Effect of Alternate Nostril Breathing Exercise on Experimentally Induced Anxiety in Healthy Volunteers Using the Simulated Public Speaking Model: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study
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A randomized controlled pilot study was carried out to determine the effect of a 15-minute practice of ANB exercise on experimentally induced anxiety using the simulated public speaking model in yoga-naïve healthy young adults. Thirty consenting medical students were equally divided into test and control groups. The test group performed alternate nostril breathing exercise for 15 minutes, while the control group sat in a quiet room before participating in the simulated public speaking test (SPST). Visual Analog Mood Scale and Self-Statements during Public Speaking scale were used to measure the mood state at different phases of the SPST. The psychometric scores of both groups were comparable at baseline. Repeated-measures ANOVA showed a significant effect of phase (p<0.05), but group and gender did not have statistically significant influence on the mean anxiety scores. However, the test group showed a trend towards lower mean scores for the anxiety factor when compared with the control group. Considering the limitations of this pilot study and the trend seen towards lower anxiety in the test group, alternate nostril breathing may have potential anxiolytic effect in acute stressful situations. A study with larger sample size is therefore warranted. This trial is registered with CTRI/2014/03/004460.
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Of 45 interventions incorporating both human-guided training and multiple sessions, only four were ineffective [44,47,50], likely due to taxing clinical situations, inadequate training/experience, and practice discontinuation.
“Of the 45 interventions in any population that incorporated both of these components, only four were ineffective [44,47,50], but this was likely due to taxing clinical situations [47], inadequate training or experience for a more technical practice [44], and practice discontinuation [50].”
From Breathing Practices for Stress and Anxiety Reduction: Conceptual Framework of Implementation Guidelines Based on a Systematic Review of the Published Literature (2023) · cites this paper as [44]
The Conclusion reports no significant decrease in anxiety, and the Discussion suggests that participants’ limited training may have affected their performance. However, the Methods describe a single 15-minute intervention, not multiple sessions. The paper does not establish inadequate training as the cause of the nonsignificant result. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredOne ANB intervention was ineffective despite fitting the framework, incorporating a single human-guided session among yoga-naive participants [44].
“One ANB intervention was ineffective despite fitting our framework, incorporating a single human-guided session among yoga-naive participants [44].”
From Breathing Practices for Stress and Anxiety Reduction: Conceptual Framework of Implementation Guidelines Based on a Systematic Review of the Published Literature (2023) · cites this paper as [44]
The Method and §2.1 describe one 15-minute ANB intervention in yoga-naïve participants, preceded by instructions and a demonstration from a study author. The Discussion and Conclusion report no statistically significant reduction in induced anxiety, but also note a trend toward lower anxiety scores and a possible effect; calling the intervention simply “ineffective” overstates that result. The paper does not specify that the author guided participants throughout the 15-minute exercise. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe two ineffective ANB interventions had either human-guided training in a yoga-naive population [44] or no such training in a yoga-breathing-experienced population [49].
“The two ineffective ones had either human-guided training in a yoga-naive population [44] or no such training in a yoga-breathing-experienced population [49].”
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References 19 · Cited by 27
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- Authors
- Kamath, A., Urval, R. P., & Shenoy, A. K.
- Affiliations
- Manipal Academy of Higher Education (IN)
- Department of Pharmacology, Kanachur Institute of Medical Sciences, Mangaluru, Karnataka, India
- Corresponding author
- Kamath, Ashwin
- Venue
- BioMed Research International
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2017
- Volume
- 2017
- Pages
- 1-7
- ISSN
- 1110-7243 (ISSN-L)
- 2314-6133
- 2314-6141
- PMC
- PMC5660749
- OpenAlex
- W2762677445
- Cited by
- 27
- References
- 19
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 1.70
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- BioMed Research International (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Music Therapy and Health
- Keywords
- alternate nostril breathing, pranayama, anxiety, speaking anxiety, yoga, anxiolytic effects, acute stress, medical students, mood states
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Anxiety, Breathing Exercises, Female, Humans, Male, Psychometrics, Speech, Yoga, Young Adult, Healthy Volunteers
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