Stress management through regulation of blood pressure among college students.

BACKGROUND: This paper introduces the concept of Deep Breathing and its applications as one of the means towards stress management through regulation of blood pressure among Indian College Engineering students. The underlying concept of deep breathing is that the relation between emotions and breathing is two way, i.e. not only do emotions affect the breathing, but controlled deep breathing also has an effect on emotions. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the paper is to find out whether deep breathing technique is able to control blood pressure, and in turn, the level of stress. METHODS: Sample students had a selection through initial screening and the students who reported high mental stress during interview were selected for the main drills. All the readings are taken using a sphygmomanometer (digital blood pressure meter). Students' t test are used for the purpose of hypothesis testing. RESULTS: The results indicated that the deep breathing technique provided significant results. CONCLUSION: It is recommended that this amazingly simple and yet highly effective ancient technique of deep breathing become part of students' routine curriculum. The paper aims at spreading the awareness of this yogic technique as one of the modes of Stress Management amongst Indian college students.