What is Relaxation Response?
The relaxation response is a physiological state of deep rest that counteracts the body’s stress response. Coined by Dr. Herbert Benson in the 1970s, it represents a state characterized by decreased arousal and heightened parasympathetic nervous system activity—an innate, self-regulating mechanism that promotes calm and well-being. Physiological changes include reduced heart rate, lowered blood pressure, and decreased muscle tension. The response is also characterized by decreased oxygen consumption, increased exhaled nitric oxide, and reduced psychological distress.
Unlike passive rest, the relaxation response is deliberately elicited through specific techniques involving repetitive focus and a passive attitude. It appears to be an integrated hypothalamic response resulting in generalized decreased sympathetic nervous system activity. The relaxation response is essentially the opposite reaction to the fight-or-flight response and counteracts the physiological effects of stress.
Origins & lineage
The Relaxation Response was published as a book in 1975 by Herbert Benson, a Harvard physician, and Miriam Z. Klipper, with the scientific characterization initially prompted by research studies on Transcendental Meditation. People from the Transcendental Meditation movement visited Harvard Medical School in 1968, asking to be studied, though the school initially declined. Benson began leading a “double life,” testing TM practitioners secretly at night while maintaining his conventional jobs by day, with findings showing “striking” physiological changes including lowered heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure.
In 1971, Dr. Benson co-authored a paper that documented a set of unique physiological changes that TM produced in experienced meditators. Benson described these physiological parameters as a “wakeful hypometabolic state”. Benson wrote, “We claim no innovation but simply a scientific validation of age-old wisdom”, acknowledging that similar practices had existed across cultures for centuries.
The concept positioned itself as the physiological counterpart to Walter Bradford Cannon’s fight-or-flight response. Cannon coined the term fight or flight in 1915 in Bodily Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear and Rage. Benson developed the idea of the response which counters the fight-or-flight response described during the 1920s by Walter Bradford Cannon at Harvard Medical School.
Herbert Benson, director of the Benson-Henry Institute at Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital, developed Relaxation Response, with the practice popularized in his 1975 book.
How it’s practiced
Benson’s book describes four essential components: a mental device (a simple word, phrase or activity to keep the mind from wandering), a passive attitude, a quiet environment, and a comfortable position, though by 1996 only two were found essential: a mental device and a passive attitude.
The technique itself is straightforward. Sit quietly in a comfortable position, close your eyes, deeply relax all muscles beginning at your feet and progressing up to your face, breathe through your nose and become aware of your breathing, and as you breathe out say the word “one” silently to yourself, continuing for 10 to 20 minutes. Practitioners maintain a passive attitude and permit relaxation to occur at its own pace, and with practice the response should come with little effort.
Benson recommended that the method be practiced twice daily for ten to twenty minutes to achieve full parasympathetic relaxation. Practice once or twice daily, but not within two hours after any meal, since the digestive processes seem to interfere with elicitation.
The technique deliberately strips away cultural and religious elements. Instead of using Sanskrit or other religious words as done in TM and other religious practices, Benson had research participants use “neutral” words like “one” and even Coca Cola. Benson’s technique had added benefits: one could learn it for free, and it was void of religious undertones.
Relaxation Response today
The relaxation response remains widely taught through the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, which offers guided recordings and instruction. Benefits include genomic changes associated with energy metabolism, inflammation, insulin secretion and telomere maintenance, and reduced addictive cravings, anxiety, chronic pain, depression, insomnia and stress.
The technique has been integrated into mainstream healthcare. Based on studies at Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Herbert Benson showed that relaxation techniques such as meditation have immense physical benefits, from lowered blood pressure to a reduction in heart disease. Hospitals, integrative medicine centers, and mental health practitioners routinely recommend the practice for stress-related conditions.
Many practitioners encounter the relaxation response through apps, free audio recordings, clinical settings, or wellness programs rather than through Benson’s original book. The underlying principles have influenced numerous stress-reduction protocols, though the specific branded technique remains associated with the Benson-Henry Institute.
Common misconceptions
The relaxation response is not meditation in the traditional contemplative sense—it is a secularized, physiologically oriented technique derived from meditation research. The Relaxation Response demystifies the mantra meditation used in the transcendental meditation program, explaining how anyone can reap its advantages with or without the help of a guru.
It is also not simply “relaxing” in the colloquial sense. Relaxation does not mean flopping on the couch and zoning out in front of the TV at the end of a stressful day, as this does little to reduce the damaging effects of stress—rather, you need to activate your body’s natural relaxation response, a state of deep rest that puts the brakes on stress.
There is ongoing debate about whether all relaxation and meditation techniques produce an equivalent “relaxation response.” Some research found that the physiological changes produced by different meditation and relaxation techniques are not accurately described by the relaxation response, and that different techniques are not equivalent and have specific effects closely tied to their specific methodologies.
The practice is not a cure-all. While research supports its efficacy for certain stress-related conditions, it functions best as an adjunct intervention alongside, not replacing, other medical treatments.
How to begin
The most direct entry point is Benson’s original book, The Relaxation Response (1975), which remains in print and offers the complete technique in fewer than 200 pages. The book contextualizes the practice within research and provides clear instructions.
Free guided audio recordings are available through the Benson-Henry Institute website and many health systems’ integrative medicine programs. Ohio State Integrative Health and similar institutions offer free relaxation recordings, including 5-minute guided practices that give a quick taste of the proven benefits.
For those seeking in-person instruction, many hospitals with integrative medicine departments, behavioral health clinics, and mind-body medicine centers teach the technique. The practice requires no special equipment, fees, or belief system—only a quiet space and 10-20 minutes twice daily.