Changes in pulmonary function test in healthy medical students after short term practice of sdb

The beneficial effects of Yoga besides its spiritual achievements are now well known in medical fraternity. “Pranayama” i.e. is the conscious voluntary regulation of breathing is the fourth stage of the ‘Patanjali’s Ashthanga Yoga’ by which a balance between Sympathetic and Parasympathetic activity can be achieved. Object of this study was to find out whether the Slow Deep Breathing exercise for short duration can have any effect on Pulmonary function test or not.The study was conducted among 31 male and female medical students in the department. All had undergone slow breathing exercise for 20 minutes each day for a month and pulmonary function test was done by computerized spirometer in the beginning of the study and after one month. The recorded data were statistically interpreted by SPSS which showed a Significant increase (p ≤ 0.05) in FVC, PEFR, FEF25-75% and FEV1/FVC ratio after breathing exercise. The study shows the significant increase in almost all of the Lung function parameter. If the exercise is performed for longer duration in regular way, it can improve the lung functions and can help in treating different lung diseases as a sole or adjunct therapy.