A meta-analysis of 146 independent outcomes performed by Eppley of Stanford University compared the effects on psychosocial stress (anxiety) of all stress-reduction and relaxation techniques that had been reported in the scientific literature. Techniques studied included the Transcendental Meditation technique, other stress-reduction techniques and relaxation techniques. The TM technique reduced anxiety to a significantly greater extent than other forms of meditation, relaxation or stylized rest. These differences were found after adjustment for experimental design, duration of treatment, expectancy of benefits, and experimenter attitude¹. This meta-analysis has been critically reviewed ^2,3. A further meta-analysis of 30 studies found that TM was more effective in reducing trait anxiety than mindfulness or other meditation techniques.⁴A meta-analysis of 16 randomized controlled trials found TM to beespecially effective in reducing anxiety inpeople with elevated anxiety, includingprisoners, war veterans and war refugees, with rapid reductions inanxietywithin the first two weeks of practice.⁵ A 3-month randomized controlled study of secondary school teachers in Vermont found that TM practice significantly reduced perceived stress, depression and overall teacher burnout.⁶ Two months of regular TM practice significantly reduced perceived stress and mood disturbancein family caregivers, including reductions in anxiety, depression, anger, confusion, and fatigue, and increase in spiritual well-being.⁷

Other published studies on physiological indices of stress have reported that the Transcendental Meditation technique reduced stress-related neuroendocrine activation related to CVD, including activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis^{8, 9}. A meta-analysis of 32 physiological studies found that the TM technique produced over twice the effect size as ordinary rest (sitting with eyes closed) on objective markers of stress, including respiratory rate, plasma lactate, and basal skin resistance.¹⁰TM practice has been associated with significant reductions in stress hormones, including cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine, both during and after the practice.^11-14

References:

1. Eppley, K., Abrams, A.I., and Shear, J., Differential effects of relaxation techniques on trait anxiety: A meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 1989; 45(6): 957–974.
2. Orme-Johnson, D. and Walton, K., All approaches to preventing or reversing effects of stress are not the same. American Journal of Health Promotion, 1998; 12(5): 297-299.
3. Barnes, V. and Orme-Johnson, D., Clinical and Pre-Clinical Applications of the Transcendental Meditation program in the prevention and treatment of essential hypertension and cardiovascular disease in youth and adults. Current Hypertension Reviews, 2006; 2: 207-218.
4. Sedlmeier P, et al. The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin2012; 138, 1139–1171.
5. Orme-Johnson, et al. Effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique on Trait Anxiety: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 2013;20(5), 330-341.
6. Elder C, et al. Effect of Transcendental Meditation on employee stress, depression, and burnout: a randomized controlled study. The Permanente Journal2014; 18:19-23
7. Nidich S, et al. Stress reduction with the Transcendental Meditation program in caregivers: A pilot study. International Archives of Nursing and Health Care Perspectives2015;1(011):1-4.
8. Walton, K.G., Schneider, R.H., Nidich, S.I., Salerno, J.W., Nordstrom, C.K., and Bairey-Merz, C.N., Psychosocial stress and cardiovascular disease 2: Effectiveness of the Transcendental Meditation technique in treatment and prevention. Behavioral Medicine, 2002; 28(3):106-123.
9. Walton, K., Schneider, R., and Nidich, S., Review of controlled research on the Transcendental Meditation Program and cardiovascular disease - Risk Factors, Morbidity and Mortality. Cardiology in Review, 2004; 12(5)262-266.
10. Dillbeck, M.C. and Orme-Johnson, D.W., Physiological differences between Transcendental Meditation and rest. American Psychologist, 1987; 42: 879–881.
11. Jevning R, et al. Adrenocortical activity during meditation. Hormones and Behavior1978; 10(1):54-60.
12. Infante JR, et al. ACTH and b-endorphin in transcendental meditation. Physiology & Behavior 1998;64:311-5.
13. Infante JR, et al. Catecholamine levels in practitioners of the transcendental meditation technique. Physiology & Behavior. 2001;72(1-2):141-6.
14. Werner OR, et al. Long-term endocrinologic changes in subjects practicising the transcendental meditation and TM-Sidhi program. Psychosomatic Medicine1986;48:59–66.

