Research
Scientific research on Transcendental Meditation (TM) comprises more than 600 studies conducted at over 250 independent universities and research institutes in 33 countries.
These studies have demonstrated a wide range of benefits for mind, body, behaviour, and society, and have appeared in many leading peer-reviewed journals.
Those who have learnt Transcendental Meditation and who work in organisations have experienced many benefits both personally and in the quality of their work.
Improved job performance and occupational health
There are organisations that have made Transcendental Meditation available to all their employees. Some organisations have scientifically studied the benefits to job performance and occupational health. Examples of such published studies are given.
(The bracketed numbers refer to the research numbers in summary of research where the full references to the scientific research are given).
Studies conducted in occupational settings have shown that TM improves health and performance in the workplace [61-62, 287, 316-334].
Findings include:
- improved job performance [317-318]
- improved relationships at work [316-318]
- increased productivity [317]
- increased employee effectiveness [316]
- increased contribution of managers to the organisation [318]
- improved leadership [321]
- enhanced management development [287, 322-334]
- improved health and well-being (physical and mental) [61-62, 316, 318-320, 423]
- improved health-related behaviour in employees and managers [62, 316, 318]
- reduced stress in employees and managers [61, 316, 318, 320, 423]
- reduced job tension, anxiety, depression, and insomnia [61, 316, 319, 423]
- increased energy and decreased fatigue [316, 318]
- reduced perceived stress, depression, and burnout in secondary school teachers and support staff [423]
- reduced difficulty in obtaining employment for people with post-traumatic stress disorder [56]
The following are examples of the benefits experienced by organisations who have made the Consciousness Development Programme and Transcendental Meditation technique available to their employees.
Japan’s National Institute of Industrial Health
Industrial employees practising Transcendental Meditation had better physical and psychological health than colleagues – read more
Two industrial locations – the car industry and a large manufacturing plant
Employees who learned Transcendental Meditation improved in physical and mental health, and in employee effectiveness – read more
Medical equipment company
Managers who practised Transcendental Meditation were less stressed and showed improvement in mental health
and work relationships – read more
High-security USA government agency
Employees who learned Transcendental Meditation were less stressed and developed improved self-confidence – read more
South African firm
Employees practising Transcendental Meditation showed reduced psychological stress and blood pressure – read more
Education
Transcendental Meditation reduced work-related stress and occupational burn-out in teachers – read more
Benefits for common health problems
In Britain and abroad, TM has been widely recommended by doctors for its contribution to the prevention of disease, management of common disorders, and promotion of positive health.
The benefits of Transcendental Meditation have been identified in the vast amount of medical research conducted on this technique. This research covers all common health problems, including hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and heart failure – read more
Healthier aging and increased longevity
Many of the effects of Transcendental Meditation reverse the deteriorations that normally accrue with aging.
For example, the following factors deteriorate with ageing, but improve with
Transcendental Meditation: (please see ‘Scientific Research’ e-brochure for research details).
Physiology
• susceptibility to stress • blood pressure • atherosclerosis • heart failure • insomnia
• serum cholesterol • auditory threshold • reaction time
Psychology
• intelligence • creativity • learning ability • cognitive flexibility • mental health • depression
Perception and mind body coordination
• visual perception • field independence • perceptual motor performance
Requirement for health care decreases with Transcendental Meditation:
• decreased patient days in hospital • decreased outpatient visits
Increased longevity
Other findings indicate a strengthening of factors known to favour longevity, such as cardiovascular health, work satisfaction, positive health habits, good mental health, happiness, and intelligence.
Japan’s National Institute of Industrial Health
In a five-month study conducted by researchers from Japan’s National Institute of Industrial Health (a branch of the Japanese Ministry of Labour), industrial employees practising Transcendental Meditation showed increased emotional stability and reductions in anxiety, tendency to neurosis, impulsiveness, physical complaints, insomnia, and smoking compared to controls. Depression also decreased in the TM group, despite lower initial levels [61-62]. Overall, employees practising Transcendental Meditation improved significantly on 10 out of 14 dimensions, whereas controls improved on only one [61].
