Research

Effects of Transcendental Meditation on mental health: a before-after study

Masud Yunesian¹, Afshin Aslani², Javad Homayoun Vash² and Abbas Bagheri Yazdi³

¹  School of Public Health & Centre for Environmental Research, Medical Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

²  School of Public Health, Medical Sciences, University of Tehran; Poursina Street, Keshavarz Boulevard, P.O. Box 14155-6446, Tehran, Iran

³  Department of Mental Health, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran

Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health 2008, 4:25doi:10.1186/1745-0179-4-25

Published:	1 November 2008

Abstract

Background

Transcendental Meditation is a mental practice to put the body and mind into a state of relaxation and rest. The method was shown to reduce anxiety and stress in previous reports. This study investigates its potential benefits in enhancing mental health of an adult Muslim population.

Methods

A before-after clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of a 12-week meditation course on mental health of participants who were enrolled into the study by random sampling. 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) was administered on two occasions in conjunction with a background data sheet.

Results

Mean age of participants was 32.4; they were 70% female and 55% married. GHQ scores improved significantly after the meditation course (p value: < 0.001). The difference was also significant in all subgroups of the population studied. In subclass analysis of the GHQ results, the before-after score improvement was significant only in the areas of somatisation (p value: < 0.001) and anxiety (p value: < 0.001).

Conclusion

Transcendental Meditation may improve mental health of young adult population especially in the areas of somatisation and anxiety, and this effect seems to be independent of age, sex and marital status.