Deeper breathing can help reduce stress among college-goers, Yale researchers say
from: Times Now
by Ruchira Roy Chowdhury| The Art of Living Bureau of Communication
Updated Aug 05, 2020
In the ongoing pandemic, youth have been a particularly vulnerable age group when it comes to mental health, matters made worse by uncertainties about the future, rise of protests and global tensions.
The severe unprecedented consequences of the ongoing pandemic aside, career aspirations, uncertainties about employment, peer pressure, family expectations and the fear or impossibility of failure have been significant stressors for students in professional colleges and other institutions of learning that has triggered an invisible mental health crisis among the young in this country. According to 2016 data, four in 10 students suffered bouts of depression and mental morbidity was around 10.6%.
While institutions are being forced to put in place mental health awareness protocols, advisories, counselling centres and have full-time psychiatrists on campus, among other measures, a new study from researchers at Yale University has backed the multiple benefits of breath work in increasing mental well-being among students, in a short period of time.
The study has found that college students who practised deep breathing practices like the Sudarshan Kriya and pranayama, reported improvements in six key areas of well-being: depression, stress, mental health, mindfulness, positive affect, and social connectedness.
The findings, reported in Frontiers in Psychiatry and mentioned on the Yale University website, said ‘such resiliency training programs could be a valuable tool for addressing the mental health crisis on university campuses.’
How does breathing relate to stress-relief and happiness?
One way, mental well-being is helped by breathing is the role it plays in activation of the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve can influence, in the brain, depression and anxiety; in the gut, digestive juice secretion; heart rate variability; blood glucose balance; bile production; kidney function; fertility in women; taste and saliva; but most of all, a sense of connectedness, mental and physical well-being, and even altruistic behaviour!
Stimulation of the vagus nerve is directly linked to your wellness. The better your vagal tone, the happier and healthier you are mentally and physically. Any practice that aids the stimulation of the vagus nerve, improves the body-mind connection since the vagus nerve is the physical representation of the link between body and mind. In this, simple techniques like deeper diaphragmatic breathing or Sudarshan Kriya yoga have been found to activate the vagus nerve, triggering overall happiness and well-being.
In the ongoing pandemic, youth have been a particularly vulnerable age group when it comes to mental health, matters made worse by uncertainties about the future, rise of protests and global tensions.
In a randomized controlled trial, the research teams at Yale University evaluated three classroom-based wellness training programs. “Compared to the control group,” students who practised breathwork like Sudarshan Kriya and other diaphragmatic breathing tools and engaged in service initiatives as part of the resilience training workshops of The Art of Living, “showed the greatest impact, benefiting six outcomes: depression, stress, mental health, mindfulness, positive affect and social connectedness,” researchers said.
“In addition to academic skills, we need to teach students how to live a balanced life,” said Emma Seppälä, lead author and faculty director of the Women’s Leadership Program at Yale School of Management. “Student mental health has been on the decline over the last 10 years.”
Sudarshan Kriya is a powerful rhythmic breathing practice that eliminates stress and emotional toxins at a cellular level. Research shows, the technique helps improve the sleep cycle, improves secretion of happy or feel-good hormones like oxytocin, reduces the secretion of stress hormones like cortisol, heightens awareness, and reduces clinical depression symptoms.
Anxiety, depression and stress have been some of the most common self-reported problems by university students.