Mixture of essential fatty acids lowers test anxiety

Abstract

Test anxiety is an incapacitating academic syndrome. This study shows that administration of a polyunsaturated fatty acid mixture of omega-3 and -6 can improve the behavioral variables associated with this type of anxiety, i.e. appetite, mood, mental concentration, fatigue, academic organization and poor sleep, as well as lowering elevated cortisol level, with a corresponding reduction of anxiety.

Is there a role forn-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in the regulation of mood and behaviour? A review of the evidence to date from epidemiological studies, clinical studies and intervention trials

“…Of these studies, Behan et al (120) found decreases in fatigue following supplementation with EPA þ DHA compared with placebo in sixty-three individuals diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, Fontani et al (118) found decreases following supplementation with EPA þ DHA compared with placebo in thirty-three healthy volunteers, and Yehuda et al (144) found decreases in fatigue following supplementation with ALA þ n-6PUFA compared with placebo in 126 individuals suffering from test anxiety. Benefits of n-3PUFA supplementation for individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome have also been reported in several individual cases (147) .…”

“…Ness et al (117) measured anxiety following advice to eat fish or supplementation with EPA in a large sample (n 452) of angina sufferers, Fontani et al (118) measured anxiety following supplementation with EPA þ DHA þ other n-3PUFA in thirty-three healthy volunteers, Rogers et al (119) measured anxiety following supplementation with EPA þ DHA in 218 individuals with mild -moderate depressed mood, Fux et al (125) studied anxiety and obsessive-compulsive behaviour following E-EPA in eleven individuals diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, and Yehuda et al (144) studied mood and organisational abilities following supplementation with ALA in a group of 126 test anxiety sufferers. Improvements following treatment compared with placebo were found in two studies (118,144) , but no benefits of treatment compared with placebo were found in the other three studies (117,119,125) .…”

“…Five studies have included measurement of fatigue following n-3PUFA supplementation compared with placebo (113,118,120,121,144) . Of these studies, Behan et al (120) found decreases in fatigue following supplementation with EPA þ DHA compared with placebo in sixty-three individuals diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, Fontani et al (118) found decreases following supplementation with EPA þ DHA compared with placebo in thirty-three healthy volunteers, and Yehuda et al (144) found decreases in fatigue following supplementation with ALA þ n-6PUFA compared with placebo in 126 individuals suffering from test anxiety.…”

Evaluation of Omega-3 on lipid Profile and Biochemical Parameters on Wister Rats

“…Many secondary plantmetabolites have been reported to possess lipid-lowering properties (Sharma, S.B., et al, 2003;Yehuda, et al, 2005).…”

Test anxiety in school-age children: An examination of a national epidemic

“…In a 2013 study (Yehuda, Rabinovitz & Mostofsky, 2013), a correlation was demonstrated between the consumption of essential fatty acids and a reduction in test anxiety. The use of biofeedback in Bradley's et al (2010) study noted a correlation between biofeedback participants and reduced test anxiety.…”