Effect of Meditation and Autogenic Training on Autonomic Nervous System in Normal Adolescent Females

There is an enormous amount of literature on effects of various stress management approaches on the Autonomic Nervous System but all showed varied results. In the present study we compared the effects of the two most widely used stress management approaches: Meditation and Autogenic Training to find the most effective regime on Autonomic Variables (Respiratory Rate, Heart Rate, Systolic Blood Pressure, Diastolic Blood Pressure and Galvanic Skin Resistance) and also found the most sensitive parameter for measuring Autonomic changes. The study was done on 45 normal Adolescent females, divided equally into three groups and during study two subjects dropped out from each group (n=13). On applying Paired t-Test, Unpaired t-Test, One way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Post hoc analysis by Schiffe's test, no significant difference was found between the two techniques but the values of GSR before and after applying both the regimes showed marked difference. Thus the present study concluded that both the regimes were equally effective in inducing relaxation by affecting some parameters (RR, HR, GSR). The other finding from the study suggested GSR as a better parameter to measure Autonomic activity.