Effect of Bhramari pranayama practice on simple reaction time in healthy adolescents - a randomized control trial.

OBJECTIVES: The improvement in the/reaction time is important, as it is an indicator of cognitive function. Therefore, there is a need, especially for adolescents in the form of techniques or courses that can improve the reaction time. Yoga was found to cause a better improvement in the health of the individuals. The present study intended to show the effects of Bhramari pranayama (Bhr.P) on reaction time in the healthy adolescents. METHODS: Of the 730 potential subjects screened, 520 apparently healthy adolescents randomly assigned to either the Bhr.P group (n-260) or control group (n-260). Bhr.P group practiced the bhramari pranayama for 3 days in a week for 6 months. The Auditory Reaction Time (ART) and the Visual Reaction Time (VRT) were assessed before and after Bhr.P pranayama practice. RESULTS: Bhr.P group shows significant shortening of response time in both VRT (from 267.13 ± 52.65 to 249.87 ± 39.41 ms) and ART (from 237.42 ± 48.12 to 227.91 ± 34.60 ms) after 6 months of Bhr.P practice. In control group subjects, no such significant changes were found (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Shortening of RT implies an improvement in the information processing and reflexes. This beneficial effect of Bhr.P on reaction time can be used for improving cognitive function in the adolescents for their academic performances.

Effects of yoga breathing practice on heart rate variability in healthy adolescents: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted among healthy adolescents to assess the effects of a yoga breathing practice (Bhramari pranayama, Bhr.P) towards cardiac autonomic function using heart rate variability (HRV) parameters. METHODS: Of the 730 eligible subjects screened, 520 healthy adolescents who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were randomly assigned to either yoga breathing group (n = 260) or control group (n = 260). The yoga breathing group practiced Bhr.P. five days a week for a duration of six months while the control group continued with their daily routine without any intervention. Outcome measures were time and frequency domain of HRV in both groups which were assessed before and after the intervention using Lead II ECG. Linear models were used in the analysis of short term HRV. RESULTS: After 6 months of yoga breathing, the time domain parameters of short term HRV showed significant (P < 0.05) improvement towards the parasympathetic domain. Frequency domain parameters also showed the same direction of changes. In contrast, control group subjects showed a trend towards a sympathetic domain. CONCLUSION: The present study showed a positive shift in cardiac autonomic modulation towards parasympathetic predominance after 6 months of yoga breathing practice among apparently healthy adolescents.

Effect of stress on sleep hygiene among school going adolescents in Chennai.

BACKGROUND: Stress is a psychophysiological phenomenon. Due to recent lifestyle modifications prevalence of stress is increasing among adults and adolescents. Adolescence is a period of storm and stress and any excess stress would have negative impact on their sleep and would ultimately affect their academic performance and health. Hence the current study proposes to evaluate the effect of stress on sleep hygiene among school going adolescents in Chennai. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study and participants were healthy male (84) and female (48) school going adolescents between the age group of 15-19 years (n = 132). Stress was assessed using Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and sleep hygiene was assessed using Epworth Sleepiness Scale for Children and Adolescents (ESS-CHAD). RESULTS: In all, 84.8% of the adolescents reported that they are academically overloaded. Both the genders were found to be moderately stressed (Males: 63.6%; females: 66.7%). Prevalence of sleep disturbances was found to be 23.5% and increase in stress was found to be associated with decrease in sleep quality. DISCUSSION: The study shows that prevalence of stress is high among adolescents and it is negatively influencing their sleep hygiene. Hence, early identification and management of stress is required for school going late adolescents for better academic performance and wellbeing.

Effects of Bhramari Pranayama on health - A systematic review.

Pranayama, a branch of yoga practice is extremely beneficial to mankind in maintaining sound physical and mental health and this article aims to attain an insight on the studies conducted on the effectiveness of Bhramari Pranayama (Bhr.P) on health. The studies done until May 2016 were found using Medline, Embase, Google scholar and manual search. Studies conducted on the health effectiveness of Bhr.P specifically were included on the basis of prisma guidelines. The data were defined by their objectives, methodology, study setting, findings, interventions done and implications suggested in the study. Methodological Quality Rating Scale (MQRS) and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) were used in reviewing and reporting results of the included studies. 6 studies satisfied the inclusion criteria; 2 studies were done on the cold pressor test, one on heart rate and BP, one on EEG changes, one each on the inhibitory response and tinnitus condition. In the included studies, the Bhr.P practices have shown para-sympathetic dominance. There are some encouraging effects of Bhr.P on various physiological systems. Methodological quality of the included studies was evaluated to be very low and none of them were RCTs. Yet the available studies are heterogeneous, dealing in different grounds and this heterogeneity serves as a resource for the limited scope of studies on Bhr.P. Therefore, further large-scale, properly designed, randomized trials of Bhr.P on various systems have to be done to justify these effects efficiently.

Immediate Effects of Bhramari Pranayama on Resting Cardiovascular Parameters in Healthy Adolescents.

INTRODUCTION: In yoga, Pranayama has a very important role in maintaining sound health. There is some strong scientific basis on constant physiological changes produced when pranayama is practiced for long duration. Still, there exists a dearth of literature on the effect of Bhramari pranayama (Bhr.p) on physiological systems. AIM: To assess the immediate effect of Bhramari pranayama (Bhr.P) practice on the resting cardiovascular parameters in healthy adolescents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty apparently healthy adolescents of both sex participated in the study. They were randomly divided into Bhr.P (n-30) and control (n-30) group. Informed consent was obtained after explaining the detailed procedure of the study. Bhr.P group practiced Bhramari pranayama for 45 min (5 cycles) and control group was allowed to do normal breathing (12-16 breath /min). Heart rate (HR) was assessed by radial artery palpation method and blood pressure was recorded in supine position after 5 minutes of rest by sphygmomanometer. RESULTS: The HR reduced significantly (p-0.001) in Bhr.P group. BP indices, Pulse Pressure (PP), Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP), Rate Pressure Product (RPP) and Double Product (DoP) significantly decreased after Bhr.p practice compared with control. Pre and Post inter group analysis also showed that significant reduction in HR and BP indices in Bhr.P group. CONCLUSION: Present study showed that Bhr.P practice produces relaxed state and in this state parasympathetic activity overrides the sympathetic activity. It suggests that Bhramari pranayama improves the resting cardiovascular parameters in healthy adolescents.