Effectiveness of Deep Breathing Exercises on Stress Management Among Nursing Students

Abstract

Introduction: Exams, clinical duties, academic pressure, and interpersonal difficulties are common sources of stress for nursing students. Learning outcomes, clinical performance, and psychological well-being can all be negatively impacted by ongoing stress. Deep breathing exercises are easy, affordable, and non-pharmacological methods for reducing stress and promoting relaxation. The goal of the current study was to evaluate how well deep breathing techniques helped nursing students manage their stress.

Methodology: A one-group pretest-post-test quantitative pre-experimental research design was used. One hundred B.Sc. nursing students from particular nursing schools in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, participated in the study. Participants were selected by non-probability convenience sampling. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was used to measure stress levels. Students engaged in deep breathing exercises for 15 minutes every day for four weeks after the pretest. After the intervention was finished, a post-test evaluation was carried out. The analysis employed both descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results: The findings revealed that before the intervention, 62% of nursing students had high stress, 30% had moderate stress, and 8% had low stress. After the intervention, 58% had low stress, 34% had moderate stress, and only 8% had high stress. The mean pretest stress score was 29.84±5.62, while the mean post-test stress score was 18.46±4.21. The calculated paired t-value was 19.78, which was statistically significant at p<0.001.

Conclusion: Nursing students found that deep breathing exercises helped them feel less stressed. Frequent integration of breathing exercises into nursing education programs may enhance academic achievement and foster psychological well-being. Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that mind-body and breathing-based therapies help nursing students feel less stressed.