Breathing and math performance: Implications for performance and neurotherapy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15540/nr.3.4.142Keywords:
math performance, anxiety, breathing, gasping, learningAbstract
This report of findings describes students’ self-reported difficulty and anxiety during test taking and the effect of deliberate gasping or diaphragmatic breathing on the ability to solve math problems. During the evaluation of an experiential classroom activity, 103 university students filled out a short questionnaire about performance anxiety and blanking out when taking exams. Then, they were asked to solve math problems while either gasping or slow diaphragmatic breathing. Students reported a high frequency of blanking out (mean = 5.3), difficulty during exams (mean = 6.7), and difficulty with math (mean = 6.2) on a scale from 1 (never) to 10 (always). The students reported significantly more difficulty in solving math problems when gasping than during slow breathing (p < .01) and significantly more anxiety during gasping (p < .01) than during slow breathing (p < .01) when solving math problems. Most students were completely surprised how their breathing patterns affected their ability to perform a simple math test. Numerous students have reported that when they implemented this slow breathing approach at the moment they felt anxiety, their anxiety slightly decreased and they would perform better on exams. Included are comments to improve study habits, memory consolidation, and how to incorporate somatic feedback of breathing patterns into learning and training within other settings such as during neurotherapy.
References
Arns, M., Heinrich, H., & Strehl, U. (2014). Evaluation of neurofeedback in ADHD: The long and winding road. Biological Psychology, 95, 108–115. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016 /j.biopsycho.2013.11.013
Arnsten, A., Mazure, C. M., & Sinha, R. (2012). This is your brain in meltdown. Scientific American, 306(4), 48–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0412-48
Barrows, J., Dunn, S., & Lloyd, C. A. (2013). Anxiety, self-efficacy, and college exam grades. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 1(3), 204–208. http://dx.doi.org/10.13189 /ujer.2013.010310
Cale, N., Fowler, C., & Rempfer, M. (2012). Test anxiety and learning potential in college students. Undergraduate Research Journal for the Human Sciences, 11(1), 1–5.
Cassady, J. C., & Johnson, R. E. (2002). Cognitive test anxiety and academic performance. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 27(2), 270–295. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006 /ceps.2001.1094
Cherif, A. H., Movahedzadeh, F., Adams, G. E., & Dunning, J. (2013). Why do students fail? Students’ Perspective. In A Collection of Papers on Self-Study and Institutional Improvement, pp. 35–51. Chicago, IL: The Higher Learning Commission.
Dahl, J., Brorson, L.-O., & Melin, L. (1992). Effects of a broad‐spectrum behavioral medicine treatment program on children with refractory epileptic seizures: An 8‐year follow‐up. Epilepsia, 33(1), 98–102. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1528-1157.1992.tb02289.x
David, P., Kim, J.-H., Brickman, J. S., Ran, W., & Curtis, C. M. (2015). Mobile phone distraction while studying. New Media & Society, 17(10), 1661–1679. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177 /1461444814531692
Dew, K. H., Galassi, J. P., & Galassi, M. D. (1984). Math anxiety: Relation with situational test anxiety, performance, physiological arousal, and math avoidance behavior. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 31(4), 580–583. http://dx.doi.org /10.1037/0022-0167.31.4.580
Fitkov-Norris, E. D., & Yeghiazarian, A. (2013). Measuring study habits in higher education: The way forward? Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 459(1), 1–6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/459/1/012022
Ford, C. V. (1983). The somatizing disorders: Illness as a way of life. New York, NY: Elsevier Science Ltd.
Fried, R. (1987). The hyperventilation syndrome: Research and clinical treatment. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press.
Hagenaars, M. A., Oitzl, M., & Roelofs, K. (2014). Updating freeze: Aligning animal and human research. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 47, 165–176. http://dx.doi.org /10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.07.021
Hodges, W. F. (2015). The psychophysiology of anxiety. In M. Zuckerman & C. D. Spielberger (Eds.), Emotions and Anxiety (PLE: Emotion): New Concepts, Methods, and Applications (pp. 175–194). New York: Psychology Press.
Holroyd, K. A., Westbrook, T., Wolf, M., & Badhorn, E. (1978). Performance, cognition, and physiological responding in test anxiety. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87(4), 442–451. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.87.4.442
Konishi, T. (1987). The standardization of hyperventilation on EEG recording in childhood II. The quantitative analysis of build-up. Brain & Development, 9(1), 21–25. http://dx.doi.org /10.1016/S0387-7604(87)80005-0
Lee, S., Sanchez, J., Peper, E., & Harvey, R. (2016, March). Effect of breathing style on math problem solving. Poster session presented at the 47th Annual Meeting of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, Seattle WA.
