Effect of Muscle Relaxation Training as a Function of Improvement in Attentiveness in Children

Sixty-four primary school going boys of the Indian sub-continent in the age range of 9-12 years having high trait anxiety and attention-deficits, volunteered as the participants in this experiment. Half of them were recruited from residential academic institution in Bangladesh, while their counterparts were selected from identical residential academic institution in India. For the experiment proper, in both of the set-ups participants were categorised into two groups, viz. Gr. A (Control group, not exposed to any intervention program) and Gr. B (Experimental group, received Abbreviated version of Progressive Muscle Relaxation – (APMR training). Both groups were subjected to the pre-intervention assessment of attentive capacity, electrical muscle potentiality and different variables of skin conductance measure (as indices of heightened emotionality). Thereafter Gr. B boys were introduced to the training of APMR (monitored training of APMR for 15 min.s/day; three days/week) for a period of two months during the afternoon sessions under the guidance of a qualified and trained instructor. Post-intervention assessment and follow up assessment (after two months), on all the aforesaid variables however revealed that in both of the set-ups (in Bangladesh as well as in India) training and subsequent monitored long-term practice of APMR was found effective in reducing anxiety level and in developing better attentive capacity in the children of the both of the countries, who were exposed to the respective intervention. Improvement in frontalis muscle tension and in the basal skin conductance level along with higher autonomic habituation as an impact of long-term and regulated APMR training was suggested as facilitator of sustainable improvement in attentive capacity in the children.