996 participants found that transcendental meditation (TM) reduced systolic blood pressure by approximately 4.26 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure by about 2.33 mm Hg compared with control groups. Subgroup analyses suggested TM had a greater effect on systolic blood pressure among older participants, those with higher initial blood pressure, and women. For diastolic blood pressure, TM appeared more effective in short-term interventions and among individuals with higher blood pressure. The authors note that biases, including lack of information about study design and blood pressure measurement methods, may have influenced the results.