Randomized controlled trials on patient populations have found that the TM technique reduced depression in patients with chronic heart failure¹, ventricular hypertrophy², HIV³, and PTSD^{4, 5}, and in prison inmates⁶and prehypertensive young adults⁷.

Controlled trials on the general population have found that TM practice reduced depression in business managers⁸, Japanese industrial workers⁹, high school students¹⁰, and school teachers suffering from burnout¹¹. Subgroup analysis of the RCT on cardiovascular events in patients with coronary heart disease demonstrated that the high-stress subgroup had significant reductions in a composite index of hostility, depression, and anger¹².

References:

1. Jayadevappa R., et al. Effectiveness of Transcendental Meditation on Functional Capacity and Quality of Life of African Americans with Congestive Heart Failure: A Randomized Control Study. Ethnicity and Disease, 2007; 17(winter): 72-77.
2. Kondwani K, et al. Left ventricular mass regression with the Transcendental Meditation technique and a health education program in hypertensive African Americans. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 2005;17(1):181-200.
3. Chhatre S, et al. Effects of behavioral stress reduction Transcendental Meditation intervention in persons with HIV. AIDS Care 2013; 25(10), 1291-1297.
4. Brooks JS & Scarano T. Transcendental Meditation and the treatment of post-Vietnam adjustment. Journal of Counseling and Development 1985; 64: 212-215.
5. Nidich S, et al. Non-trauma-focused meditation versus exposure therapy in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder: a randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Psychiatry2018 5:975-986.
6. Nidich S, et al. Reduced trauma symptoms and perceived stress in male prison inmates through the Transcendental Meditation program: A randomized controlled trial. The Permanente Journal 2016; 20(4):16-007.
7. Barnes, V.A., Treiber, F.A., and Davis, H., Impact of Transcendental Meditation on cardiovascular function at rest and during acute stress in adolescents with high normal blood pressure. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2001; 51(4):597-605.
8. Sheppard, W. D., Staggers, F., & Johns, L. The effects of a stress management program in a high security government agency. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping 1997; 10(4): 341-350.
9. Haratani T and Hemmi T. Effects of Transcendental Meditation on the mental health of industrial workers. Japanese Journal of Industrial Health 1990; 32: 656.
10. Wendt S, et al. Practicing Transcendental Meditation in high schools: Relationship to well-being and academic achievement among students. Contemporary School Psychology 2015, July 22.
11. Elder C, et al. Effect of Transcendental Meditation on employee stress, depression, and burnout: a randomized controlled study. The Permanente Journal2014; 18:19-23
12. Schneider RH, Grim CE, Rainforth MA, Kotchen TA, Nidich SI, Gaylord-King C, et al. Stress reduction in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease: Randomized controlled trial of Transcendental Meditation and health education in blacks. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 2012;5(6):750-8.

A 3-month randomized controlled trial found TM improved sleep in war veterans with PTSD compared to psychotherapy¹. A controlled longitudinal study reported improved sleep as well as reduced hostility and decreased neuroticism in incarcerated offenders². A five-month controlled study of 735 Japanese industrial workers found that TM reduced the number of workers with delayed sleep onset by 30% and those with middle of the night insomnia by 26%.³TM practice has been shown to reducecortisol levels, a major factor associated with insomnia, throughout the 24-hour cycle including during the night.^4,5

References:

1. Brooks JS & Scarano T. Transcendental Meditation and the treatment of post-Vietnam adjustment. Journal of Counseling and Development 1985; 64: 212-215.
2. Abrams A and Siegel L. The Transcendental Meditation program and rehabilitation at Folsom State Prison: A cross-validation study. Criminal Justice and Behaviour 1978; 5:3-20.
3. Haratani T and Hemmi T. Effects of Transcendental Meditation on the mental health of industrial workers. Japanese Journal of Industrial Health 1990; 32: 656.
4. MacLean CRK, et al. Effects of the Transcendental Meditation program on adaptive mechanisms: Changes in hormone levels and responses to stress after 4 months of practice. Psychoneuroendocrinology 1997; 22(4): 277-295.
5. Walton KG. Stress reduction and preventing hypertension: Preliminary support for a psychoneuroendocrine mechanism. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 1995; 1(3): 263-283.

