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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Occupational Health and Safety
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1363750
This article is part of the Research Topic Yoga to Promote Mental Health in Occupational Health Settings View all 5 articles

Effect of Cyclic Meditation on Anxiety and Sleep Quality in Sailors on Merchant Ships -A Quasi-Experimental Study

Provisionally accepted
Sukesh Paranthatta Sukesh Paranthatta Titty George Titty George H M. Vinaya H M. Vinaya P S. Swathi P S. Swathi Mangesh Pandey Mangesh Pandey Balaram Pradhan Balaram Pradhan Natesh Babu Natesh Babu Apar A. Saoji Apar A. Saoji *
  • Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, Bangalore, Karnataka, India

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Sailors undergo anxiety and sleep disturbances due to prolonged journeys and the nature of their work on ships. Earlier studies indicate Cyclic Meditation (CM) being beneficial for managing anxiety and improving sleep quality. Thus, the current study was designed to investigate the effect of CM on anxiety and sleep quality among sailors.Materials and Methods: Fifty sailors were assigned to experimental (n=25) and control (n=25) groups. The experimental group received 45 min of CM, 7 days a week for three weeks.Control group continued with their routine activities and were offered CM practice the following three weeks. Hamilton Anxiety Scale for anxiety (HAM-A) and the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for sleep along with blood pressure and pulse rate were taken at baseline and by the end of 3 weeks. Data were analyzed using Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (RM ANOVA) for within and between group effects.Results: Significant differences were found between the groups following three weeks for all the variables. Experimental group demonstrated reduced anxiety (p<0.001) and improved sleep (p<0.001) along with improvements in blood pressure and pulse rate. The control group did not show any significant changes following three weeks.CM could be incorporated as a routine for sailors to manage their anxiety and improve sleep quality during the period on board ships.

    Keywords: Yoga, shipping, Occupational Health, Meditation, Sleep, psychological health

    Received: 09 Jan 2024; Accepted: 28 May 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Paranthatta, George, Vinaya, Swathi, Pandey, Pradhan, Babu and Saoji. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Apar A. Saoji, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, Bangalore, 560 019, Karnataka, India

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.