The transcendental meditation technique and acute experimental pain.
W W Mills, J T Farrow
Psychosomatic Medicine April 1981 DOI: 10.1097/00006842-198104000-00007 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Controlled experiment Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 30 |
| Population | 15 advanced Transcendental Meditation practitioners and 15 controls |
| Interventions | Transcendental Meditation relaxation |
| Duration | 20-minute meditation or relaxation period; cold pressor trials before and after |
| Measures | Verbal reports of pain sensation intensity and pain distress, skin resistance, heart rate |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | The Transcendental Meditation group reported significantly lower mean pain distress than controls during both cold pressor trials, but mean pain sensation intensity did not differ significantly between groups. Heart rate and skin resistance changed as expected in both groups, with no significant differences between them. |
Abstract
The Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique decreases the distress associated with the experience of acute experimental pain. Fifteen advanced mediators and 15 controls were administered the cold pressor test before and after a 20 minute period of meditation (TM group) or relaxation (control group). Verbal reports of the intensity of pain sensation and pain distress were obtained at intervals during the cold pressor trials. Skin resistance and heart rate were measured throughout. The mean distress level for the TM group was significantly lower than controls during both trials; the mean pain sensation level for the TM group did not differ significantly from controls during either trial. Heart rate and skin resistant changed for both groups in the expected manner, with no significant differences between groups. The validity, implications, and possible causes of these results are discussed.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 15
- Effectiveness of the Transcendental Meditation Program in Preventing and Treating Substance Misuse: A Review International Journal of the Addictions 1991
- Neurophysiological, cognitive-behavioral and neurochemical effects in practitioners of transcendental meditation - A literature review Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira May 1, 2019
- fMRI-based explanations for how meditation could modulate pain processing. Frontiers in Neuroscience 2025
- Commentary: The Concept of a Bewusstseinskultur Frontiers in Psychology July 30, 2018
- Do scientists still believe in mindfulness meditation for pain therapy? a bibliometric analysis regarding meditation trends for therapy from 1946 To 2022 Bali Medical Journal May 10, 2023
and 10 more in the library