Twenty carefully selected snake phobics were exposed to a caged snake for eight trials via a conveyor apparatus. During the first and eighth trials the subjects brought the snake toward themselves as closely as tolerable; records were kept of the end-of-trial distances remaining between the subject and the snake. For the six intervening trials the experimenter placed the snake a standard distan...

To compare the short-term effects of postural drainage with clapping (PD) and autogenic drainage (AD) on oxygen saturation, pulmonary function, and sputum recovery, we studied ten patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) randomly treated with PD or AD on separate days. Pulse oximetry was monitored and sputum was collected during and for 1 h following each treatment. Pulmonary function was measured be...

Nonlinear vibrational spectroscopy provides insights into the dynamics of vibrational energy transfer in and between molecules, a crucial phenomenon in condensed phase physics, chemistry, and biology. Here we use frequency-domain 2-dimensional infrared (2DIR) spectroscopy to investigate the vibrational relaxation (VR) and vibrational energy transfer (VET) rates in different solvents in both the...

Previous research suggests that self-defined insomniacs are distinguished from normals by high levels of anxiety and physiological arousal, which might be mitigated by muscle relaxation. This study assessed the relative effects of frontal EMG biofeedback, progressive relaxation, and a placebo set of "relaxation" exercises on the sleep of 18 onset insomniacs. Each subject was trained in one of t...

In this paper, we address the issue how a computing system can coach people in doing progressive muscle relaxation exercises. Such a system could help many people in dealing with their stress-related problems like poor sleep. We develop a formal model of progressive muscle relaxation, provide examples of typical instantiations of the model and identify how different coaching activities have the...

NMR relaxation methods probe biomolecular motions over a wide range of timescales. In particular, the rotating frame spin-lock R(1ρ) and Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) R(2) experiments are commonly used to characterize μs to ms dynamics, which play a critical role in enzyme folding and catalysis. In an effort to complement these approaches, we introduced the Heteronuclear Adiabatic Relaxation...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the short-term benefits of simple relaxation techniques in white-collar employees. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was a two-arm parallel group randomized controlled trial. 152 employees were randomly assigned to receive the 8-week programme (N=80) (relaxation breathing and progressive muscle relaxation, twice a day) or not (wait-list group N=72). Self-reported validated...

Autogenic training (AT) is a self-relaxation procedure by which a psychophysiological determined relaxation response is elicited. A meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of AT. Seventy-three controlled outcome studies were found (published 1952-99). Sixty studies (35 randomized controlled trials [RCT]) qualified for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Medium-to-large ef...

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of progressive muscle relaxation and autogenic training on psychological parameters of girls For the purpose of the present study, sixty (N=60) female subjects between the age group of 22-25 years (Mean ± SD: age 20.21 ± 1.59 years, body mass 53.21 ± 7.25 kg, height 160.82 ± 7.38m) were selected as subjects from Department of Physical Education...

An educational approach is often different from a clinical treatment approach to promote healing. Using an educational approach, 80% of university students who are enrolled in a holistic health course report that both acute and chronic disorders can be ameliorated or eliminated when they engage in daily self-practice of autogenic training, biofeedback self-regulation practices, and/or somatic p...