A female graduate student with diagnosed tachycardia was the subject in an experiment to reduce consumption of caffeine and use of cigarettes. The relaxation procedure described by Benson was used as the principal treatment. Reinforcement cards for nonsmoking and elimination of caffeine were also used. The subject was successful in reducing her caffeine intake and completely extinguished use of cigarettes. She reported that she was still practicing the relaxation procedure 1 yr. later. Apparently these procedures can be helpful in modifying use of cigarettes and caffeine.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BensonH.The relaxation response. New York: Avon Books, 1975.
2.
BensonH.WallaceR.Decreased drug abuse with Transcendental Meditation—a study of 1,862 subjects. In ZarafonetisC. (Ed.), Drug abuse—Proceedings of the International Conference. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger, 1972. Pp. 369–376.
3.
HerdJ.MorseW.KelleherR.JonesT.Arterial hypertension in the squirrel monkey during behavioral experiments. American Journal of Physiology, 1969, 217, 24–29.
4.
JacobsonE.Progressive relaxation. Chicago: Univer. of Chicago Press, 1938.
5.
KazdinA.Behavior modification in applied settings. Homewood, IL: Dorsey, 1975.
6.
ShaffiM.LavelyR.JaffR.Meditation and marijuana. American Journal of Psychiatry, 1974, 131, 60–63.
7.
WallaceR.BensonH.The physiology of meditation. Scientific American, 1972, 226, 84–90.
