Drowsy students can keep themselves more alert in class by
using self-applied acupressure, a new study reports.
"Our finding suggests that acupressure can change alertness
in people who are in classroom settings for a full day -- which
would be very good news for students who have trouble staying
alert at school," Richard E. Harris said in a prepared statement.
He is a research investigator in the rheumatology division at
the University of Michigan Medical School's Department of Internal
Medicine, and a researcher at U-M Health System's Chronic Pain
and Fatigue Research Center.
Harris' team's study of 39 student volunteers found that those
who were taught to self-administer acupressure to stimulation
points on their legs, feet, hands and heads were less likely
to be sleepy during class. The acupressure consisted of light
tapping of fingers or using thumbs or forefingers to lightly
massage the stimulation points.
"The study showed that a stimulation acupressure regimen leads
to a statistically significant reduction in sleepiness compared
to an acupressure regimen that focuses on relaxation," Harris
said.
The study was published in the Journal of Alternative and
Complementary Medicine.
"The idea that acupressure can have effects on human alertness
needs more study, including research that can examine the scope
of influence acupressure can have on alertness and fatigue,"
Harris noted. "Ideally, research in the future will help us
determine whether acupressure also can have an impact on performance
in the classroom as well."
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