Psychological stress which causes high blood pressure was reduced through Transcendental Meditation in a study of college students.

Students who had a higher risk for physical and mental health problems in college were found to benefit from Transcendental Meditation and this was proved by lower blood pressure and improved psychological distress coping.

The background information for the study involving 298 students at America University indicates to an increase of about 50% in depression among college students.

Antidepressants have doubled in the last ten years. College students have got an opportunity in the form of Transcendental Meditation to improve mental and physical health given the increase of distress noted on college campuses.

The practice of meditation was seen to reduce blood pressure which can stop long-term health problems.

"Previous research has shown that psychological distress such as anxiety, depression, and anger contribute to the development of hypertension in young adults. The study is the first to show that controlling stress among college students also leads to improvements in blood pressure," said Sanford Nidich , EdD, who is the lead author and senior researcher at the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention at Maharishi university of Management.