A 15-Minute Yoga Intervention to Reduce Entry-Level Dental Hygiene Student Stress

Crystal L Kanderis Lane; JoAnn R Gurenlian; Jacqueline Freudenthal; Peter R Denner

A 15-Minute Yoga Intervention to Reduce Entry-Level Dental Hygiene Student Stress

J Dent Hyg. 2021 Apr;95(2):63-70.

Authors

Crystal L Kanderis Lane¹, JoAnn R Gurenlian², Jacqueline Freudenthal³, Peter R Denner⁴

Affiliations

¹ Assistant professor; kandcrys@isu.edu.
² Associate professor and the Graduate Program Director.
³ Professor emeritus; all in the Department of Dental Hygiene.
⁴ Professor emeritus in the Department of Education; all at Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID, USA.

PMID: 33875532

Abstract

Purpose: Health science students have an increased source of stress due to the rigorous curriculum, high clinical expectations, and academic demands. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a 15-minute yoga intervention to reduce stress in entry-level dental hygiene students.Methods: First year dental hygiene students were invited to participate in the experimental study (n=32) and were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. The stress reduction intervention (gentle yoga movements, breathing, and meditation) was performed prior to each final exam for a total of six times. The control group proceeded with their usual pre-exam routines. Baseline and post-trial blood pressure, pulse and 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) data were recorded for both groups. Repeated measures of blood pressure and pulse were recorded before and after yoga for the experimental group and the control group prior to each exam. Data analyses included Paired-samples t-test, Independent-samples t-test and ANOVA, (p=0.05).Results: The main effect for yoga from pre- to post-session was statistically significant for blood pressure (p=0.02 systolic; p=0.02 diastolic) but not for pulse (p=0.23). Significant effects on blood pressure measures showed yoga movement sessions reduced stress however the effects sizes were small. The paired t-tests indicated the 10-item PSS values were significantly lower (p<0.00). Statistical significance of differential, beneficial effects of yoga versus control were not demonstrated.Conclusion: Fifteen-minutes of yoga movements had feasibility, compliance, and appeared to have positive effects related to stress reduction. No evidence of statistical significance was demonstrated compared to the control. Research on a larger sample of entry-level dental hygiene students using yoga movements over the course of a semester is recommended.

Keywords: dental hygiene students; physiological measures; stress management; stress reduction; yoga.

MeSH terms

Curriculum
Humans
Meditation*
Oral Hygiene
Students
Yoga*