Studies on Meditation

One % is the first multi-method, multi-faith, whole-community approach drawing from all traditions but based on the research of John Davies, which used the Transcendental Meditation method. While we are encouraged by their results, we are not committed to only their method. We believe we will be just as effective by encouraging each person to find their own practice to deep inner peace. One % is not affiliated with T.M.

Group Effect

Alleviating Political Violence Through Reducing Collective Tension

Maharishi Effect Papers and Presentations

Stress in Collective Consciousness The Maharishi Effect

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Medical Benefits

Western medicine has discovered over the last 25 years that the body and mind are closely connected. Our health is tremendously affected by beliefs, emotions, thoughts, and stress. Meditation or quieting prayer is one practice which individuals can do for their own health or healing. Pioneering research by many, including Dr. Herbert Benson, Dr. Dean Ornish, Joan Borysenko, Ph.D., and Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. has shown that individuals of any and all faith traditions can have a better health outcome with daily meditation or quieting prayer.

Over 700 studies have shown these effects of meditation:

• • Lowered oxygen consumption.
• Decreased heart rate, metabolic rate, and heart work load.
• Brings high blood pressure to normal.
• Drops cholesterol levels.
• Increases exercise tolerance.
• Lowers stress and anxiety as measured by higher skin resistance and decreased cortisol (the major stress hormone).
• Decreased muscle tension.
• Decreased depression and post-traumatic stress syndrome.
• Enhanced immune system by increasing activity of “natural-killer cells” and moderating the overall immune response.
• Increases serotonin production in the brain, improving insomnia, headaches, and obesity.
• Slower aging processes.
• Decreased irritability and moodiness
• Improved feelings of happiness.
• Better learning ability and memory.
• Reduces Pre-Menstrual Syndrome
• Improves post-operative healing.
• Reduces cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and drug abuse
• Calms the cardiovascular reactivity to stress

Continuing research has also shown meditation to have a treatment effect for a significant number of people with various ailments including hypertension, cardiac arrhythmia, atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), heart disease, infertility, asthma, emphysema, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers, insomnia, and arthritis.

How does this work? Neuroscientists at Harvard Medical School used MRI technology to monitor brain activity while participants meditated. The left frontal cortex, the calmer side of the brain, was activated. This side controls the autonomic nervous system – the system that regulates all the functions we do not have to pay attention to in order to control, such as blood pressure and digestion. People with more activity in the left frontal lobe also are calmer and happier. Again research shows an increase in alpha waves – the relaxed brain waves.

Meditating brings about these dramatic effects in as little as a ten minute session. Generally we can say that regular, daily meditation practice of at least 45 minutes or more is most likely to bring many benefits to the individual.

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Links to Studies

NPR/Science Explores Meditation's Effect on the Brain

National Library of Medicine

Miller JJ, Fletcher K, Kabat-Zinn J, Three-year follow-up and clinical implications of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction intervention in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Gen Hosp Psychiatry 1995 May;17(3):192-200

Castillo-Richmond A, Schneider RH, Alexander CN, Cook R, Myers H, Nidich S, Haney C, Rainforth M, Salerno J. Effects of stress reduction on carotid atherosclerosis in hypertensive African Americans. Stroke. 2000 Mar;31(3):568-73

Herron RE, Hillis SL. The impact of the transcendental meditation program on government payments to physicians in Quebec: an update. Am J Health Promot. 2000 May-Jun;14(5):284-91

Department of Biology and Psychology, Maharishi University of Management:

• http://mum.edu/tm_research/tm_biblio/physio_c.html
• http://mum.edu/tm_research/tm_biblio/psych_a.html
• http://mum.edu/tm_research/tm_biblio/socio_b.html

The Physical and Psychological Effects of Meditation, Institute of Noetic Sciences

Meditation Research, 49 studies, Scout Portal Toolkit

The Brain Research Institute

A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Stress Reduction for Hypertension in Older African-Americans

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction from Duke Health

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