Effects of the Healing Beats Program among University Students after Exposure to a Source of Psychological Stress: A Randomized Control Trial

Jiah Song,Wonjong Kim,Iklyul Bae

doi:10.3390/ijerph182111716

Abstract

This study is a randomized pre- and post-controlled trial to determine the effects of the Healing Beats program on anxiety, autonomic nervous balance, Bispectral (BIS) index, and heart rate among university students after exposure to a source of mental stress. Data were collected from candidates who volunteered from November 2018 to May 2019 in response to recruitment announcements. The analysis was performed using data of 99 participants in three groups: 32 in an experimental group, 35 in a placebo group, and 32 in a control group. The experimental group who received treatment via the Healing Beats program exhibited a significant effect on calming anxiety, autonomic nervous balance, BIS index, and heart rate, compared with the placebo group and the control group. The group interaction also showed a significant difference. The Healing Beats program can be used as an effective intervention for sedation in clinical situations or calmness in stressful situations in everyday life. Specifically, the Healing Beats program could serve as basic data for nursing interventions, according to the stability effect in stressful situations; it can also be applied to effective nursing practice as an initial study to confirm theoretical and practical indicators.

Highlights

As a result of confirming the effect of the Heating Beats program intervention on stress resilience in this study, it was found that the experimental group exhibited a significant effect on anxiety sedation, autonomic nervous system balance, BIS index, and heart rate compared to the placebo group and the control group
The mental arithmetic stressor used in this study caused an increase in the levels of anxiety, autonomic nervous balance, and heart rate; it can be seen as an effective stress source
This study aimed to identify the effects of the Healing Beats program on university students’ everyday life and stressful situations

Summary

Introduction

The World Health Organization defines stress as experiencing and responding to factors that cause anxiety, dissatisfaction, agitation, tension, or obsession and as an “infectious disease of the 21st century” [1]. The responses to stress sources vary depending on the individual. Selye [2], even if various stress-causing factors are routinely and presented, those who cope with and adapt well to stress sources may not find them stressful, whereas others may find them to be severely stressful. Stress reactions have often been shown to lead to mental disorders, such as anxiety disorders and depression [3], as well as various physical reactions, such as an increase in heart rate, fever, sweating, and respiratory responses [4]

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