Implications of Tamarkoz on stress, emotion, spirituality and heart rate.

Perceived stress among university students is a prevalent health issue directly correlated with poor academic performance, poor sleep quality, hopelessness, compromised physical and mental health, high risk of substance abuse, and suicidal ideation. Tamarkoz, a Sufi meditation, may reduce the impact of stressors to prevent illness among students. Tamarkoz is the art of self-knowledge through concentration and meditation. It is a method of concentration that can be applied to any task. The method is said to discipline the mind, body, and emotions to avoid unintended distractions. Therefore, it can be used in daily life activities, such as studying, eating, driving, de-stressing or in Sufism, seeking self-knowledge. This study was an 18-week quasi-experimental design with pre-intervention, post-intervention and follow-up assessments in the experimental group, a wait-list control, and a third group that utilized the campus health center's stress management resources. Participants, university students, had no prior exposure to Tamarkoz, and there were no statistically significant differences among groups on baseline measurements. Using a generalized linear mixed model, significant increases in positive emotions and daily spiritual experiences, and reductions in perceived stress and heart rate were found in the experimental group compared to the other two groups. Tamarkoz seems to show some advantages over the usual stress management resources offered by a student health center.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol Registration Date: (03/04/2018); ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03489148.

Effect of Supplementation with Saccharomyces Boulardii on Academic Examination Performance and Related Stress in Healthy Medical Students: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

In recent years, bacterial probiotic dietary supplementation has emerged as a promising way to improve cognition and to alleviate stress and anxiety; however, yeast probiotics have not been tested. The aim of the present study was to determine whether 30-day supplementation with Saccharomyces boulardii enhances academic performance under stress and affects stress markers. The trial was retrospectively registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03427515). Healthy medical students were randomized to supplement their diet with Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-1079 or placebo before sitting for an academic examination, which served as a model of stress. The grades of a final examination adjusted to subject knowledge tested in non-stressful conditions was used as a primary outcome measure. Psychometrically evaluated state anxiety, cortisol and metanephrine salivary levels, and pulse rate were tested at a non-stressful time point before the intervention as well as just before the stressor. Fifty enrolled participants (22.6 ± 1.4 years of age, 19 males) completed the trial in the Saccharomyces and placebo arms. Supplementation with Saccharomyces did not significantly modify examination performance or increase in state anxiety, salivary cortisol, and metanephrine. However, the intervention resulted in higher increase in pulse rate under stress as compared to placebo by 10.4 (95% CI 4.2-16.6) min-1 (p = 0.0018), and the effect positively correlated with increase in salivary metanephrine (Pearson's r = 0.35, 95% CI 0.09-0.58, p = 0.012). An intention-to-treat analysis was in line with the per-protocol one. In conclusion, supplementation with Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-1079 appears largely ineffective in improving academic performance under stress and in alleviating some stress markers, but it seems to increase pulse rate under stress, which may hypothetically reflect enhanced sympathoadrenal activity.

Reloading Pupils' Batteries: Impact of Green Spaces on Cognition and Wellbeing.

Cognitive functioning and academic performance of pupils depend on regular breaks from classroom work. However, it is unclear which settings during such breaks provide the best environment to restore cognitive performance and promote wellbeing of adolescent pupils. Therefore, we investigated the effects of staying in different urban green spaces during breaks. Sixty-four pupils (16⁻18 years old) participated in a cross-over experiment. They were placed into one of three settings (small park, larger park, forest) for one hour during a lunch break. Wellbeing was assessed four times (Nitsch scale), and a cognitive test (d2-R Test of Attention) was applied in the classrooms before and after the break. Wellbeing was almost always highest after the stay in the green spaces. However, a sustained effect was only found for the forest. Concentration performance values of the d2-R test were significantly higher after the pupils’ stay in green spaces for all sites. The highest increase of performance was found for the larger park type. In conclusion, this pilot study showed that study breaks in green spaces improved wellbeing and cognitive performance of adolescents. It also found that larger green spaces, either parks or forests, have stronger positive impacts on wellbeing and cognitive performance than small parks.

