Brief Relaxation Training for the Prevention of Stress-Related Difficulties: A Pilot Study (original) (raw)
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American Journal of Health Promotion, 2012
Purpose. To design, implement, and examine the psychoneuroendocrine responses of three different types of stress management programs. Design. Randomly assigned. A pre/post experimental design comparing variables between three different programs and a control group. The first program included training in deep breathing, relaxation response, meditation, and guided imagery techniques (RRGI). The second program included training in cognitive behavioral techniques (CB). The third program included both RRGI and CB (RRGICB). Setting. The study was conducted at Buenos Aires University. Subjects. Participants (N = 52) were undergraduate students. Measures. Anxiety, anger, hopelessness, neuroticism, respiration rate, and salivary cortisol levels were assessed. Analysis. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to investigate differences in pre and post variables. Results. Subjects in the RRGI group showed significantly lower levels of anxiety (p < .011), anger (p < .012), neuroticism (p < ...
EFFICACY OF SLOW DEEP BREATHING EXERCISE TO MANAGE STRESS AMONG ADOLESCENT SCHOOL STUDENTS
IASET, 2020
The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of slow deep breathing exercise on stress. An experimental approach with one group pretest posttest control group design was adopted. A stratified random sample (N=100) students proportionately selected from grade six to twelve and they were randomly assigned to experimental and control group. Slow deep breathing exercise was administered for a session of 30 minutes/day for a period of 45 consecutive days. Kendler's Stress Scale was administered to assess the level of stress among students before and after slow deep breathing exercise. Stress scores obtained from the participants before and after intervention was subjected to statistical analysis. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to assess the efficacy of slow deep breathing exercise. The result revealed that there is a significant reduction in the level of stress after slow deep breathing exercise. Hence, stress reduction among adolescent school students was attributed to slow deep breathing exercise.
Breathing and relaxation training for patients with hypertension and stress
Estudos de Psicologia (Campinas), 2014
This study evaluated the effects of the relaxation and breathing training for hypertensive patients on the index, levels and symptoms of stress and blood pressure among hypertensive patients suffering from stress. Nineteen patients from a hypertension and diabetes program in Rio de Janeiro participated in the study that which used, as instruments, Lipp's inventory of stress symptoms for adults, the psychological interview for hypertensive patients, the relaxation and breathing training for hypertensive patients protocol, weekly registration form and blood pressure monitors. The experimental group received the relaxation and breathing training for hypertensive patients in 13 sessions of 60 minutes and had blood pressure monitored before and after each session. The control group had blood pressure monitored weekly. It was observed that the relaxation and breathing training for hypertensive patients reduced the stress index and symptoms in the experimental group in isolation, excep...
Effects of biofeedback-aided relaxation on the psychological stress symptoms of college students
Nursing Research, 1983
The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of Benson's relaxation technique (BRT) with Benson's technique augmented with GSR biofeedback (i.e., biofeedback-aided relaxation, BAR) on the psychological stress symptoms of well college students. Seventy-eight normotensive college students were randomly assigned to one of three groups: the BRT group, the BAR group, and a control group. The BRT and BAR students were asked to practice their respective relaxation technique daily for an eight-week period. Pre-and postintervention, all subjects were administered a state-anxiety inventory and a profile-of-mood state (POMS) test. Posttest analysis indicated that the BAR group had significantly lower state anxiety and POMS than the BRT and control groups (p < 0.05). It was evident from the results that BAR did augment BRT in lowering psychological stress symptoms. Part of the effectiveness was due to the expectation of relief on the part of the BAR group. It was recommended that nurses study the effects of BAR in clinical settings. Stress and the management of stress are very much an integral part of health and well-being today. In recent years, many papers, books, and journals have been written on the subject and multiple approaches have been advocated to manage it. This recent interest in stress stems not only from the apparent pace and change of a modern lifestyle but also from various studies supporting the age-old theory that life's stresses can lead to many health problems. The stress-disease theory-particularly relevant in today's society-attributes the majority of its disease patterns not to germs, inadequate sanitation, or poor living conditions but rather to the stress and pace of a modern technological society (Sutterley, 1979). Stress can be defined in terms of environmental situations that disrupt a person's preferred style of living, resulting in a state of hyperpsychophysiological arousal (Benson, 1975, 1977). It is believed that stress becomes maladaptive when this state of hyperarousal continues too long, occurs too frequently, deteriorates physical and mental performance, or results in a stress-related health problem (Budzynski, 1978). Maladaptive stress has been implicated as a contributing cause to many of today's health problems including heart disease, hypertension, and cancer. College students experience an exceptional amount of stress (Marx, 1974; Garrity, 1977).
Modulation of Heart Rate Variability in Stressed Medical Students Via Breathing Exercise
Pakistan Journal of Medical and Health Sciences
Background: Stress in medical students is a global concern. Stress disturbs the sympathovagal balance and affects heart rate variability, a sign of healthy cardiovascular homeostasis. Various strategies have been used globally to combat stress and its effects. Aim: To determine how blowing balloon exercise modulatesheart rate variability (HRV) in stressed medical students. Methodology: A pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study wasconducted among stressed medical students at Islamic international medical college Rawalpindi Pakistan. Sixty students diagnosed with moderate stress were enrolled based on Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) Proforma. The study population was selected by simple random sampling via the balloting method among the stressed medical students. Study participants underwent a supervised blowing balloon exercise.Before and after a supervised blowing balloon exercise, the participants' pulmonary function tests, electrocardiograms, and DASS scores were measu...
