Breathing and math performance: Implications for performance and neurotherapy

Erik Peper,Shannon Lee,Richard Harvey,I-Mei Lin

doi:10.15540/nr.3.4.142

Erik Peper, Shannon Lee + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.15540/nr.3.4.142

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Abstract

This report of findings describes students’ self-reported difficulty and anxiety during test taking and the effect of deliberate gasping or diaphragmatic breathing on the ability to solve math problems. During the evaluation of an experiential classroom activity, 103 university students filled out a short questionnaire about performance anxiety and blanking out when taking exams. Then, they were asked to solve math problems while either gasping or slow diaphragmatic breathing. Students reported a high frequency of blanking out (mean = 5.3), difficulty during exams (mean = 6.7), and difficulty with math (mean = 6.2) on a scale from 1 (never) to 10 (always). The students reported significantly more difficulty in solving math problems when gasping than during slow breathing (p < .01) and significantly more anxiety during gasping (p < .01) than during slow breathing (p < .01) when solving math problems. Most students were completely surprised how their breathing patterns affected their ability to perform a simple math test. Numerous students have reported that when they implemented this slow breathing approach at the moment they felt anxiety, their anxiety slightly decreased and they would perform better on exams. Included are comments to improve study habits, memory consolidation, and how to incorporate somatic feedback of breathing patterns into learning and training within other settings such as during neurotherapy.

Highlights

Students at all levels of education experience test anxiety (Cale, Fowler, & Rempfer, 2012; Tatum, Lundervold, & Ament, 2006)
The correlation analysis showed that a history of blanking out was correlated with test anxiety (r = 0.4) and math difficulty was high correlated with anxiety during gasping or slow diaphragmatic breathing (r = 0.60)
A representative physiological recording of gasping and slow diaphragmatic breathing at the onset of hearing the math problem is shown in Figures 3 and 4

Summary

Introduction

Students at all levels of education experience test anxiety (Cale, Fowler, & Rempfer, 2012; Tatum, Lundervold, & Ament, 2006). Test anxiety is a type of performance anxiety that is “the negative affect, worry, physiological arousal, and behavioral responses that accompany concern about failure or lack of competence on an exam or similar evaluative situation” Students often report blanking out on retrieving memorized information when taking an exam for which they have studied (Arnsten, Mazure, & Sinha, 2012). Fear and poor study habits often contribute to forgetting or inability to retrieve the material (Cassady & Johnson, 2002; FitkovNorris & Yeghiazarian, 2013). Study habits can contribute to performance difficulty and observations of study behaviors suggests most students listen to music, respond to text messages, or monitor social network sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest while studying (David, Kim, Brickman, Ran, & Curtis, 2015; Swingle, 2016). While at home they study while sitting or lying on their bed and continue to check their cell phones (Sellgren, 2016)

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