About this trial
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether specific breathing exercises can stimulate the polyvagal system and thus decrease stress in healthy students of physical therapy. The hypothesis is that practicing daily polyvagal breathing exercises will result in decreased stress/anxiety in physical therapy students compared to the control group who will not be receiving any intervention.
Eligibility criteria
This trial accepts healthy volunteersQualifiers
Student of physical therapy
Disqualifiers
Taking medications to treat anxiety or depression
Trial design
Parallel
Treatments tested in this trial
Polyvagal Breathing Exercises
BehavioralBreathing exercises provided include, square breathing, modified Qigong breathing, and three step breathing
No Intervention
Other interventionThe control group will not perform any intervention.
Treatment groups
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
Stress Levels
Utilizing at electroencephalography at baseline, during a short stress induced task (a 7 question timed quiz, performed three times), and after the timed stress inducing task. Q-Stats, a program to analyze the raw data, will be utilized to interpret the findings. The data is linearized. The lower the number, the more calm the individual is. (Thus, it is assumed the stress levels are decreased.
Anxiety Levels
Utilizing at electroencephalography at baseline, during a short stress induced task (a 7 question timed quiz, performed three times), and after the timed stress inducing task. Q-Stats, a program to analyze the raw data, will be utilized to interpret the findings. The data is linearized. The lower the number, the more calm the individual is. (Thus, it is assumed the anxiety levels are decreased.
Secondary outcomes
10 Item Perceived Stress Scale
PSS-10. There are 10 questions. Each question is on a scale of 0 - 4. The scale ranges between 0 and 40. Higher scores are indicate high stress while lower scores indicate low stress. Research tool that measures self perceived stress.
7 Item Generalized Anxiety Disorder
GAD-7. There are There are 7 questions. Each question is on a scale of 0 - 3. The scale ranges between 0 and 21. Higher scores are indicate severe anxiety while lower scores indicate minimal anxiety. Research tool that measures self perceived anxiety.
Sponsors and contacts
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