Therapeutic Breathing Techniques and Disparity across Student Performance in English and Mathematics

Abstract

This paper explores possible correlation between Therapeutic Breathing Techniques (TBT) and improved academic performance of low achieving students in elementary school. The intervention consisted of daily breathing exercises combining two forms of TBT, namely, deep breathing and alternate nostril breathing.  A semester-long quantitative study with85 second graders was conducted to investigate the impact of above intervention on English and mathematics scores. Following one semester of intervention, the gaps between the low and high achievers had narrowed and small but significant gain-scores were found for the low achievers who had practiced TBT.  In contrast, in first and third grades, where neither low achievers nor high achievers received the treatment, the gap between the low and high achievers widened slightly. The findings indicate the need to further investigate the potential merit of therapeutic breathing exercises as a low-cost intervention strategy for improving school performance and addressing achievement gaps, especially in mathematics.