A randomized controlled trial with military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) found significant reductions in anxiety, insomnia, depression, and alcohol abuse.¹ TM decreased multiple features of post-traumatic stress disorder in US war veterans, with reductions in depression, anxiety, insomnia, severity of delayed stress syndrome, emotional numbness, alcohol consumption, family problems, and difficulty in obtaining employment.² TM practice decreased PTSD symptoms in war veterans to below clinical levels after one month, with further reductions after three months. The study found those veterans who practiced TM twice a day (recommended schedule) had a 30% greater decline in symptoms of PTSD than veterans who practiced TM only once a day, a dose-response effect that suggests causality.³Active duty military service members with PTSD or anxiety who learned TM showed reduced medication usage and an overall decrease in severity of psychological symptoms.⁴

A comparative effectiveness RCT comparing TM with Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy and a health education (HE) attention control found that TM was non-inferior to PE and significantly more effective than HE. Percentages of participants with clinically significant reductions on the standard Clinically Administered PTSD Scale were TM=60%, PE=43%, and HE=32%. Post-hoc analyses of self-report on the PTSD Checklist multiple interim and posttest scores showed significantly greater average reductions across all posttest visits for TM vs. HE, and for TM vs. PE.⁵

An RCT with male prison inmates, a population with one of the highest rates of lifetime trauma of any segment of society, found significant reductions in trauma symptoms after four months of TM.⁶Civilian refugees of the Congolese civil war with severe PTSD showed marked, rapid, and sustained reductions in symptom scores after commencing TM.^{7, 8}Residents of two Japanese cities directly affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami showed a reduction in mental and physical stress symptoms with TM compared to controls.⁹

References:

1. Brooks JS & Scarano T. Transcendental Meditation and the treatment of post-Vietnam adjustment. Journal of Counseling and Development 1985; 64: 212-215.
2. Rosenthal JZ, et al. Effects of Transcendental Meditation in veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom with posttraumatic stress disorder: a pilot study. Military Medicine2011; 176:626-630
3. Herron RE and Rees B. The Transcendental Meditation Program's Impact on the Symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder of Veterans: An Uncontrolled Pilot Study. Military Medicine2017;1:1-7.
4. Barnes VA,et al. TranscendentalMeditation and psychotropic medication use among active duty military service members with anxiety and PTSD. Military Medicine 2016; 181:56-63.
5. Nidich S, et al. Non-trauma-focused meditation versus exposure therapy in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder: a randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Psychiatry2018 5:975-986.
6. Rees B,et al.Reduction in posttraumatic stress symptoms in Congolese refugees practicing Transcendental Meditation. Journal of Traumatic Stress 2013;26:295-298
7. Rees B,et al.Significant reductions in posttraumatic stress symptoms in Congolese refugees within 10 days of Transcendental Meditation practice. Journal of Traumatic Stress2014; 27:112-115
8. Yoshimura M,et al. Disaster relief for the Japanese earthquake-tsunami of 2011: stress reduction through the Transcendental Meditation technique. Psychological Reports: Mental & Physical Health 2015; 117:1-11.

In meta-analyses, TM was more effective in reducing smoking, alcohol consumption, and illicit drug use than conventionalprograms,whether or not these were combined with relaxation techniques.¹In a randomized controlled study of 118 chronic male alcoholics undergoing in-residence rehabilitation treatment, patients practicing TM for 18 months showed significantly fewer drinking days than other groups, including patients receiving EEG neurotherapy and conventional addiction counseling.² In another RCT, male college students practicing TM significantly reduced alcohol abuse compared to controls over a 3-month period.³  TM was feasible to introduce as adjunctive treatment in a residential rehabilitation program for alcohol use disorder. Patients who were closely adherent to twice daily practice of TM (recommended schedule) were significantly less likely than controls to resume any drinking (25% vs 59%) or heavy drinking (0% vs. 47%) post-discharge.⁴

References:

1. Alexander, C.N., Robinson, P., and Rainforth, M., Treating alcohol, nicotine and drug abuse through Transcendental Meditation: A review and statistical meta-analysis. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 1994; 11: 13-87.
2. Taub E, et al. Effectiveness of broad-spectrum approaches to relapse in severe alcoholism: a long-term, randomized, controlled trial of Transcendental Meditation, EMG biofeedback and electronic neurotherapy. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly1994; 11(1/2):187-220.
3. Haaga DA, et al. Effects of the Transcendental Meditation Program on Substance Abuse among University Students. Cardiology Review and Practice2011; 10 (doi: 10.4061).
4. Gryczynski J, et al.Integration of Transcendental Meditation into alcohol use disorder (AUD) treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse TreatmentApril 2018; 87:23-30.

