Transcendental Meditation and Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Functioning: A Pilot, Randomized Controlled Trial with Young Adults.

Transcendental Meditation and Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Functioning: A Pilot, Randomized Controlled Trial with Young Adults. Stress. 2019 Aug 16;:1-33 Authors: Klimes-Dougan B, Chong LS, Samikoglu A, Thai M, Amatya P, Cullen KR, Lim KO Abstract Transcendental Meditation (TM) is effective in alleviating stress and anxiety and promoting well-being. While the underlying biological mechanisms of TM are not yet fully explored, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis represents an index providing important clues embodying the stress system cascade. In this pilot study, young adults were randomly assigned to TM training followed by eight weeks of meditation practice or a wait-list control condition. TM was conducted over eight weeks. Thirty-four young adult participants were randomized; 27 participants completed the HPA outcome assessments (41% male). To assess HPA axis functioning, salivary samples to assess cortisol awakening response (CAR) that were collected in the morning, both at baseline and at week-4. Salivary cortisol in the context of a social stressor using the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) was collected at week-8. The results indicate that participants who were randomly assigned to TM had lower awakening salivary cortisol levels and a greater drop in CAR from baseline to week-4 than the control group. There were no significant differences in HPA axis functioning in the context of the TSST. Primary limitations o...
Source: Stress - Category: Research Tags: Stress Source Type: research