Informatics Publishing Limited

Vivek K. Sharma ¹, Shailesh Gupta ², Shobha Das ³, Sunita Mondal ⁴, Utpal Goswami ⁵, S. Senthil Kumar ⁶

Affiliations
1 Dept of Physiology, JIPMER, Puducherry, IN
2 Dept of Physiology, IMS, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, U.P, IN
3 Dept of Physiology, V.M.M.C.& S.J. Hospital, New Delhi, IN
4 Dept of Physiology, Lady Harding Medical College, Delhi, IN
5 Dept of Psychiatry, L.H.M. College, Delhi, IN
6 Dept of Physiology, JIPMER, Puduchery, IN

Abstract

Sahaj yoga meditation practice is already known to reduce stress, enhance parasympatho-dominance, alpha rhythm in the brain and change biochemical parameters favourably in healthy subjects and is also beneficial as an adjunct in psycho-somatic disorders. The presented randomized control study was carried out on 30 healthy subjects (19 Males and 11 females) in the age group of 18 to 45 years. Subjects were randomly divided into two groups: Group 1: (9 Males&6 Females) Healthy subjects who practised Sahaj Yoga meditation. Group 2: (10 Males&5 Females) Healthy subjects who did not practise Sahaj Yoga. Training of Sahaj yoga was conducted under the supervision of trained Sahaj Yogi for the period of 8 weeks. Cognitive test battery was administered to all the subjects both before and after the study period.

The observed data was statistically analyzed using Student's t test, Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test, Mann- Whitney U test. The results after 8 weeks showed that Group 1 subjects showed marked improvement only in the Letter cancellation test (time) (p< 0.01), number of Omissions (p<0.01) and Trail making test 'A' (p< 0.01) while no appreciable change was observed in Group 2. There was no significant improvement on rest of the tested parameters in subjects of group 1 and 2.The present study demonstrated that Sahaj Yoga practice by healthy subjects leads to improvement in attention span, concentration, visuo-motor speed but with no improvement in executive functions.

Keywords

Sahaj Yoga, Meditation, Cognitive Functions, Executive Functions

Full Text

     

Partha Pratim Mahata ¹, Abhimanyu Thakur ², Kamalika Bhattacharya ¹, Rakesh Kumar ³, Sunita Mondal ¹, Wrijula Mukherjee ¹, Anurup Mukhopadhyay ⁴

Affiliations
1 BCDA College of Pharmacy of Pharmacy and Technology, Barasat, Kolkata, IN
2 Dept. of Biomedical Science, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Hong Kong SAR, CN
3 Dept. of Pharma Science and Tech., Birla Institute of Technology Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand, IN
4 School of Medical Science and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, IN

Abstract

A significant amount of India's population is known to suffer from malnutrition despite several efforts and ventures throughout the country. A comparative study on mothers' perception towards their children's (school going) diet conducted in Barasat and Baranagar regions of Kolkata has proved the validity of this statement. The survey included basic questionnaires to a total of 203 mothers of school kids, categorized based on the ages of their children viz., Group A (2 to 3 years), Group B (3 to 4 years), Group C (4-5 years) and Group D (5 to 6 years). It was apparent from the study that mothers from the regions have insufficient knowledge about their kid's nutritional requirements. This study can be expected to bring about a positive response such that mothers should be encouraged to pay further attention towards their children's diet and healthy food habits to avoid this curse of malnutrition.

Keywords

Comparative Study, Survey, Mothers’ Perception, Nutritional Diet, Healthy Food.

Full Text