Effect of Bhramari Pranayama Practice on Cognitive Functions in Healthy Volunteers

Abstract

Bhramari Pranayama (Humming bee breath) is one of the common slow pranayama practices, which involvesinhaling through both nostrils and while exhaling produce sound of humming bee. Practicing pranayama reducesthe effects of stress and strain on various systems by increasing the vagal tone. With the ongoing COVID-19pandemic, there are heightened feelings of stress, anxiety and depression and pranayama can be an effective wayto improve our mental and emotional well-being. This study has been chosen to assess the effect of Bhramaripranayama on cognitive functions and to compare the immediate and training effects of Bhramari pranayama inthe study group. An observational study was conducted among 110 students in a medical college aged between18-22 years for a period of 2 months. The participants were instructed to do 9 rounds of Bhramari Pranayama afterwhich the immediate effect of the Pranayama and 3 weeks of Pranayama practice on cognitive functions wasassessed. After training of Bhramari Pranayama for 3 weeks, a statistically significant improvement was observed.The study shows the possibility that Bhramari Pranayama has a beneficial effect on HRV in medical students, asthe autonomic balance shifts towards the improvement of parasympathetic tone. The study also showed betterattention, concentration and improved cognitive functions immediately after performing Bhramari pranayamawhich might be due to increased alertness and calmness.