Lehrer, P. M., & Gevirtz, R. (2014). Heart rate variability biofeedback: How and why does it work? Frontiers in Psychology, 5(756), 1–9. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389 /fpsyg.2014.00756
Lin, I.-M., Ji, H.-J., Peper, E., & Chang, C.-F. (2014). Deer in headlights: The relationships between brain empty syndrome under stress and psychophysiological responses. The Journal of Kaohsiung Behavioral Sciences, 4, 115–140.
Matthews, G., Zeidner, M., & Roberts, R. D. (2006). Models of personality and affect for education: A review and synthesis. In P. A. Alexander, & P. H. Winne (Eds.), Handbook of Educational Psychology (2nd ed., pp. 163–186). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Neal, D. T., Wood, W., & Drolet, A. (2013). How do people adhere to goals when willpower is low? The profits (and pitfalls) of strong habits. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104(6), 959–975. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0032626
Nelson, D. W., & Knight, A. E. (2010). The power of positive recollections: Reducing test anxiety and enhancing college student efficacy and performance. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 40(3), 732–745. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2010.00595.x
Nie, Y., Lau, S., & Liau A. K. (2011). Role of academic self-efficacy in moderating the relation between task importance and test anxiety. Learning and Individual Differences, 21(6), 736–741. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2011.09.005
Peper, E. (2016, September 18). Do you blank out on exams? Improve school performance with breathing. Retrieved October 24, 2016, from https://peperperspective.com/2016/09 /18/do-you-freeze-up-breathe-and-improve-school-performance/
Porges, S. (2009). The polyvagal theory: New insights into adaptive reactions of the autonomic nervous system. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine, 76(Suppl. 2), S86–S90. http://dx.doi.org/10.3949/ccjm.76.s2.17
Sellgren, K. (2016). Teenagers ‘checking mobile phones in night.’ Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/education-37562259
Shaffer, F., McCraty, R., & Zerr, C. L. (2014). A healthy heart is not a metronome: An integrative review of the heart's anatomy and heart rate variability. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1040. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01040
Sink, K. S., Walker, D. L., Freeman, S. M., Flandreau, E. I., Ressler, K. J., & Davis, M. (2013). Effects of continuously enhanced corticotropin releasing factor expression within the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis on conditioned and unconditioned anxiety. Molecular Psychiatry, 18(3), 308–319. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/mp.2011.188
Spielberger, C. D., Anton, W. D., & Bedell, J. (2015). The nature and treatment of test anxiety. In M. Zuckerman & C. D. Spielberger (Eds.), Emotions and Anxiety: New Concepts, Methods, and Applications (pp. 317–344). New York: Psychology Press.
Stroebel, C. F. (1983). QR: The quieting reflex. Berkley Trade Pub.
Swingle, M. K. (2016). i-Minds: How cell phones, computers, gaming, and social media are changing our brains, our behavior, and the evolution of our species. Portland, OR: Inkwater Press.
Tatum, T., Lundervold, D. A., & Ament, P. (2006). Abbreviated upright behavioral relaxation training for test anxiety among college students: Initial results. International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy, 2(4), 475–480. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0101001
Timmons, B. H. (1994). Breathing-related issues in therapy. In B. H. Timmons & R. Ley (Eds.), Behavioral and Psychological Approaches to Breathing Disorders (pp. 261-292). New York: Plenum Press.
Valoriani, V., Lotti, F., Vanni, C., Noci, M.-C., Fontanarosa, N., Ferrari, G., … Noci, I. (2014). Hatha-yoga as a psychological adjuvant for women undergoing IVF: A pilot study. European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, 176, 158–162. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016 /j.ejogrb.2014.02.007
Von der Embse, N., Barterian, J., & Segool, N. (2013). Test anxiety interventions for children and adolescents: A systematic review of treatment studies from 2000–2010. Psychology in the Schools, 50(1), 57–71. http://dx.doi.org /10.1002/pits.21660
Whatmore, G. B., & Kohli, D. R. (1968). Dysponesis: A neurophysiology factor in functional disorders. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 13(2), 102–124. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bs.3830130203
Xhyheri, B., Manfrini, O., Mazzolini, M., Pizzi, C., & Bugiardini, R. (2012). Heart rate variability today. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 55(3), 321–331. http://dx.doi.org /10.1016/j.pcad.2012.09.001
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