A series of nine randomized clinical trials have demonstrated that the Transcendental Meditation technique significantly reduces blood pressure in persons with hypertension^1-8

A meta-analysis of 107 independent studies on stress-reduction and hypertension found that the Transcendental Meditation program reduced blood pressure to a significantly greater extent than other mind-body interventions that have been studied in this regard.⁹Further independent meta-analyses have confirmed that TM reduces blood pressure.^{10, 11}

A scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA) in 2013 found evidence that TM reduces blood pressure and states that ‘TM may be considered in clinical practice to lower BP’. In contrast, the AHA report found insufficient evidence to recommend other meditation techniques.¹²

References:

1. Schneider, R.H., Staggers, F., Alexander, C., Sheppard, W., Rainforth, M., Kondwani, K., Smith, S., and King, C.G., A randomized controlled trial of stress reduction for hypertension in older African Americans. Hypertension, 1995; 26: 820-827.
2. Alexander, C.N., Schneider, R., Staggers, F., Sheppard, W., Clayborne, M., Rainforth, M., Salerno, J., Kondwani, K., Smith, S., Walton, K., and Egan, B., A trial of stress reduction for hypertension in older African Americans (Part II): Sex and risk factor subgroup analysis. Hypertension, 1996; 28(1):228-237.
3. Walton, K.G., Schneider, R.H., Nidich, S.I., Salerno, J.W., Nordstrom, C.K., and Bairey-Merz, C.N., Psychosocial stress and cardiovascular disease 2: Effectiveness of the Transcendental Meditation technique in treatment and prevention. Behavioral Medicine, 2002; 28(3):106-123.
4. Walton, K., Schneider, R., and Nidich, S., Review of controlled research on the Transcendental Meditation Program and cardiovascular disease - Risk Factors, Morbidity and Mortality. Cardiology in Review, 2004; 12(5)262-266.
5. Anderson J.W., Liu C., and Kryscio R.J., Blood pressure response to transcendental meditation: A meta-analysis. Am J Hypertens2008; 21:310-316.
6. Barnes, V. and Orme-Johnson, D., Clinical and Pre-Clinical Applications of the Transcendental Meditation program in the prevention and treatment of essential hypertension and cardiovascular disease in youth and adults. Current Hypertension Reviews, 2006; 2: 207-218.
7. Barnes, V.A., Treiber, F.A., and Davis, H., Impact of Transcendental Meditation on cardiovascular function at rest and during acute stress in adolescents with high normal blood pressure. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2001; 51(4):597-605.
8. Barnes, V.A., Treiber, F.A., and Johnson, M.H., Impact of stress reduction on ambulatory blood pressure in African American adolescents. American Journal of Hypertension, 2004; 17:366-369.
9. Rainforth M.V., Schneider R.H., Nidich S.I., Gaylord-King, C., Salerno J.W., and Anderson J.W., Stress Reduction Programs in Patients with Elevated Blood Pressure: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Current Hypertension Reports2007; 9:520–528.
10. Anderson JW, et al. Blood pressure response to Transcendental Meditation: a meta-analysis.American Journal of Hypertension2008; 21:310-316
11. Bai Z,et al. Investigating the effect of transcendental meditation on blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Human Hypertension2015; 29:653-662
12. Brook RD, et al. Beyond medications and diet: alternative approaches to lowering blood pressure. A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Hypertension2013; 61:1360-1383

A series of NIH-sponsored clinical trials and meta-analyses found that high-risk patients who were randomly assigned to the Transcendental Meditation technique showed significant reductions compared to controls in risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (in addition to hypertension), including insulin resistance¹, smoking and alcohol abuse^{2, 3}, carotid intima-media thickness^{4, 5}, and left ventricular hypertrophy^{6, 7}, as well as improved functional capacity in patients with congestive heart failure.⁸A controlled trial showed that the Transcendental Meditation program increased exercise tolerance in coronary heart disease patients.⁹

References:

