The Effect of Super Brain Yoga on Concentration, Memory, and Academic Progress in Nursing Students: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Science, Cyprus International University, Lefkoşa, Turkey;

2 Department of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Near East University, Lefkoşa / KKTC, Mersin 10, Türkiye

Abstract

Background: During university life, students often face significant changes in relationships and academic pressures. Given the stressors faced by nursing students and the importance of their academic success, the study aimed to assess the impact of Super Brain Yoga on nursing students’ concentration, memory, and academic progress.
Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 59 nursing students at Near East University in Cyprus from February to June 2023. The intervention group (N=29) performed Super Brain Yoga three times a week for two months, while the control group (N=30) continued the usual routines. Data were collected using the demographic questionnaire, Wechsler’s memory test, Concentration test, and the semester grade point average. Data analysis was performed using independent and paired t-test, chi-square, and ANCOVA using SPSS software version 26, with a significance level of P˂0.05.
Results: The study revealed a significant difference in total memory scores (P<0.001) and its subscales including personal and public information (P<0.001), orientation (P<0.001), mental control (P<0.001), logical memory (P=0.002), repeating numbers (P<0.001), visual memory (P<0.001), and learning associations (P=0.003) between the experimental and control groups after the intervention. Findings revealed a significant difference between the two groups in the reaction time (P=0.003) and the error of the reverse counting (P=0.021) following the intervention. After the intervention, based on ANCOVA test with adjusting the baseline values, there was no statistically significant difference in the semester mean of Grade Point Average between the two groups (95% confidence interval, P=0.657)
Conclusion: Super Brain Yoga is a non-invasive intervention that can improve memory, concentration, and cognitive abilities in nursing students.
 

Highlights

Pouran Varvani Farahani (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Keywords



