Effect of Om -Chanting on Psychological Health among Engineering College Students with Time

Abstract

The prevalence of academic stress among the undergraduate engineering students in India is very serious till date. High academic stress has a negative impact on academic performance, and will also result in internet addiction, insufficient sleeping time and mental health problems. The objective of this study is to examine effectiveness of OM-chanting on psychological parameters among engineering students. 36 healthy engineering students (having age range: 18 to 25 years) who were studying in a Kolkata-based engineering college in India were randomly chosen. They received OM-chanting stimulation. Therapeutic dose: Session: once a day, 20 minutes duration at morning time: 6: 15-7: 00 am. By using Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 Items (DASS-21) the psychological variables of participants were carefully measured before OM-chanting intervention and these values were also treated as values obtained at pre-intervention time (i.e., at 0 day) only. After this procedure, the values of psychological at 15 days, 30 days, 45 days, 60 days, 75 days 90 days, 105 days, 120 days and 135 days respectively were also examined according to our experimental design. A time dependent decrease in psychological parameters viz. depression, anxiety and stress scores with time was seen among the engineering college student. This study highlighted that OM chanting stimulation effectively reduces the depression, anxiety and stress levels of engineering college students with time. Therefore, this study may add an important dimension to the emerging area of mental health and wellbeing of engineering college students