Two industrial locations
Another study examined stress, health, and employee development in two settings in the automotive industry: a large manufacturing plant of a Fortune 100 corporation and a small sales distribution company. Employees who learned Transcendental Meditation showed significantly greater improvement than matched control subjects on a wide variety of measures, including improved general health and reductions in physiological arousal, anxiety, job tension, insomnia, fatigue, and consumption of cigarettes and hard liquor [316]. Practice of Transcendental Meditation also led to increased job satisfaction, improved employee effectiveness, and better work and personal relationships, confirming the findings of an earlier study [316-317].
Further analysis identified three factors underlying this wide range of improvements through TM: ‘occupational coherence’, ‘physiological settledness’, and ‘job and life satisfaction’. The effect size of TM in reducing physiological arousal, anxiety, and alcohol/cigarette use, and in enhancing personal development, was substantially larger than for other forms of meditation and relaxation reported in four previous meta-analyses [316].
Medical equipment company
A three-month prospective study at a medical equipment company compared managers who learned Transcendental Meditation to matched controls who were similar in age, education level, ethnicity, marital status, hours worked per week, job type, and level of responsibility in the organisation. Managers who practised TM made an increased ‘organisational contribution’ compared to controls, as measured by a combined index of productivity, leadership practices, work relationships, vitality, mental health, job satisfaction, and anger. TM also led to reduced alcohol consumption; healthier habits of exercise, diet, and sleep; decreased serum cholesterol; increased energy and less fatigue; improved mental health; reduced stress-related physical symptoms; and reduction in perceived stress (the degree to which situations were perceived as overloading, uncontrollable, or unpredictable) [318].
High-security USA government agency
In a randomised study of employees at a high-security government agency, subjects who learned Transcendental Meditation showed reductions in anxiety and depression after 12 weeks, in comparison to controls who participated in an educational corporate stress-management programme. When retested after three years, the TM group showed not only sustained reductions in anxiety and depression, but also improved self-concept compared to controls [319].
South African firm
Consistent with these findings, a controlled prospective study of employees at a South African firm found that TM was effective in reducing psychological stress and decreasing both systolic and diastolic blood pressure over a five-month period [320].
In another study, employees at a food sales company who learned TM showed greater improvement on a composite measure of leadership behaviour over an eight-month period than non-meditating controls [321].
South African firm
Consistent with these findings, a controlled prospective study of employees at a South African firm found that TM was effective in reducing psychological stress and decreasing both systolic and diastolic blood pressure over a five-month period [320].
In another study, employees at a food sales company who learned TM showed greater improvement on a composite measure of leadership behaviour over an eight-month period than non-meditating controls [321].
Education
Work-related stress and occupational burnout are major problems in education. In a four-month randomized controlled study of secondary school teachers and support staff at a residential therapeutic school for children with severe behavioural problems, Transcendental Meditation was effective in reducing perceived stress, depression, and overall teacher burnout [423].
Benefits for common health problems
(Numbers in brackets refer to numbered research in the research summary).
Research and/or clinical experience have identified benefits of Transcendental Meditation in the management of a range of common clinical problems including: hypertension, coronary heart disease, and heart failure [9-50]; asthma [54]; post-traumatic stress disorder [56, 401, 418-421]; type 2 diabetes [55]; migraine [57]; ADHD [289, 404]; sleep disturbance [56, 62, 67-68, 343-344, 404]; occupational stress [61-62, 316, 318, 320, 423]; anxiety, depression, and substance misuse [see Table 1 for references]; as well as in improving quality of life and mental health in patients with chronic disorders including: breast cancer, coronary heart disease, heart failure, HIV, and chronic renal failure [53, 9, 21, 59; 65-94; 415]. In some original studies and reviews, TM has been investigated in conjunction with other aspects of a comprehensive natural health programme - Maharishi’s Vedic Approach to Health [5, 20, 55, 89-94].
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