Student Wellness Workshop Study (SWW)
Stress, Stress, Psychological, Stress Reaction
About this trial
This is an interventional other trial for Stress
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Current identification with student status, which may include undergraduate, graduate, continuing studies, or post-baccalaureate/pre-doctoral.
Exclusion Criteria:
- No history of panic disorder, psychosis, or mania (with or without psychotic features), which may be risk factors for adverse effects of the yogic breathing intervention. These symptoms will be pre-screened via online questionnaire. The use of psychoactive medication will be monitored via sleep diary.
- No current substance dependence, assessed via online self-report pre-screening questionnaire.
- No current use of medications with known effects on sleep or stress physiology including antidepressants (SSRI, SNSI, NDRI, atypical, TCA, MAOI), anitpsychotics, benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepine receptor agonists, melatonin and melatonin receptor agonists, orexin/hypocretin receptor antagonists, barbiturates, mood stabilizers, anticonvulsants, anticholinergics, first generation antihistamines, and stimulants including NRI, antihypertensives, opioids, or systemic (non-topical) corticosteroids.
Sites / Locations
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Experimental
Active Comparator
YESplus workshop
WOW! workshop
Your Enlightened Side, plus more (YESplus) is an four-day, 15-hour integrative life skills workshop with a strong emphasis on breathing techniques and social connectedness. In addition to specific contemplative techniques such as yoga, mindfulness meditation, and compassion meditation that help cultivate inner peace, YESplus incorporates discussions and other activities to facilitate social connectedness, leadership, and community service. During the workshop, participants have ample time to learn and practice the Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) technique, as well as to ask questions. SKY has four sequential, form- and rhythm-specific breathing components interspersed with normal breathing while sitting in a relaxed position with eyes closed, followed by Yoga Nidra. A certified instructor with a minimum of 1,000 hours of SKY instruction training will lead each workshop.
A comparison workshop titled "Wisdom On Wellness" (WOW!) will be implemented to control for potential expectancy effects, time commitment, group-based interactions, and wisdom/knowledge of YESplus that is anticipated to have beneficial effects on stress management and well-being, allowing for more rigorous evaluation of the contemplative practices and other activities unique to the YESplus workshop. This workshop differs from YESplus due to the increased focus on cognitive approaches to conceptualizing and managing stress (e.g. thoughts about the past and future versus present moment), and absence of physical or somatic activities.