50% Less Need for Medical Care

PUBLICATION: Psychosomatic Medicine

A study of medical care utilization statistics for 2000 people throughout the U.S. who regularly practiced the Transcendental Meditation technique found that over a 5-year period they consistently had 50% fewer doctor visits and hospital admissions than other groups of comparable age, gender, profession, and insurance terms. Their overall rate of hospitalization was 56% lower than the norm, and hospital admissions for those over 40 years of age were 69% lower. Individuals practicing the TM technique had fewer hospital admissions in all disease categories compared to the norm, including 87% less hospitalization for heart disease, 55% less for cancer, and 85% less for diseases of the nervous system. (Psychosomatic Medicine 49: 493-507, 1987.)

Reversal of the Aging Process

PUBLICATION: International Journal of Neuroscience

This study examined the effect of the Transcendental Meditation programme on the "biological age" of a person , how old a person is physiologically in contrast to chronologically. As a group, long-term TM programme participants, who had been practicing the TM technique for more than 5 years, were physiologically 12 years younger than their chronological age, as measured by lower blood pressure, better near-point vision, and better auditory discrimination. Short-term TM programme participants were physiologically 5 years younger than their chronological age. The study statistically controlled for the effects of diet and exercise. (International Journal of Neuroscience 16: 53-58, 1982.)

Reduced Smoking, Drug and Alcohol Use

PUBLICATION: Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly and International Journal of Addictions

A statistical meta-analysis of 198 independent treatment outcomes found that the Transcendental Meditation programme produced a significantly larger reduction in tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use than standard substance abuse treatments and prevention programmes. The meta-analysis controlled for strength of study design and included both heavy and casual users. Whereas the effects of conventional programmes typically falloff rapidly within 3 months, effects of the TM programme increase over time. Total abstinence from tobacco, alcohol, and non-prescribed drugs ranged from 51 % to 89% over an 18-22 month period. The effects of the TM programme are based upon fundamental and naturally occurring improvements in mind and body. (Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 11: 13-87,1994; International journal of Addictions 26: 293-325, 1991 ).