1. Paul-Labrador M., Polk D., Dwyer J.H., et al., Effects of a Randomized Controlled trial of Transcendental Meditation on components of the Metabolic Syndrome in Subjects Coronary Heart Disease. Archives of Internal Medicine, 2006; 166:1218-1224.
2. Alexander, C.N., Robinson, P., and Rainforth, M., Treating alcohol, nicotine and drug abuse through Transcendental Meditation: A review and statistical meta-analysis. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 1994; 11: 13-87.
3. Orme-Johnson, D. and Walton, K., All approaches to preventing or reversing effects of stress are not the same. American Journal of Health Promotion, 1998; 12(5): 297-299.
4. Castillo-Richmond, A., Schneider, R., Alexander, C., Cook, R., Myers, H., Nidich, S., and Haney, C., Rainforth, M., Salerno, J., Effects of stress reduction on carotid atherosclerosis in hypertensive African Americans. Stroke, 2000; 31: 568-573. http://stroke.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/31/3/568
5. Fields J.Z., Walton K.G., Schneider R.H., Nidich S., Pomerantz R., Suchdev P., Castillo-Richmond A., Payne K., Clark E.T., and Rainforth M., Effect of a multimodality natural medicine program on carotid atherosclerosis in older subjects: a pilot trial of Maharishi Vedic Medicine. Am J Cardiol2002; 89:952-8.
6. Schneider, R., Alexander, C., Orme-Johnson, D., Castillo-Richmond, A., Rainforth, M., Nidich, S., and Salerno, J., Lifestyle Modification in the Prevention of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Stress Reduction and Health Education in Hypertensive African Americans. in 21st Meeting of the International Society of Hypertension. 2006. Fukuoka, Japan. [Abstract]
7. Kondwani K, et al. Left ventricular mass regression with the Transcendental Meditation technique and a health education program in hypertensive African Americans. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 2005;17(1):181-200.
8. Jayadevappa R., et al. Effectiveness of Transcendental Meditation on Functional Capacity and Quality of Life of African Americans with Congestive Heart Failure: A Randomized Control Study. Ethnicity and Disease, 2007; 17(winter): 72-77.
9. Zamarra, J.W., Schneider, R.H., Besseghini, I., Robinson, D.K., and Salerno, J.W., Usefulness of the Transcendental Meditation program in the treatment of patients with coronary artery disease. American Journal of Cardiology, 1996; 78: 77-80.

Long-term effects of the Transcendental Meditation program were assessed on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in older subjects with high blood pressure. Statistical analysis showed 23% reduction in the mortality rate from all causes and 30% decrease in cardiovascular disease-related mortality.¹ A subsequent long-term randomized controlled trial of patients with coronary heart disease showed that Transcendental Meditation practice was associated with a 48% reduction in mortality, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and stroke compared to controls over an average of five years follow-up.²

References:

1. Schneider, R.H., Alexander, C.N., Staggers, F., Rainforth, M., Salerno, J.W., Hartz, A., Arndt, S., Barnes, V., and Nidich, S., Long-term effects of stress reduction on mortality in persons > 55 years of age with systemic hypertension. American Journal of Cardiology, 2005; 95(9): 1060-1064.
2. Schneider RH, Grim CE, Rainforth MA, Kotchen TA, Nidich SI, Gaylord-King C, et al. Stress reduction in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease: Randomized controlled trial of Transcendental Meditation and health education in blacks. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 2012;5(6):750-8.

In an RCT, TM significantly improved quality of life and well-being for women with breast cancer, including a 42% nonsignificant reduction in cancer mortality.^{1, 2} In addition a meta-analysis of the effects of TM on mortality in older persons found a 49% reduction in cancer mortality risk (statistical trend).³ Five years of health insurance statistics on 1,468 people practicing TM found a 55% reduction in hospitalization for malignant and benign tumors compared to normative data.⁴. Furthermore, a four-year study of 693 people practicing TM plus complementary (Ayurveda) health modalities had 74% reduction in hospitalizations for malignant and benign tumors compared to both the norm and matched controls.⁵

An RCT found that TM significantly improved vitality, mental health, depression, social function, physical wellbeing and general health in HIV patients, with evidence suggesting stabilization of immune activity.⁶

References:

1. Nidich R, et al. Effects of the Transcendental Meditation program on emotional well-being in elderly breast cancer patients: preliminary results from a randomized controlled study. Journal of Psychosomatic Research2003; 55:153.
2. Nidich R, et al. Effects of the Transcendental Meditation program on emotional well-being in elderly breast cancer patients: preliminary results from a randomized controlled study. Journal of Psychosomatic Research2003; 55:153.
3. Schneider, R.H., Alexander, C.N., Staggers, F., Rainforth, M., Salerno, J.W., Hartz, A., Arndt, S., Barnes, V., and Nidich, S., Long-term effects of stress reduction on mortality in persons > 55 years of age with systemic hypertension. American Journal of Cardiology, 2005; 95(9): 1060-1064.
4. Chhatre S, et al. Effects of behavioral stress reduction Transcendental Meditation intervention in persons with HIV. AIDS Care 2013; 25(10), 1291-1297.

