Investigating Stress Reduction Techniques

The purpose of this extra credit opportunity is for you to explore a behavioral technique that research has demonstrated is effective at controlling and reducing stress. Select one of the following methods to explore: Meditation Exercise  Mindfulness Progressive muscle relaxation Visualizations Autogenic training Healthy Diet Briefly explain what the method is and provide some evidence that this method reduces perceptions of stress and/or the physiology of stress (e.g., how does this activity effect the HPA axis, fight-flight response, norepinephrine/epinephrine, etc?). To do this, you will explore the world of primary psychology literature by finding a research study that performed an experiment using your method of interest. Briefly explain the hypothesis/goal of the research study, how the researchers tested their hypothesis, and the results (e.g., how did the behavioral technique influence stress perceptions or biological indicators of stress, like cortisol levels, heart rate, blood pressure, etc). Make sure to provide a link to the research paper you described. Research articles can be easily found using GoogleScholar or by searching our library database using key words (https://research.library.oakland.edu/sp/subjects/databases.php  use the search bar that says “find articles, books, and more…”).