title: The effects of short-term relaxation therapy on indices of heart rate variability and blood pressure in young adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Assessment of short-term practice of relaxation therapy on autonomic and cardiovascular functions in first-year medical students.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case-control, interventional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical college laboratory.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-seven medical students, divided into two groups: study group (n = 35) and control group (n = 32).
  
  
  METHODS
  Study group subjects practiced relaxation therapy (shavasana with a soothing background music) daily 1 hour for 6 weeks. Control group did not practice relaxation techniques.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cardiovascular parameters and spectral indices of heart rate variability (HRV) were recorded before and after the 6-week practice of relaxation therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data between the groups and the data before and after practice of relaxation techniques were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance and Student t-test. In the study group, prediction of low-frequency to high-frequency ratio (LF-HF) of HRV, the marker of sympathovagal balance, to blood pressure (BP) status was assessed by logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the study group, there was significant reduction in heart rate (p = .0001), systolic (p = .0010) and diastolic (p = .0021) pressure, and rate pressure product (p < .0001), and improvement in HRV indices, following 6 weeks of relaxation therapy. As determined by regression model, prediction of LF-HF to BP status was more significant (odds ratio, 2.7; p = .009) after practice of relaxation therapy. There was no significant alteration in these parameters in control subjects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Short-term practice of relaxation therapy can improve autonomic balance and promote cardiovascular health of medical students. Sympathovagal balance is directly linked to BP status in these individuals.
authors.forename: Gopal Krushna
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Pal
authors.forename: Venkata
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ganesh
authors.forename: Shanmugavel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karthik
authors.forename: Nivedita
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nanda
authors.forename: Pravati
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pal
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012064:Relaxation Therapy / Q000379:methods; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Autonomic Functions; Blood Pressure Status; Cardiovascular Risk; Health focus: stress management; Heart Rate Variability; Manuscript format: research; Outcome measure: morbidity; Prevention Research; Relaxation Therapy; Research purpose: intervention testing; Setting: clinical/health care; Strategy: built environment; Study design: quasi-experimental; Sympathovagal Balance; Target population age: youth; Target population circumstances: all education levels, all income levels, all races/ethnicities