Reducing Stress and Heart Rate by Meditation and Breathing Relaxation among the Female Students in the Faculty of Medicine at Mutah University
Keywords:
stress, heart rate, meditation, relaxation breathingAbstract
This study aims at identifying the effectiveness of two group-counseling programs for meditation and breathing relaxation on reducing stress and heart rate among the female students in the faculty of Medicine at Mutah University. The sample consisted of 45 students. They were divided into three groups; the first experimental group that were trained on meditation, the second group that were trained on breathing relaxation and a control group. The stress scale and the heat rate scales were applied. The results of the study showed that there are differences between the experimental groups and the control group in favour of experimental groups on the means of heart rate and stress at the post testing. Furthermore, the results showed that the individuals in the groups that were trained using the meditation and breathing relaxation programs retained the impact of the programs on the scale of the stress and the heart rate despite the passing of a month from the termination of the two programs. Finally, results show that there were significant differences in the heart rate due to the meditation program, while there were no differences between the two programs on the stress scale. The study recommended conducting more research on the effectiveness of meditation and breathing relaxation on patient samples.
Downloads
References
Al-Tarawneh, A. A., & Kahtoon, N. (2014). Sources of stress among Jordanian college students: A case study of Mutai University. Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing, 5(6), 735
Abu-Helalah, M., Alshreidah, H., Al-Smadi., M., & Ammarin, Z. (2015). Sources and Predictors of Stress among Medical Students in Jordan. Journals URL BEPL,4 (6), 113-121
Aldahadha, B. (2013).The Effects of Muslim Praying Meditation and Transcendental Meditation Programs on Mindfulness among the University of Nizwa Students. College Student Journal, 47 (4), 668- 677
Al-Dubai, S. A. R., Al-Naggar, R. A., AlShagga, M. A., & Rampal, K. G. (2011). Stress and coping strategies of students in a medical faculty in Malaysia. The Malaysian journal of medical sciences: MJMS, 18(3), 57.
Al-Srour, H. N., & Al-Oweidi, A. (2013). The relationship between psychological pressure and creativity among graduate students in the University of Jordan. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 3(19), 133-136
Anderson, D. E., McNeely, J. D., & Windham, B. G. (2010). Regular slow-breathing exercise effects on blood pressure and breathing patterns at rest. Journal of human hypertension, 24(12).
Arch, J. J., Landy, L. N., & Brown, K. W. (2016). Predictors and moderators of biopsychological social stress responses following brief self-compassion meditation training. Psych neuroendocrinology, 69.
Ballesteros, D., Whitlock, J. (2009). Coping Stress management strategies The Fact Sheet Series. Cornell Research Program on Self-Injury and Recovery Cornell University. Retrieved from; https://uiowa.edu/~ucs/copstress.html
Boaviagem, A., Junior, E. M., Lubambo, L., Sousa, P., Aragão, C., Albuquerque, S., & Lemos, A. (2017). The effectiveness of breathing patterns to control maternal anxiety during the first period of labor a randomized controlled clinical trial. Complementary therapies in clinical practice, 26, 30-35.
Braag, P., Bragg, p. (2008). Bragg Super Power for Super Health & High Energy. USA: Health Science Publisher.
Braboszcz, C., Hahusseau, S., & Delorme, A. (2010). Meditation and neuroscience: from basic research to clinical practice. Integrative clinical psychology psychiatry and behavioral medicine, 1910-1929
Breese, C. (2005). Pranayama & the Art of Breathing. University Of Metaphysical Sciences.Retrieved from: https:// umsonline.org/PrinterFriendly/Pranayama.pdf,2/5/2107. 8: AM
Buchanan, T. W., Driscoll, D., Mowrer, S. M., Sollers, J. J., Thayer, J. F., Kirschbaum, C., & Tranel, D. (2010). Medial prefrontal cortex damage affects physiological and psychological stress responses differently in men and women. Psych neuroendocrinology, 35(1), 56-66
Carrington ,B. (1998). The book of meditation the complete Guide to Modern Meditation. Element Book: Ney York
Choi, Y., Karremans, J. C., & Barendregt, H. (2012). The happy face of mindfulness: Mindfulness meditation is associated with perceptions of happiness as rated by outside observers. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 7(1), 30-35
Davis, M., Eshelman, E., Mckay, M. (2002). The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook. Canada: New Harbinger publication Inc
Der Zwan, J. E., de Vente, W., Huizink, A. C., Bögels, S. M., & de Bruin, E. I. (2015). Physical activity mindfulness meditation or heart rate variability biofeedback for stress reduction a randomized controlled trial. Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback, 40(4), 257-268.
Federman, A. (2015). Buddhist meditation in Britain: 1853 and 1945. Religion journal, 45(4), 553-572.
Feldman, M. D., Christensen, J. F., & Satterfield, J. M. (Eds.). (2008). Behavioral medicine: a guide for clinical practice. McGraw-Hill Medical.
Hemo, C., & Lev-Ari, L. (2015). Focus on Your Breathing: Does Meditation Help Lower Rumination and Depressive Symptoms. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 15 (3), 349-359.
