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Completed

NCT Number: NCT02821611

Student Stress Levels and Management Through Meditation

The professional program in Physical Therapy is rigorous and demanding on students, resulting in high levels of fatigue, stress, and sleep disturbance that can impact student performance and wellbeing. This project seeks to investigate ways to reduce student stress, monitor their quality of sleep and possibly enhance their learning through the practice of meditation.

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Key information

Conditions

Stress, Psychological Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Dyssomnias Mental Disorders Nervous System Diseases Sleep Disorders, Intrinsic Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders Sleep Wake Disorders

Age range

22 year–45 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

California State University, Northridge

Northridge, California, 91330-8411, United States

About this study

Utilizing a randomized controlled study design, a cohort of doctoral students in their first year of physical therapist education will undergo an 8 week intervention of a mantra-based Meditation (twice daily 20 minutes) with pre and post measures of blood pressure, sleep hygiene via the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and stress surveys, including Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Visual Analogue Scale for stress (VAS), as well as daily logs of sleep to assess sleep quality.

As many as 32 students (total number in cohort) per year may participate with 1/2 serving as controls and 1/2 undergoing the meditation practice for 8 weeks.

Baseline measurement details:

QUESTIONNAIRES: Each participant will be given a 1-item Visual Analogue Scale for stress (VAS), a 10 item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and a 9 item Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire. The VAS simply asks subjects to score how much stress they are feeling at that one moment in time on a 0-100 scale. The PSQI scores and assesses sleep quality and disturbances over a 1-month time interval and will be administered at the 4 week mark 1/2 way into the study as well as at pre and post intervention data collection events.

BLOOD PRESSURE: Blood pressure will be measured individually in a separate room to ensure confidentiality. The BP measurements will be administered using an Omron professional automatic blood pressure monitor (model number HEM 907X) to ensure comfort/safety and the accuracy of the reading. Also for accuracy of blood pressure measurements subjects will be asked to refrain from caffeine (coffee, tea or chocolate), cigarettes/nicotine, or exercise that morning until after measurements are taken and avoid alcohol the evening prior. One identified researcher will take all blood pressure reading and will be blinded to which subjects are part of the research or the control groups.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Graduate student in the first year of the Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) program at California State University, Northridge (CSUN)

Exclusion criteria

  • Taking blood pressure or sleep medication; or already currently practicing a daily meditation.

Treatment and study plan

Meditation Group

Behavioral

twice daily 20 minute mantra-based meditation practice for 8 weeks

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Blood Pressure

    Time frame: 8 weeks

    Omron HEM 907XL professional automatic blood pressure monitor used at baseline and at 8 weeks post intervention

  2. Change in Perceived Stress Survey Questionnaire

    Time frame: At baseline and at 8 weeks post intervention

    10-Item standardized survey tool for perceived stress level

  3. Change in Sleep Hygiene utilizing PSQI survey

    Time frame: survey at baseline, 1 month and at conclusion of 8 weeks

    PSQI sleep survey administered 3 times during the study (baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks)

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

California State University, Northridge

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Physical Therapist Doctoral Student Stress Levels and Management Through Meditation

Important dates

Study start
2015
Primary completion
2016
Study completion
2016
First posted
Jul 1, 2016
Registry last updated
Feb 11, 2019

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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