Rendimiento académico en Anatomía Humana en estudiantes de kinesiología. Aproximación a sus causas y efectos / Academic performance in Human Anatomy in kinesiology students. Approach to its causes and effects

La Anatomía Humana es una asignatura base en carreras de salud. Las universidades incluyen en sus procesos evaluativos pruebas prácticas llamadas Gymkanas, donde se acerca a los estudiantes a la tridimensionalidad del cuerpo humano. La evaluación es abordada de similar manera por las instituciones educativas, los estudiantes obtienen un bajo rendimiento y alta reprobación. El objetivo de esta investigación es evaluar causas y efectos del bajo rendimiento académico de los procesos evaluativos en estudiantes de kinesiología en la asignatura de Anatomía Humana. La metodología fue mixta, con cuestionario y entrevista, ambos aplicados a estudiantes de primer año de la carrera de Kinesiología de una Universidad de la región del Bío Bío, Concepción, Chile. Los resultados muestran que los alumnos se ven afectados por factores psicológicos, biológicos, del medio ambiente y los relacionados a la labor del docente e infraestructura. Además, la preparación para la evaluación, el acceso a la información anatómica y la retroalimentación de la evaluación resultaron ser factores que influyen. Se concluye que los contenidos anatómicos deben abordarse de manera contextualizada y con adecuadas metodologías de enseñanza, que podrían incluir a las tecnologías de la información y comunicación, con el fin de incentivar la motivación y el aprendizaje autónomo y profundo, a modo de preparar a los estudiantes al proceso evaluativo y optimizar su rendimiento académico(AU)

The Human Anatomy is a basic subject in health careers. The universities include in their evaluation processes practical tests called Gymkanas, where students are introduced to the three-dimensionality of the human body. The evaluation is approached in a similar way by the educational institutions, the students obtain a low performance and high reprobation. The objective of this research is to evaluate the causes and effects of the low academic performance of the evaluation processes in kinesiology students in the subject of Human Anatomy. The methodology was mixed, with questionnaire and interview, both applied to first-year students of the Kinesiology career at a University of the Bío Bío region, Concepción, Chile. The results show that students are affected by psychological, biological, environmental factors and those related to the work of the teacher and infrastructure. In addition, preparation for evaluation, access to anatomical information and evaluation feedback were influencing factors. It is concluded that anatomical contents should be approached in a contextualized manner and with appropriate teaching methodologies, which could include information and communication technologies, in order to encourage motivation and autonomous and deep learning, in order to prepare students to the evaluation process and optimize their academic performance(AU)

Reducing Anxiety and Improving Academic Performance Through a Biofeedback Relaxation Training Program.

The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of a biofeedback relaxation training program on anxiety and academic performance. The program consisted of five biofeedback sessions coupled with three training activities focused on deep breathing, guided imagery, and muscle relaxation. The participants were second-year psychology undergraduates from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU, northern Spain). The experimental group comprised 152 students (M age = 19.6, SD = 0.74; 74% women) and the control group 81 students (M age = 19.4, SD = 0.92; 71% women). Results showed that after participating in the program, students in the experimental group had lower levels of anxiety and increased academic performance. Furthermore, they scored lower on anxiety and higher on academic performance in comparison with the control subjects. This suggests that the inclusion of biofeedback training programs in educational contexts could be a way of reducing anxiety and improving academic performance. It may also deepen our understanding of the dynamic interplay between psychophysiological, cognitive, and emotional processes.

Pharmaceutical Cognitive Enhancement in Greek University Students: Differences Between Users and Non-Users in Social Cognitive Variables, Burnout, and Engagement.

Pharmaceutical cognitive enhancement (PCE) represents the non-medical use of prescribed medication for the improvement of cognitive functioning and academic performance. Although there are some studies about PCE prevalence, it is less clear how users and non-users of PCE substances differ with respect to their positive and negative student experiences (e.g. academic burnout and engagement with studies) and in social cognitive variables that relate to decision-making and self-regulation of PCE use. The present study assessed whether students with different experiences of PCE substance use displayed differences in academic burnout, study engagement, and social cognitive variables relevant to PCE use. Three hundred and forty-seven university students (mean age (M) = 22.15 years, SD = 1.69; 54% females) completed a battery of anonymous questionnaires on academic burnout, engagement with studies, social cognitive variables relevant to PCE use, and self-reported use of PCE substances and non-prescribed nutritional supplements. Three user groups emerged, namely non-users (51.9%, n = 180), single users of non-prescribed dietary supplements (25.4%, n = 88), and dual users of both non-prescribed dietary supplements and PCE (22.8%, n = 79). Multivariate analysis of variance indicated significant differences among the three user groups in intentions, attitudes, social norms, and anticipated regret toward PCE use. No significant differences were observed with respect to academic burnout and work engagement. The findings show that university students may engage in PCE use independent of their student experiences. Rather, a chemically assisted performance enhancement mindset seems to differentiate users from non-users of PCE substances.