Nirmala N¹, Kavitha U²,
Neithiya T¹
¹Department of Physiology, Sri Venkateshwara Medical College Hospital & Research Centre, Puducherry, TamilNadu, India, ²Department of Physiology, Meenakshi Medical College Hospital & Research Institute, Meenakshi University, Kanchipuram, TamilNadu, India

Abstract

• Background: Yogic exercises are mind-body exercises which improve both physical and mental status. In the current century, the school children are overloaded both physically and mentally. If they are not able to balance their work load, they end up with mental stress.
• Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the immediate effects of two Yoga based relaxation techniques – cyclic meditation and supine rest on the cognitive function of school students.
• Materials and Methods: In this study, 192 students aged between 12- 16 years from schools in Puducherry were administered simple cognitive tests like the Six Letter Cancellation Test (SLCT), digit symbol substitution tests (DSST) and digit letter substitution test (DLST) to assess the immediate effects of cyclic meditation and supine rest which they were taught to practice. Statistical analysis was done by Student’s paired t-test.
• Results: Comparison of the SLCT, DSST and DLST scores of the participants before and after the relaxation techniques revealed that there was a statistically significant difference (p<0.001).
• Conclusion: The yoga based relaxation techniques of cyclic meditation and supine rest have been shown to have immediate beneficial effects on the cognitive function of the school students in our study. Further studies can be done to confirm these findings and these kinds of simple relaxation techniques can be recommended among school students to improve their academic performance.

Keywords: cognitive function, cyclic meditation, supine rest