General Motors Corporation

Managers and employees in a large Midwestern manufacturing plant of a division of General Motors Corporation learned the Transcendental Meditation technique to reduce stress and improve employee health.

General Motors employees who learned the TM technique were compared with a control group of non-meditating employees who worked at similar job sites, held similar job positions, had similar demographics (age, education, etc.), and similar personality characteristics before the study began. The same three-month study was also conducted at a second site, a smaller distribution-sales company in the auto industry.

The study was published in the international scientific journal Anxiety, Stress, and Coping. Researchers reported that, compared to controls, the man- agers and employees at the two sites who learned the TM technique had significantly.

• Less anxiety, job tension, insomnia, and fatigue
• Reduced cigarette and hard liquor use
• Improved health and fewer health complaints
• Enhanced effectiveness, job satisfaction and work/personal relationships.

As found in previous studies, the effectiveness of the TM program in reducing anxiety, smoking and drinking, and in promoting personal development was substantially greater than other forms of meditation or relaxation.

Related Research

A study of managers and employees from several different companies found that those who practiced the TM program for an average of 11 months* showed significant improvements in job performance and job satisfaction as compared to members of a control group of co- workers and supervisors. The study was published in a leading U .S. management journal, the Academy of Management Journal.

*The TM program has both immediate and cumulative benefits.

50% less Need for Medical Care PUBLICATION: Psychosomatic Medicine

A study of medical care utilization statistics for 2000 people throughout the U.S. who regularly practiced the Transcendental Meditation technique found that over a 5-year period they consistently had 50% fewer doctor visits and hospital admissions than other groups of comparable age, gender, profession, and insurance terms. Their overall rate of hospitalization was 56% lower than the norm, and hospital admissions for those over 40 years of age were 69% lower. Individuals practicing the TM technique had fewer hospital admissions in all disease categories compared to the norm, including 87% less hospitalization for heart disease, 55% less for cancer, and 85% less for diseases of the nervous system. (Psychosomatic Medicine 49: 493-507, 1987)

Reduced Smoking, Drug and Alcohol Use PUBLICATION: Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly and International Journal of Addictions

A statistical meta-analysis of 198 independent treatment outcomes found that the Transcendental Meditation program produced a significantly larger reduction in tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use than standard substance abuse treatments and prevention programs. The meta-analysis controlled for strength of study design and included both heavy and casual users. Whereas the effects of conventional programs typically falloff rapidly within 3 months, effects of the TM program increase over time. Total abstinence from tobacco, alcohol, and non-prescribed drugs ranged from 51 % to 89% over an 18-22 month period. The effects of the TM program are based upon fundamental and naturally occurring improvements in mind and body. (Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 11: 13-87, 1994; International journal of Addictions 26: 293-325, 1991).

Reversal of the Aging Process PUBLICATION: International Journal of Neuroscience

This study examined the effect of the Transcendental Meditation program on the "biological age" of a person, how old a person is physiologically in contrast to chronologically. As a group, long-term TM program participants, who had been practicing the TM technique for more than 5 years, were physiologically 12 years younger than their chronological age, as measured by lower blood pressure, better near-point vision, and better auditory discrimination. Short-term TM program participants were physiologically 5 years younger than their chronological age. The study statistically controlled for the effects of diet and exercise. (International Journal of Neuroscience 16: 53-58, 1982.)