Psychophysiological effects of several stress management techniques

The purpose of this study was to assess the psychophysiological stress-reducing properties of progressive relaxation compared with hypnosis, and deep abdominal breathing compared with a baseline condition, while controlling for hypnotizability. 231 nursing students experienced the baseline procedure and progressive relaxation in Session 1 and deep abdominal breathing and hypnosis in Session 2 about a week later. Before and after each technique peripheral skin temperature and pulse rate were assessed. Separate analyses of variance, computed for the first and second sets of techniques, indicated that progressive relaxation and hypnosis both increased skin temperature and reduced pulse rate, suggesting reduced psychophysiological responsivity. Deep abdominal breathing was associated with a significant reduction in physiological responsivity (skin temperature) relative to baseline. Hypnotic susceptibility had no effect on the psychophysiological measures.