Hormonal and biochemical responses to transcendental meditation.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Non-randomized controlled comparative study with matched controls
PubMed 3895206 · doi:10.1136/pgmj.61.714.301
What was done
Ten experienced male practitioners of transcendental meditation were compared with nine matched control subjects who were uninformed of the technique. Meditators practiced transcendental meditation for 40 minutes in the morning while controls engaged in quiet relaxation for the same duration. Endocrine and metabolic markers—including plasma glucose, insulin, pancreatic glucagon, growth hormone, prolactin, cortisol, total catecholamines, and plasma free fatty acids—were measured.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values or effect sizes. There were no significant differences between meditators and relaxing controls for carbohydrate metabolism (glucose, insulin, pancreatic glucagon), pituitary hormones (growth hormone, prolactin), or stress hormones (cortisol, total catecholamines), although meditators showed a non-significant trend toward higher mean catecholamines. Plasma free fatty acids were significantly elevated in meditators 40 minutes after completing meditation.
Why it matters
This study finds that an acute bout of transcendental meditation does not suppress circulating stress hormones more than simple resting relaxation.
Limits
The sample size is very small (19 total participants) and limited strictly to men. Allocation was non-randomized, relying on experienced meditators versus naive controls, and the abstract omits exact numerical values, measures of variance, and p-values.
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