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The effects of transcendental meditation on stress reduction in adults: a systematic review

Francisco Ramos-Espinoza, Chiara Saracini, Boris Lucero, Cristopher Muñoz-Vásquez, Caterina Contreras-Matté, Rodrigo Moore-Carrasco

Minerva Psychiatry October 1, 2026 DOI: 10.23736/s2724-6612.26.02701-6 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Systematic review Randomized Qualitative Peer reviewed
Sample size 481
Population Adults, 58% female, mean age approximately 27 years
Intervention Transcendental Meditation
Topics Meditation
Citations 1
Key findings The authors report that individual studies in their qualitative synthesis indicate Transcendental Meditation favors improvements in mental health, perceived stress, cortisol levels, and cognitive processing in adults. They rate the certainty of evidence as low, which they say precludes a conclusive clinical recommendation, and call for standardized protocols and rigorous randomized controlled trials.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: This systematic review aimed to analyze the available body of published peer-reviewed studies on the effects of Transcendental Meditation (TM) compared with active or passive control groups on stress levels in adults.METHODS: A search was conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and MEDLINE databases for studies published between January 2024 and March 2025. The PRISMA guidelines were followed, and the review protocol was registered in PROSPERO (code: CRD42024551240). The methodological quality and certainty of evidence were assessed using the TESTEX and GRADE scales, respectively.RESULTS: After screening 3144 records, six studies examining TM interventions (with a methodological quality score ≥60%) were selected for qualitative synthesis. The total sample comprised 481 adults (58% female) with a mean age of approximately 27 years old. Due to heterogeneity in outcome measures, a robust meta-analysis was not feasible. However, individual results from the analyzed studies indicate that the practice of Transcendental Meditation favors improvements in mental health, perceived stress, cortisol levels, and cognitive processing in adults.CONCLUSIONS: While the current certainty of evidence is low, precluding a conclusive clinical recommendation, the findings suggest that Transcendental Meditation may have a positive impact on physiological and psychological stress markers. Future research requires standardized protocols and rigorous randomized controlled trials to further validate these effects.

Comparable studies

Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on meditation, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being Diverse adult clinical populations 2014 Meta-analysis n = 3,515
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Stress Management in Healthy People: A Review and Meta-Analysis Healthy subjects 2009 Systematic review and meta-analysis
The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Nonclinical groups of adult meditators 2012 Meta-analysis n = 163
Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse Adults with recurrent depression in full or partial remission 2016 Meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomized controlled trials n = 1,258
Mindfulness‐Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy – a systematic review of randomized controlled trials 2011 Systematic review

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