An RCT conducted at Harvard University found that elderly people (average age 80 years) who learned TM showed greater improvement in cognitive flexibility, memory, mental health, blood pressure, and well-being, and lower mortality, than three comparison groups from the same residential institutions who learned either a relaxation technique, an active mental exercise, or received no treatment.¹ Elders between the ages of 60 and 74 practicing Transcendental Meditation exhibited significantly higher levels of fluid reasoning, verbal intelligence, long-term memory, and speed of processing than matched controls.² Three randomized controlled studies on 362 secondary school students found that those who learned and practiced the TM technique over a 6-12 month period showed significant improvements compared to controls in 5 measures of intellectual functioning, including whole-brain creativity, practical intelligence, field independence, mental efficiency, andfluid intelligence; TM subjects also showed decreased anxiety relative to controls.³ A pilot study followed by an RCT on students with ADHD, ages 11-14 years, found significant reductions in stress and anxiety after 3 months in TM subjects vs. delayed-start controls, as well as improvements in ADHD symptoms and executive function. The RCT found TM practice improved theta/beta ratio, an EEG measure of ADHD.^{4, 5}

References:

1. Alexander CN, et al. Transcendental Meditation, mindfulness, and longevity: an experimental study with the elderly. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology1989; 57:950-964.
2. Nidich S, et al. Effect of the Transcendental Meditation program on intellectual development in community-dwelling older adults. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 2005; 17(1): 217-228.
3. So KT, et al. Three randomized experiments on the holistic longitudinal effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique on cognition. Intelligence2001; 29(5):419-40.

Providing the Transcendental Meditation program in a clinical setting, as an adjuvant therapy to standard care, is highly cost-effective in light of its documented benefits. Studies have shown that regular practice of the TM technique lowers health care utilization rates with significantly fewer hospital inpatient days and outpatient visits, and fewer inpatient admissions for all major categories of disease.^1-5Across all disease categories, there was a 56% lower utilization rate. More marked reductions were found for certain disease categories, including 87% reductions for both cardiovascular diseases and nervous system disorders. A Canadian study showed a longitudinal reduction in utilization with cumulative savings of 13% per year in government payments to physicians.^{3, 4}Subgroup analyses of high cost people and the elderly (over 65 years old) found 35% and 70% reductions respectively in medical expenditures over five years.^{6, 7}

References:

1. Orme-Johnson, D.W., Medical care utilization and the Transcendental Meditation program. Psychosomatic Medicine1987; 49:493–507.
2. Orme-Johnson D.W. and Herron R.E. ,Reduced medical care utilization and expenditures through an innovative approach. Am J of Managed Care1997; 3:135–144.
3. Herron R.E., Hillis S., Mandarino J.V., Orme-Johnson D.W., and Walton K., The impact of the Transcendental Meditation program on government payments to physicians in Quebec. American Journal of Health Promotion1996; 10:208-216.
4. Herron, R.E. and Hillis, S.L. The impact of the Transcendental Meditation program on government payments to physicians in Quebec: An update — accumulative decline of 55% over a 6-year period. American Journal of Health Promotion, 2000; 14:284-293.
5. Walton, K., Schneider, R., Salerno, J., and Nidich, S., Psychosocial Stress and cardiovascular disease 3: Cost Studies and Policy Implications of the Transcendental Meditation Program. Behavioral Medicine2005; 30:173-183.
6. Herron R and Cavanaugh K. Can the Transcendental Meditation program reduce the medical expenditures of older people? A longitudinal cost reduction study in Canada. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality2005;17:415-42.
7. Herron RE. Changes in physician costs among high-cost Transcendental Meditation practitioners compared with high-cost nonpractitioners over 5 years. American Journal of Health Promotion2011;26(1):56-60.