Hospitalization

8) In a study of health insurance statistics, meditators showed hospitalization rates 87% less than non-meditators for heart disease, 55% less for benign and malignant tumors, 30% less for infectious diseases, and 50% less for out-patient doctor visits.
Orme-Johnson, Psychosomatic Medicine 49 (1987)

9) Surgery patients who learned simple relaxation and meditation techniques stayed in the hospital an average of 1.5 days fewer than those in a control group. Results include faster recovery from surgery, fewer complications, and reduced postsurgical pains. Findings were consistent in 191 independent studies.
Devine, University of Wisconsin, School of Nursing, Patient Education and Counseling 19 (1992)

Mental health

10) A group of inner-city residents suffering from chronic pain, anxiety, depression, diabetes, and hypertension were trained in meditation. They experienced a 50% reduction in overall psychiatric symptoms, a 70% decrease in anxiety, and a 44% reduction in symptoms.
Roth and Creaser, Nurse Practitioner, 22 (3) (1997)

11) Meditation helped chronically depressed patients to reduce their relapse rate by half.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 68 (2000)

Aging

12) Those practicing meditation for more than five years were physiologically 12 years younger than their chronological age, measured by reduction of blood pressure, better near-point vision, and auditory discrimination. Short-term meditators were physiologically five years younger than their chronological age.
International Journal of Neuroscience 16 (1982)

Children's health

13) Middle school students exposed to relaxation and meditation techniques over a three year period scored higher on work habits, cooperation, attendance and had significantly higher GPA's than non-meditating students.
Benson, Journal of Research and Development in Education 33 (3) (2000)

14) Forty-eight children who participated in a 6-week meditation program showed significant improvements in behavior, self-esteem, and relationship quality, with an average 35% improvement in ADHD symptoms. Of 31 children taking medication for their ADHD. 11 were able to reduce their medications.
Harrison, Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry 9 (4) (October, 2004)

Addiction

15) Meditative self-awareness can reduce binge overeating. In a study of overweight women, meditation training and awareness practice while eating (slowly savoring the flavor of a piece of cheese, being aware of how much is enough), reduced eating binges from an average of 4 per week to 1.5 per week.
Kristeller and Hallett, Journal of Health Psychology 4 (1999)

16) Meditation produced a larger reduction in tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use than standard substance abuse treatments or prevention programs. Whereas effects of conventional programs normally decrease significantly by three months, effects of meditation on total abstinence from tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs ranged from 50% to 89% over 18 to 22 months.
Alexander, Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 11 (1994)

Productivity

17) Stress reduction significantly reduces medical errors. Twenty-two hospitals that implemented a stress prevention program experienced a 50% drop in medical errors and a 70% reduction in malpractice claims, compared to a control group of twenty-two hospitals, which showed no change in errors or claims.
Jones, Journal of Applied Psychology 73 (4) (1988)

18) Technology workers at a small Wisconsin company reported high stress and unhappiness with their jobs. Scans confirmed high levels of right-brain activity.* After eight weeks of meditation practice, activity in the left side of the brains increased significantly. Workers reported feeling happier, with a renewed sense of enthusiasm for life and work. The control group showed no change. At the end of the 8 weeks, both groups received flu shots to test immune responses. The meditators developed more antibodies against the flu virus than the non-meditators. Those with the strongest immune response had the highest levels of left-sided brain activity.

*Brain scans show that meditation shifts activity in the prefrontal cortex from the right hemisphere to the left. People who have a negative disposition tend to be right-prefrontal oriented; left-prefrontals have more enthusiasms, more interests, relax more, and tend to be happier.
Davidson and Kabat-Zinn, Psychosomatic Medicine 65 (2003)

Note: Much of the above research was complied by David Gamow, taken from his highly recommended book, Freedom from Stress: How to Take Control of Your Life.