Herbert Benson MD is a pioneer professor at Harvard Medical School, studying the physiological changes during meditation techniques since 1968, along with Robert Keith Wallace PhD
Dr. Benson and Dr. Robert K. Wallace published first study,
"A wakeful hypometabolic physiologic state"
in the American Journal of Physiology, 1971
Oxygen consumption decreased during meditation
Carbon Dioxide output decreased during meditation
Rate of breathing decreased during meditation
Cellular ventilation decreased during meditation
PO2, or oxygen concentration in the blood
remained constant, even increasing slightly
|Blood lactate levels, an indicator of stress, decreased during meditation
Oxygen consumption was deeper than during sleep
Effects of Medicine
