Dr David Haaga, co-author of the study and professor of psychology at American University in Washington, D.C. stated, "The Transcendental Meditation Program, a widely-used standardized program to reduce stress, showed significant decreases in blood pressure and improved mental health in young adults at risk for hypertension."
In an effort to evaluate the effect of transcendental meditation on psychological distress and high blood pressure in college students, the researchers enlisted 298 healthy students, with an average of 26 years, who attended universities in and around Washington D.C.
Assessment of meditation’s effect on stress and hypertension
The participants, comprising of 40 percent men with and without high blood pressure, were randomly assigned to either transcendental meditation program or a training wait list.
The researchers assessed the levels of blood pressure, psychological stress, and the coping ability of the participants, both at the beginning of the study and subsequently after three months.
Observations by the investigators
The researchers found that the 207 students still participating in the meditation group after three months had lower levels of blood pressure, while the subjects in the wait list exhibited a slight increase in the blood pressure.
The researchers also noted that the meditation group had better coping skills, less mood disturbances, depression, anger and hostile feelings than the wait list subjects.
In addition, a sub group of 48 meditating and 64 wait list students at high risk of hypertension were examined separately.
The researchers found that in this high risk group, the meditating group exhibited a reduction of 6.3 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure and 4.0 mm Hg in diastolic blood pressure when compared to the wait list group.
According to the researchers, the fall in blood pressure levels is linked to 52 percent lower risk of hypertension later in life.
Robert Schneider MD, FACC, specialist in clinical hypertension, Director of the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention and co-author of the study stated, "Hypertension is a common risk factor for cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Yet, decades of research show that high blood pressure begins in youth.
“This well-controlled clinical trial found that blood pressure can be effectively lowered in students with a stress-reducing intervention. This has major implications for the prevention of hypertension, heart attacks and strokes in adulthood.”
The study was sponsored by a Specialized Center of Research Grant from the National Institutes of Health-National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and by the Abramson Family Foundation, David Lynch Foundation, and other private donors.
The study will be published in the American Journal of Hypertension, December 2009.
Great article on the
Great article on the wonderful effect of the TM program on lowering blood pressure for young folks at risk. With the ever-increasing demands on students and the high levels of stress at school, this is a piece of good news for students. As since TM is so easy to learn and simple and effortless to do, I highly recommend it to all students.
Thank you!
Thank you for covering this important topic. Students need to learn how to stay healthy as well as how to excel in their chosen field. Adding the simple and effective Transcendental Meditation Technique to their day helps them accomplish both.
I did my own research. Read
I did my own research. Read about, talked to friends, learned it and found out it works. That's good enough for me.
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