Two novel researches have revealed that a stress-busting technique known as ‘Transcendental Meditation’ can facilitate to lessen symptoms of depression.

It is said that the study is to be revealed at the 31st Annual Meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine in Seattle, Washington April 9th, 2010.

The study which was carried out at Charles Drew University in Los Angeles and University of Hawaii in Kohala incorporated African Americans and Native Hawaiians, and individuals of 55 years and above, who had high risk for cardiovascular disease.

The people participating were arbitrarily allocated to the Transcendental Meditation program or health education control group.

It is said that they were examined with a standard test for depression-the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) inventory over 9-12 months.

Sanford Nidich, EdD, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention at Maharishi University of Management stated, "The findings of these studies have important implications for improving mental health and reducing the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality".

Significant decrease in symptoms of depression was noted in participants in both the studies who practiced in the Transcendental Meditation program.

Large reduction was noted in participants who had signs of clinical depression, with those practicing Transcendental Meditation had a 48% decrease in depressive symptoms.