Sharma and Stephens Metabolic and Biochemical Changes: Dna Repair

The Transcendental Meditation (TM) and TM-Sidhi program are widely practiced mental techniques which have been reported to have therapeutic value in relieving mental and physical tension and to unfold each person's natural capacity for happiness. In the early 1970s, Wallace [1] reported physiological changes during meditation which indicated a state of deep relaxation along with mental alertness. Some of the physiological changes described included decreased oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide elimination, respiratory rate ltnd minute ventilation with no change in respiratory quotient, and increased skin resistance. Later work by Wallace [2] and associates reported the effects of the TM program on specific autonomic and sensory processes resulting in significantly younger biological ages in long-term meditators. Since the TM program produces such wide-ranging physiological effects, we planned an experiment to study its effect on the basic controller of cellular function, i.e., DNA. If the repair mechanism of the DNA could be affected by the TM technique, then it would result in an even broader range of changes in the physiological parameters of the body than have been reported.