A single session of hatha yoga improves stress reactivity and recovery after an acute psychological stress task-A counterbalanced, randomized-crossover trial in healthy individuals
Complementary therapies in medicine
Short Title:
Complement.Ther.Med.
Format:
Journal Article
Publication Date:
Nov 30, 2016
Pages:
120 - 126
Sources ID:
69846
Notes:
LR: 20180418; CI: Copyright (c) 2017; JID: 9308777; WI4X0X7BPJ (Hydrocortisone); OTO: NOTNLM; 2017/06/23 00:00 [received]; 2017/09/11 00:00 [revised]; 2017/10/27 00:00 [accepted]; 2017/11/21 06:00 [entrez]; 2017/11/21 06:00 [pubmed]; 2018/04/19 06:00 [medline]; ppublishLR: 20180418; CI: Copyright (c) 2017; JID: 9308777; WI4X0X7BPJ (Hydrocortisone); OTO: NOTNLM; 2017/06/23 00:00 [received]; 2017/09/11 00:00 [revised]; 2017/10/27 00:00 [accepted]; 2017/11/21 06:00 [entrez]; 2017/11/21 06:00 [pubmed]; 2018/04/19 06:00 [medline]; ppublish
Collection:
Yoga-Based Interventions for Stress and Anxiety
Visibility:
Public (group default)
Abstract:
(Show)
OBJECTIVES: Yoga is promoted as an anti-stress activity, however, little is known about the mechanisms through which it acts. The present study investigated the acute effects of a hatha yoga session, displayed on a video, on the response to and recovery from an acute psychological stressor. METHODS: Twenty-four healthy young adults took part in a counterbalanced, randomized-crossover trial, with a yoga and a control condition (watching TV). Participants attended the laboratory in the afternoon on two days and each session comprised a baseline, control or yoga task, stress task and recovery. Blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR) and salivary cortisol responses were measured. State cognitive- and somatic-anxiety along with self-confidence were assessed before and after the stressor. RESULTS: Although no difference in the BP or HR responses to stress were found between conditions, systolic BP (p=0.047) and diastolic BP (p=0.018) recovery from stress were significantly accelerated and salivary cortisol reactivity was significantly lower (p=0.01) in the yoga condition. A yoga session also increased self-confidence (p=0.006) in preparation for the task and after completion. Moreover, self-confidence reported after the stress task was considered debilitative towards performance in the control condition, but remained facilitative in the yoga condition. CONCLUSION: Our results show that a single video-instructed session of hatha yoga was able to improve stress reactivity and recovery from an acute stress task in healthy individuals. These positive preliminary findings encourage further investigation in at-risk populations in which the magnitude of effects may be greater, and support the use of yoga for stress reactivity and recovery.