Meditation Research

A great deal of research has been generated in the 20th Century regarding many aspects of meditation. Like most areas of social and life science, conclusions are not absolute or solid. For every trend in the literature, there stands at least one study showing the opposite. Scientific research would not have proceeded this far, however, were it generally not producing provocative and even startling insights. Results also vary with the method.

The most productive source of research since 1970 has been the Transcendental Meditation Program. We believe much of the effects visible by researchers in TM are enjoyed by practitioners of any of the many non-striving, restful, open methods, including Natural Meditation.

The best research, we suggest, is done quite informally in one's own home, in one's own chair. The reality of meditation's natural healing benefits is not all that hard to demonstrate for oneself.

•Excerpt on science from
A Course in Meditation, 2007

•Research on Transcendental Meditation Program

(The text of this valuable and unique compilation has generously been put on the web by Institute of Noetic Sciences.)

The Physical and Psychological Effects of Meditation
A Review of Contemporary Research with a Comprehensive Bibliography 1931-1996
Michael Murphy and Steven Donovan, 2^nd Edition
Edited and with an introduction by Eugene Taylor, Ph.D.
Institute of Noetic Sciences, Sausalito, CA 1999

From the Table of Contents: these are the research topics detailed in the book, with a bibliography of about 1600 studies.

Physiological

Cardiovascular

Heart Rate
Redistribution of Blood flow
Blood Pressure and Hypertension

Brain (cortical system)

EEG Alpha, Theta, Beta
Hemispheric Synchronization
Dehabituation
Specific Cortical Control
Brain metabolism

Blood Chemistry

Adrenal and Thyroid Hormones
Total Protein
Amino Acids and Phenylalinine
Plasma Prolactin and Growth Hormone
Lactate
White Blood Cells
Red Blood Cell Metabolism
Cholesterol

Metabolic and Respiratory Systems
Other:

Salivary changes
Treatment of Disease
Changes in Body Temperature
Alleviation of Pain
Cancer Treatment
Exceptional Body Control

Behavioral

Perceptual and Cognitive Abilities

Perceptual Ability
Reaction Time and Perceptual Motor Skill
Deautomatization
Field Independence
Concentration and Attention
Memory and Intelligence

Rorschach Shifts
Empathy
Regression in the Service of the Ego
Creativity and Self-Actualization

Creativity
Self-Actualization

Anxiety, Sleep
Hypnotic Suggestibility
Anxiety
Psychotherapy and Addiction

Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
Addiction and Chemical Dependency

Sleep
Sex-Role Identification

Subjective Reports

Equanimity
Detachment
Ineffability
Bliss
Energy and Excitement
Altered Body Image and Ego Boundaries
Hallucinations and Illusions
Dreams
Synesthesia
Extrasensory Experiences
Clearer Perceptions
Negative Experiences

•Meditation creates a unique hypometabolic state, in which the metabolism is in an even deeper state of rest than during sleep. During sleep, oxygen consumption drops by 8 percent, but during meditation, it drops by 10 to 20 percent.

•Meditation is the only activity that reduces blood lactate, a marker of stress and anxiety.

•The calming hormones melatonin and serotonin are increased by meditation, and the stress hormone cortisol is decreased.

•Meditators secrete more of the youth-related hormone DHEA as they age than nonmeditators. Meditating fory-five-year-old males have an average of 23 percent more DHEA than nonmeditators, and meditating females have an average of 47 percent more. This helps decrease stress, heighten memory, preserve sexual function, and control weight.

•Meditation has a profound effect upon three key indicators of aging: hearing ability, blood pressure, and vision of close objects.

•Long-term meditators experience 80 percent less heart disease and 50 percent less cancer than nonmeditators.

•75 percent of insomniacs were able to sleep normally when they meditated.

•34 percent of people with chronic pain significantly reduced medication when they began meditating.

Excerpt from p.8 Meditation as Medicine Activate the Power of Your Natural Healing Force
Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D. and Cameron Stauth Pocket Books, 2001