From Workfare to Work and Economic Well-being: A Randomized Control Trial of Labor-Intensive Public Works for the Urban Poor in Eastern DRC

Background/Objectives: The foundational ethical principles of yoga have not been of focus and not widely known. This study was to evaluate the yoga ethics that could reduce the level of stress in college students. Methods/Statisticalanalysis :A randomized control trial was conducted. One hundred participants were randomly assigned to control group and experiment group with a duration of three months intervention and one month follow-up. The outcome measures of stress level were assessed through Bio-Well instrument. A parametric independent sample t-test for the between-group analyses and paired sample t-test for within-group analysis compared the means of two groups. Findings: There was a statistically significant reduction in the stress after the intervention (p<0.001) and follow up (p=0.035) between the group comparisons. The within-group comparisons showed high reduced in the level of stress after the intervention (p<0.001) and follow-up (p<0.01). Novelty: The current study provides preliminary evidence that the practice of ethical principles of Yama and Niyama effectively reduces the stress and may improve psychological health and well-being. Keywords: Yoga ethics; Yama; Niyama; Stress; Psychological wellbeing; BioWell

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Effect of Meditation and Breathing Exercises on the Well-being of Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infection under Institutional Isolation: A Randomized Control Trial

Indian Journal of Palliative Care ◽

10.25259/ijpc_40_21 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 ◽

pp. 1-5

Author(s):

Kiran Mahendru ◽

Anuja Pandit ◽

Vishwajeet Singh ◽

Nandan Choudhary ◽

Anant Mohan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Randomized Control Trial ◽

Well Being ◽

Control Group ◽

Quality Of Sleep ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Breathing Exercises ◽

Falling Asleep ◽

Stress Levels ◽

Randomized Control

Objectives: The corona virus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected every domain of human health be it physical or mental. The uncertainty of disease progression in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection can lead to major psychological and psychiatric concerns that should not be overlooked. The interventions should be directed to the vulnerable population to help them mitigate the stress and anxiety caused by the infection and isolation. We evaluated the effect of meditation and breathing exercises on the well-being of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection under institutional isolation. Materials and Methods: We conducted a randomized control trial on 84 subjects, 18 years and above, asymptomatic, or mildly symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infected patients under institutional isolation. Subjects were randomly and equally divided into a control group and interventional group. We measured the depression, anxiety, and stress levels as well as quality of sleep in patients after 7 days of meditation and breathing exercises in the intervention group versus standard care in the control group. Results: Mediation and breathing exercises had a statistically significant effect on the depression level (P < 0.001), stress level (P = 0.004), and the quality of sleep [trouble falling asleep (P = 0.007), trouble staying asleep (P = 0.004), and feel tired after waking up in the morning (P = 0.003)]. Further, the positive effect of intervention on the level of anxiety in patients under isolation was also observed; however, the difference was not found to be statistically significant (P = 0.528). Conclusion: Meditation and breathing exercises have positive effects on depression, stress levels, and quality of sleep in COVID-19 positive patients under strict institutional isolation.

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