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Researchers Explore Ways To Lower Students’ Stress

Johnny Beard didn’t know that he suffered from borderline high blood pressure last year, when researchers singled him out for a study on whether meditation could lower blood pressure. The Augusta, Ga., high school senior was just glad for an excuse to miss 15 minutes of class every morning.

But the meditation sessions that Mr. Beard attended at Lucy Craft Laney High School made a tangible difference in his life. His blood pressure dropped into the normal range and stayed there at least four months after the sessions ended.

"I thought it was a joke," said Mr. Beard, who is now a freshman at Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Ga. "But as I got into it, I became more...