Hoge, E. A., Guidos, B. M., Mete, M., Bui, E., Pollack, M. H., Simon, N. M., & Dutton, M. A. (2017). Effects of mindfulness meditation on occupational functioning and health care utilization in individuals with anxiety. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 95, 7-11.
Jadhav, N., Manthalkar, R., & Joshi, Y. (2017). Effect of meditation on emotional response: An EEG-based study. Biomedical Signal Processing and Control, 34, 101-113.
Judith, A., Shellenberger, R. (1999). Essentials of Complementary &Alternative Medicine. USA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Kamath, C. (2013). Analysis of heart rate variability signal during meditation using deterministic-chaotic quantifiers. Journal of medical engineering & technology, 37(7),
Khng, K. H. (2016). A better state-of-mind: deep breathing reduces state anxiety and enhances test performance through regulating test cognitions in children. Cognition and Emotion, 31(7), 1502-1510.
Khusid, M. A., & Vythilingam, M. (2016). The emerging role of mindfulness meditation as effective self-management strategy, part 1: clinical implications for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety. Military Medicine Journal, 181(9), 961-968. doi: 10.7205/MILMED-D-14-00677.
Lazarus, R. S. (1993). From psychological stress to the emotions: A history of changing outlooks. Annual Review of Psychology, 44(1), 1-22.
Levine, J. (2015).The Science of Breath in Western research is now proving what yogis have known all along: Breath work can deliver powerful mind and body benefits. Yoga Journal. Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc.
Mensah, F., Amoah, S. (2015). Sources-of-Stress-and-Its-Management-among-the-Distance-Education-Students-of-the-UniversitY of Education. International. Journal of Education Learning and Development, 3 (3).
Michalsen, A., Kunz, N., Jeitler, M., Brunnhuber, S., Meier, L., Lüdtke, R., & Kessler, C. (2016). Effectiveness of focused meditation for patients with chronic low back pain—A randomized controlled clinical trial. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 26, 79-84.
Nordqvist, j. (2017). What is Biofeedback Therapy and Who Can Benefit from Healthline Media UK Ltd. Reviewed from: http://www medicalnewstoday.com/articles/265802.php,9:15 PM
Paul, G., Elam, B., & Verhulst, S. J. (2007). A longitudinal study of students' perceptions of using deep breathing meditation to reduce testing stresses. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 19(3).
Perda, V., Luminita, L. (2011). Screening and Psychological Evaluation of Patients with Thyroid Dysfunction Babes-Bolyai University Cluj Napoca Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences psychology. Journal of Community Psychology, (21), 128–148.
Pitt, A., Oprescu, F., Tapia, G., Gray, M. (2017). An exploratory study of students’weekly stress levels and sources of stress during the semester. Journal Active Learning in Higher Education, 1–15.doi: 10.1177/1469787417731194.
Purwandini S, A., Abdul Wahab, M. N., & Mat Zin, N. (2012). Resonant breathing biofeedback training for stress reduction among manufacturing operators. International journal of occupational safety and ergonomics, 18(4), 549-561.
Ramirez, J., Rodríguez, E., & Echeverría, J. C. (2017). Fractal scaling behavior of heart rate variability in response to meditation techniques. Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, 99, 57-62.
Ropper, A., Samuels, M., & Klein, J. (2014). Adams and Victor's Principles of Neurology. United state of America: McGraw-Hill Education.
Rosiek, , A., Leksowski, Ł., & Leksowski, K. (2016). Chronic stress and suicidal thinking among medical students. International journal of environmental research and public health, 13(2), 212.
Sohail, N. (2013). Stress and academic performance among medical students. Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan, 23(1), 67-71.
Surinrut, P., Auamnoy, T., & Sangwatanaroj, S. (2017). Enhanced happiness and stress alleviation upon insight meditation retreat: mindfulness, a part of traditional Buddhist meditation. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 19(7), 648-659
Suzuki, S., Daisuke, I. (2013). Psychological Stress Encyclopedia. Springer International Publishing .
Tsai, M. H., & Chou, W. L. (2016). Attentional orienting and executive control are affected by different types of meditation practice. Consciousness and Cognition, 46, 110-126.
Walling, E. (2009). Deep Breathing Exercises Can Improve Your Life. Retrieved from: This site is part of the Natural News Network, naturalnews.com/026421.
Wiens, S., Mezzacappa, E. S., & Katkin, E. S. (2000). Heartbeat detection and the experience of emotions. Cognition & Emotion, 14(3), 417-427.doi: 10.1080/ 0269 99300 37 8905
Wong, M. W. Y., Chik, M. P. Y., & Chan, E. S. S. (2017). Stressors and stressor response levels of Hong Kong primary school music teachers. International Journal of Music Education, 1–13. doi:org/10.1177/0255761417689923
Yumba, W. (2008). Academic Stress A Case of the Undergraduate students. Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning. Retrieved from: https:// www. diva portal. org/smash /get/diva2:556335/FULLTEXT01.pdf,9:AM
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
