Meditation May Cut Stress, Improving Mental and Physical Health

Summary of an article that appeared in ScienceDaily; July 10th 2001

Based on findings reported in the American Journal of Health Promotion.

An intensive program that teaches meditation skills may help people reduce the psychological and physical effects of high stress, according to a new study.

In a recent study at the West Virginia University, 62 “stressed-out” subjects from the community were used to examine the benefits of meditation. What is interesting is that past studies have tended to focus on patients with confirmed psychiatric diagnoses and/or chronic illness, but this was the first study to work with people in a community setting who reported abnormally high stress, but not at a level that constitutes a psychiatric disorder.

The study revealed that the 35 participants who underwent “mindfulness training” experienced an average 54 percent reduction in psychological distress from the beginning of the program to three months later. The 27 control subjects still available at the three-month follow-up had no significant reduction in this measure. They also experienced a 46 percent drop in medical symptoms over the three-month follow-up, compared with a slight increase seen in the control group.

The study reported that the lack of significant change from baseline in the control group (who were given educational materials and were referred to community resources for available help) is a potentially important finding, since many doctors and wellness programs rely on these methods for addressing the stress management needs of their patients and clients.

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