Effect of Yoga Nidra on Stress among Nursing Students in Selected Colleges of Nursing

Stress is a term heard so often that it’s meaning is frequently distorted and its implications are taken for granted. In today’s world, everybody seems to be talking about stress not only in daily conversation but also through television, radio and newspapers. Academic stress among college students has been a topic of interest for many years. College students, especially freshmen are particularly prone to stress due to the transitional nature of college life. For example, many college students move away from home for the first time, which can necessitate leaving previously learned support systems such as parents, siblings and high school friends. Students may need to develop entirely new social contacts and are expected to take responsibility for their own deeds. They may have difficulty in adjusting to more rigorous academic expectations and the need to learn to deal with individuals of differing cultures and beliefs. There is various relaxation techniques used in order to cope with stress. Yoga Nidra is one such wonderful technique, not only for physical or mental relaxation but also for preparing the mind for spiritual discipline. It concerns mainly with pratyahara (withdrawing senses from sense objects) and dharana (concentration). OBJECTIVES:(1) To compare the morning and evening stress before and after Yoga Nidra among nursing students in experimental group (2) To compare the morning and evening post test stress of nursing students in experimental and control group (3) To find out the significant difference in the morning and evening stress among nursing students in relation to their background factors (age, birth order, economic status medium of instruction, academic performance, friends, relationship with teachers, chronic illness, painful event, health practice, availability of parents, parents' conflict, financial support, hostel life, year of course). REVIEW OF LITERATURE: 3 Sections (1) Studies related to stress among nursing students, (2 Studies related to relaxation techniques and stress among nursing students, and (3) Studies related to Yoga Nidra. The conceptual framework for the study was based on Nursing Process Model. METHODOLOGY: The research design used was experimental design with interrupted repeated measure; Sample size was 40 nursing students as experimental group and 40 nursing students as control group in selected colleges at Hyderabad. The sample was selected by using stratified random sampling. The data were collected by using set administered 4 point likert scale which was developed by the investigator. The tool was validated by 5 experts. Reliability was established by test retest method (r= 0.75). The main study was conducted in selected colleges at Hyderabad. The data collected were tabulated, analyzed and interpreted using SPSS package (version 10). FINDINGS OF THE STUDY: The findings of the study revealed that there was significant difference in the pretest and posttest stress among nursing students in the experimental group. There was significant difference in the post test stress among nursing students in experimental and control group. There was significant difference in the morning and evening stress among nursing students in the experimental and control group. There was no significant association between age, birth order, economic status, medium of instruction, academic performance, friends, relationship with teachers, chronic illness, painful event health practice, parents' availability, parents conflict, financial support hostel life, year of course and stress among nursing students in the experimental group in the morning and evening. CONCLUSION: The study concluded by stating the fact that, the stress among nursing students decreased with the practice of Yoga Nidra. The implication recommendation and conclusion were stated adequately.