NDLI: A 14-week structured breathing program: an investigation into its impact on psychological health parameters in university students

Content Provider	Springer Nature : BioMed Central
Author	Crișan, Alexandru Florian Pescaru, Camelia Corina Maritescu, Adelina Carunta, Vlad Stoicescu, Emil Robert Oancea, Cristian Amăricăi, Elena Onofrei, Roxana Ramona
Abstract	Background University students are prone to high levels of stress, anxiety, and sleep disturbances, which can negatively affect their mental health and academic performance. Breathing exercises have been suggested as a simple and effective intervention to reduce these issues. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a 14-week structured breathing exercises program on the psychological well-being of physical therapy students, focusing on subjective happiness, sleep quality, worry levels, and emotional regulation. Methods This was a non-randomized study that included 46 s-year students. The intervention group received weekly 30-minute sessions of breathing exercises for 14 weeks, while the control group continued their usual activities. Data were collected at baseline and 14 weeks using validated questionnaires such as Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Statistical analysis included paired samples t-tests and Wilcoxon singed-rank test. Results The intervention group demonstrated significant improvements in subjective happiness (p < 0.0001), positive affect (p < 0.0001), and sleep quality (p = 0.0001) post-intervention. A significant decrease was observed in worry levels (p = 0.0001), and negative affect was modestly reduced (p = 0.02). The control group showed no significant changes except for a minor increase in subjective happiness (p = 0.04). Conclusion The 14-week structured breathing program significantly enhanced subjective happiness, emotional regulation, and sleep quality, reducing worry levels among physical therapy students. The results could contribute to integrating these techniques into educational programs and developing accessible strategies to improve student well-being. Trial registration The study was registered on clinicaltrials.gov on 09.05.2024 under the identification ID NCT06341569 ( https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06341569 ).
Related Links	https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s12889-025-22585-8.pdf
Ending Page	10
Page Count	10
Starting Page	1
File Format	HTM / HTML
ISSN	14712458
DOI	10.1186/s12889-025-22585-8
Journal	BMC Public Health
Issue Number	1
Volume Number	25
Language	English
Publisher	BioMed Central
Publisher Date	2025-04-14
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Public Health Medicine Epidemiology Biostatistics Vaccine Environmental Health Anxiety Motivation Happiness Breathing exercises Physical therapy Medicine/Public Health
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Journal Impact Factor	3.5/2023
5-Year Journal Impact Factor	3.9/2023

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

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