Effect of 1-month laughter yoga training on verbal working memory in visually impaired schoolchildren
Anchal Sharma, Moradhvaj SinghAbstract
BACKGROUND:
This study investigates the influence of a 1-month laughter yoga training program on the verbal working memory (WM) of visually impaired schoolchildren. Verbal WM plays a pivotal role in cognitive development, particularly for individuals with visual impairments who rely heavily on auditory information for learning and navigation. Verbal memory is essential for language acquisition, comprehension of instructions, and retention of academic content. Enhancing verbal memory is fundamental to visually impaired children’s educational and social development. Regular yoga practice has been associated with cognitive benefits, including memory enhancement, making it a potential intervention to enhance verbal memory in this population.
METHODOLOGY:
The study was conducted on 20 children at a local school for students with special needs in Noida, India. Data were collected using the listening span test, involving pre- and posttests for these children.
RESULTS:
The results of this study indicate that the verbal WM scores of children in the experimental group (
CONCLUSION:
This study demonstrates that 1-month laughter yoga training can effectively enhance verbal WM in visually impaired schoolchildren. This finding highlights the potential of laughter yoga as a beneficial cognitive intervention for this demographic.