Diaphragmatic Breathing and Global Postural Reeducation on Stress and Sleep Quality in University Students

Summary

Introduction: Nowadays, the reduction of perceived stress and the improvement of sleep quality are considered fundamental aspects in the quality of life of both healthy subjects and patients with disease. Stress has become a pandemic in recent years due to the socio-labor demands faced by society. On the other hand, it has a direct relationship with the quality of sleep, its influence being bidirectional. In this regard, several tools have been reported for the management of these conditions. These include strategies such as yoga, mindfulness, diaphragmatic breathing (DR) or Pilates. On the other hand, other proposals such as global postural reeducation (GPR) lack evidence in the management of these conditions.

Objectives: Compare the effects of a diaphragmatic breathing self-management program with global postural reeducation on stress and sleep quality in university students.

Method: The study will be carried out with physiotherapy students of the University Francisco de Vitoria. The participants will be randomly divided into three groups: GPR group, DR group and control group. Perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale - PSS14) and reported sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index - PSQI) will be measured three times throughout the study: pre-intervention, 3 weeks after the start of the intervention and post-intervention. The intervention will last 6 weeks, during which time all participants will be required to complete the 5 Grade Scale (5GS) each morning. The GPR group will perform; Frog to the ground posture, while the DR group will follow a set breathing protocol at a 4/6 rhythm. Both GPR and DR will be performed 10 minutes before going to sleep.

Ethical considerations:

The principles of the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki will be followed. The proposed interventions are non-invasive, based on the combination of mild physical activity tools, body awareness and relaxation techniques.

The dependent variables to be measured are based on clinimetric aspects, without any harm to the participants.

Subjects will be asked to participate on a voluntary basis and may withdraw from the study at any time.

Conditions

• Stress
• Sleep Disturbance

Interventions

OTHER

Diaphragmatic Breathing

10 minutes each day during 6 weeks, before sleeping.

OTHER

Global Postural Reeducation

10 minutes each day during 6 weeks, before sleeping.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Universidad Francisco de Vitoria

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Alberto Roldán Ruiz, PhD · Universidad Francisco de Vitoria

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-05-05

Primary Completion

2024-07-17

Completion

2024-07-18