1.    Asghari SZ, Seid-mohammadi A, Roshanaei G, et al. Mental Health Status Among Iranian Medical University Students: A Cross-sectional Study. Journal of Education and Community Health. 2022;9:111-7.
2.    Chen F, Chen J, Chen B, et al. Mental health status of medical students during postgraduate entrance examination. BMC Psychiatry. 2022;22:829.
3.    Muñoz-Carril PC, Hernández-Sellés N, Fuentes-Abeledo EJ, González-Sanmamed M. Factors influencing students’ perceived impact of learning and satisfaction in Computer Supported Collaborative Learning. Computers & Education. 2021;174:104310. 
4.    Kalashchenko S, Lutsak O, Hrynzovskyi A, et al. Assessment level of physical activity and psycho-emotional health status of the bogomolets national medical university students under conditions of distance learning organization. Ukrainian Scientific Medical Youth Journal. 2021;127:116-23.
5.    Jamil N, Belkacem AN, Lakas A. On enhancing students’ cognitive abilities in online learning using brain activity and eye movements. Education and Information Technologies. 2023;28:4363-97.
6.    Ogunleye BO, Ojo OR. Impact of physical fitness activities on students’ Basic Science achievement in selected Nigerian secondary schools. Annual Journal of Technical University of Varna. 2019;3:21-31.
7.    Stritter W, Everding J, Luchte J, et al. Yoga, Meditation and Mindfulness in pediatric oncology − A review of literature. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 2021;63:102791.
8.    Derlic D. A Systematic Review of Literature: Alternative Offender Rehabilitation-Prison Yoga, Mindfulness, and Meditation. Journal of Correctional Health Care. 2020;26:361-75. 
9.    EUROCAM. CAM 2020: The Contribution of Complementary and Alternative Medicine to Sustainable Healthcare in Europe. Belgium: EUROCAM; 2020.
10.    Tomasi DL. Mind-Body Medicine in Inpatient Psychiatry. Columbia: Ibidem / Columbia University Press; 2020.
11.    Premalatha BR, Sudhir J, Hegde U, et al. Effectiveness of Superbrain Asana on the Academic Performance in Dental Students, An Interventional Study. Journal of Natural Remedies. 2021;21:291-5.
12.    Kok Sui C. Advanced Pranic Healing: The Most Advance Energy Healing System Using Color Pranas. 11st ed. India: Institute For Inner Studies; 2009.
13.    Varvani Farahani P, Hekmat Pou D, Khonsari AH, et al. The Effect of super brain yoga on children with autism disorder. Complementary Medicine Journal. 2016;6:1549-59. [In Persian]
14.    Farahani PV, Hekmatpou D, Khonsari AH, Gholami M. Effectiveness of super brain yoga for children with hyperactivity disorder. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care. 2019;55:140-6.
15.    Lakshmi PY, Vaithianathan K. Impact of super brain yoga on selected physiological and psychological variables of college students. Journal of Positive School Psychology. 2022;6:6425-8.
16.    Gurupriya R, Mathangi DC. Effect of super brain yoga on heart rate variability among undergraduate medical students. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Public Health. 2020;23:231-313.
17.    Murat ZH, Muhsin AFM, Kadir RSSA, Ahmad FH. Intervention of super brain yoga towards brainwave balancing index, brainwave dominance and short term memory. AIP Conference Proceedings. 2020;2306:020037.
18.    Younas A, Sundus A, Zeb H, Sommer J. A Mixed Methods Review of Male Nursing Students’ Challenges during Nursing Education and Strategies to Tackle these Challenges. Journal of Professional Nursing. 2019;35:260-76. 
19.    Farzi S, Shahriari M, Farzi S. Exploring the challenges of clinical education in nursing and strategies to improve it: A qualitative study. Journal of Education and Health Promotion. 2018;7:115.
20.    Derayat A, Beydokhti TB, Mottaghy MR, et al. The Effect of Superbrain Yoga Exercises on Cognitive Functions of Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. Journal of Research and Health. 2023;13:325-32.
21.    Webber TA, Critchfield EA, Soble JR. Convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity of nonmemory-based performance validity tests. Assessment. 2020;27:1399-1415.
22.    Mackin RS, Rhodes E, Insel PS, et al. Reliability and Validity of a Home-Based Self-Administered Computerized Test of Learning and Memory Using Speech Recognition. Neuropsychology, Development and Cognition. 2022;29:867-81.
23.    Vaccaro MG, Liuzza MT, Pastore M, et al. The validity and reliability of the Test of Memory Strategies among Italian healthy adults. PeerJ. 2022;10:e14059.
24.    Bouman Z, Hendriks MPH, Van Der Veld WM, et al. Clinical validation of three short forms of the Dutch Wechsler Memory Scale–Fourth Edition (WMS-IV-NL) in a mixed clinical sample. Assessment. 2016;23:386-94.
25.    Lee SC, Chien TH, Chu CP, et al. Practice effect and test–retest reliability of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Fourth Edition in people with dementia. BMC Geriatrics. 2023;23:209.
26.    Valentine T, Block C, Eversole K, et al. Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale‐IV (WAIS-IV). US: John Wiley and Sons; 2020.
27.    Ryan JJ, Gontkovsky ST. Age effects on Wechsler Memory Scale–Fourth Edition (WMS–IV) indexes and subtests. Applied Neuropsychology Adult. 2023. [Online]. doi:10.1080/23279095.2023.2217461
28.    Rickham PP. Human Experimentation. Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association. Declaration of Helsinki. British Medical Journal. 1964;2:177.
29.    Janagap A, Janagap TMF. Superbrain Yoga: Impact on the Reading Comprehension and Behavior of Slow Readers. Psychology and Education: A Multidisciplinary Journal. 2022;4:1-8.
30.    Rabbi F, Islam S. The Effect of Academic Stress and Mental Anxiety among the Students of Khulna University. Edukasiana: Jurnal Inovasi Pendidikan. 2024;3:280-99.
31.    Vinu V, Jois SN, Moulya R, et al. Longitudinal Evaluation of Superbrain Yoga Practice on Academic Performance among Adolescents. Health Education and Health Promotion. 2022;10:271-6.