Long-term endocrinologic changes in subjects practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program.
O R Werner, R K Wallace, B Charles, G Janssen, T Stryker, R A Chalmers
Psychosomatic Medicine 1986 DOI: 10.1097/00006842-198601000-00004 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Prospective longitudinal observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 11 |
| Population | Male subjects starting the TM-Sidhi program |
| Interventions | Transcendental Meditation TM-Sidhi program |
| Duration | 3-year follow-up after starting the TM-Sidhi program |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Over three years after starting the TM-Sidhi program, serum TSH, growth hormone, and prolactin decreased progressively, while cortisol, T4, and T3 showed no consistent change. The authors suggest long-term Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi practice may affect neuroendocrine function, but state that further study with 24-hour frequent blood sampling is needed. |
Abstract
The Transcendental Meditation (TM) and a more advanced program, the TM-Sidhi program, have been reported to produce a number of acute and long-term metabolic and electrophysiologic changes. To investigate the possibility that the practice of these techniques may be associated with long-term endocrinologic changes, we prospectively evaluated 11 male subjects before and over a 3-year period after starting the TM-Sidhi program. A progressive decrease in serum TSH, growth hormone, and prolactin levels occurred over the 3 years while no consistent change in cortisol, T4, or T3 levels was observed. These results suggest that the long-term practice of the TM and TM-Sidhi program may have effects on neuroendocrine function. Further studies using 24-hr monitoring with frequent blood sampling will, however, be needed to fully assess the significance of the simultaneous decline of the anterior pituitary hormones with maintenance of levels of hormones from peripheral endocrine glands.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cited by 14
- Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease in Adolescents and Adults through the Transcendental Meditation® Program: A Research Review Update Current Hypertension Reviews October 1, 2012
- The neuroscientific study of spiritual practices Frontiers in Psychology March 18, 2014
- Enhanced dehydroepiandrosterone levels are positively correlated with N3 sleep stage in long-term mindfulness meditation practitioners. Sleep Science 2022
- Transcendental meditation and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning: a pilot, randomized controlled trial with young adults. Stress 2020
- Socio-political Violence in Cambodia Between 1990 and 2008: An Explanatory Mixed Methods Study of Social Coherence Studies in Asian Social Science April 20, 2019
and 9 more in the library