College Quarterly, 2008
We examined the effectiveness of four distinct mind/body interventions on reported perceived stress, anxiety, and health promoting behaviours in college students. Ninety students were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups (i.e., nutritional, exercise, relaxation, or cognitive behavioural therapy). There were approximately 18 students per experimental group and 18 participants in the control group. All five groups completed four pre-assessment instruments (i.e., the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90), Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and the Demographics and Health Habits Survey). Upon completing their respective 6-week intervention programs, 70% of the participants returned to complete the post-assessment. ANOVA results indicated that the nutrition education and relaxation response modalities produced the greatest improvement. Overall, all the mind/body training methods proved to assist college students in their perceived levels of stress. We conclude with a number of recommendations for future research. A related study on college students has shown that a stressful life was linked to anxiety and depression (Sergin, 1999). In their study of college students, Dixon et al. (1992) found that stress can be a predictor of suicidal tendencies and a sense of hopelessness. Meanwhile, other studies have focused on the relationship between stress among college students and various health related issues (see Naquin & Gilbert, 1996). Even basic ailments such as increases in headaches, depression, and sleep disturbances (Ginsberg, 2007), and the common cold (Stone et al., 1992) have been found to be associated with college student stress.
Breath–Body–Mind Core Techniques to Manage Medical Student Stress
Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development, 2022
METHODS: Medical students attending a 2-h BBM demonstration were invited to participate in the 12-h BBM-IC and weekly 45-min 6-week group practice. Measures were obtained using Survey Monkey: patient health questionnaire (PHQ9), generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7), exerciseinduced feeling inventory (EFI), sleep quality scale (SQS), and body perception questionnaire-short form (BPQ-SF) at pre-BBM-IC (T1), post-BBM-IC (T2), and 6 weeks post (T3). Perceived stress scale (PSS) and meditation practices questionnaire (MPQ) were measured at baseline (T1) only. RESULTS: Twelve medical students participated in BBM-IC 4-h daily for 3 days. Six attended practice sessions and completed 6-week posttests. Mean scores comparison identified two variable sets with significant improvements: EFI tranquility (p < .005) and supradiaphragmatic reactivity (p < .040). Two measures reached near significance: SQS (p ≤ .060) and PHQ9 (p ≤ .078). CONCLUSION: This pilot study provided preliminary evidence that BBM-IC may reduce stress and anxiety symptoms while improving mood, energy, mental focus, and other correlates of psychophysiological state in medical students. Taking time for self-care is challenging for medical students, as reflected in the small study enrollment. Designating time for BBM as a requirement within the medical curriculum would probably enable more students to participate and acquire skills to reduce the effects of stress on their physical and psychological health, as well as the health of their patients.
Advances in Health Sciences Education, 2015
Pursuing undergraduate medical training can be very stressful and academically challenging experience. A 5-week mindfulness-based stress management (MBSM/Mindful-Gym) program was developed to help medical students cope with stress. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention in reducing stress among students in a medical school in Malaysia. Seventy-five medical students participated in the program. They were stratified according to years of studies and randomly allocated to intervention (N = 37) and control groups (N = 38). The following outcome variables were measured at pre-and post-intervention: mindfulness (with Mindful Awareness Attention Scale); perceived stress (with Perceived Stress Scale); mental distress (with General Health Questionnaire), and self-efficacy (with General Self-efficacy Scale). Hierarchical multiple regressions were used to analyse the effect of group (intervention vs. control) on changes in the outcome variables. There were significant improvements at one week post-intervention in all outcome variables: mindfulness (b = 0.19, DR2 = 0.04, p = .040, f 2 = 0.05), perceived stress (b = -0.26, DR2 = 0.07, p = .009, f 2 = 0.10); mental distress (b = -0.28, DR2 = 0.10, p = .003, f 2 = 0.15); and self-efficacy (b = 0.30, DR2 = 0.09, p \ .001, f 2 = 0.21). Six months after the intervention, those who had joined the program reported higher self-efficacy compared to those in the control group (b = 0.24, DR2 = 0.06, p = .020, f 2 = 0.08); but there was no difference in other outcome measures. More than 90 % of the participants found the program applicable in helping patients and all reported that they would recommend it to others. This study indicates that the program is potentially an effective stress management program for medical students in Malaysia.
Can verbal suggestions strengthen the effects of a relaxation intervention?
PLOS ONE
Short stress management interventions such as relaxation therapy have demonstrated preliminary effectiveness in reducing stress-related problems. A promising tool to strengthen the effectiveness of relaxation-based interventions is the use of verbal suggestions, as previous research provided evidence that verbal suggestions can induce positive outcome expectancies, facilitate adaptive responses to stress and improve health outcomes. The present experimental proof-of-concept study aimed to investigate the effects of a brief relaxation intervention and specifically the role of verbal suggestions on stress-related outcomes assessed by self-report questionnaires and psychophysiological data. 120 participants (mean age = 22.1 years) were randomized to one of four intervention conditions: a brief relaxation intervention plus verbal suggestions condition, a brief relaxation intervention only condition, a verbal suggestions only condition, and a control condition. Afterwards, participants were subjected to a psychosocial stress challenge to assess reactivity to a stressful event. Immediately after both relaxation interventions (with and without verbal suggestions), lower self-reported state anxiety was found compared to the control condition, but no differences were observed in response to the stressor. The verbal suggestions only condition did not impact state anxiety. No significant effects were found for verbal suggestion interventions on cortisol, alpha amylase, heart rate and skin conductance. This is the first study investigating the role of verbal suggestions in the effectiveness of a brief relaxation intervention. Although this experimental proof-of-concept study provides support for the effectiveness of a brief relaxation intervention in lowering state anxiety directly after the intervention, the effects did not impact the response to a subsequent stressor and we did not observe any evidence for the add-on effectiveness of verbal suggestions. The effectiveness of brief relaxation interventions on stress responses should be investigated further in future research by incorporating interventions that are tailored to the specific stress challenge and various types of verbal suggestions.