The mental health benefits of Yoga: better sleep, reduced depression and more

Tuesday, July 9, 2024.

Yoga offers numerous mental health benefits in addition to its well-known physical advantages.

This is largely due to yoga's meditative aspect, which encourages participants to focus on their breathing.

One of the most popular styles in the West is Hatha yoga, an ancient practice that involves a series of postures, meditation, and focused breathing.

Despite the meaning of "Hatha" as "force" or "violence," the movements in this form of yoga are typically gentle and easy to learn.

Here are 9 significant mental health benefits of yoga:

1. Improved Sleep and Reduced Depression

Yoga can enhance both sleep quality and depression symptoms, according to a review of 22 studies (Sivaramakrishna et al., 2019). Participants who practiced yoga reported feeling more energetic and experienced better overall mental health.

These benefits were observed regardless of the yoga program's duration, which ranged from one to seven months with sessions lasting between 30 and 90 minutes.

In comparison to no exercise, yoga showed significant improvements in depression, sleep quality, balance, flexibility, leg strength, and overall mental and physical health. Even when compared to light exercise like walking, yoga proved superior in improving depression and lower body strength and flexibility.

2. Enhanced Body Image

Practicing yoga positively affects body image, with 83% of participants in one study reporting improved feelings about their bodies (Neumark-Sztainer et al., 2018).

This sense of accomplishment and self-confidence can help combat body dissatisfaction, which is linked to weight gain and psychological issues like eating disorders.

3. Elevated Mood

Yoga increases levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a neurotransmitter that helps regulate nerve activity and can improve mood. A study led by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine found that practicing yoga for an hour-and-a-half over twelve weeks boosted GABA levels more than a comparable amount of walking (Streeter et al., 2010).

Low GABA levels are associated with low mood and increased anxiety.

4. Brain Health

Yoga enhances brain structures similar to those improved by aerobic exercise, including the hippocampus, which is crucial for memory (Gothe et al., 2019).

Additionally, yoga practitioners have larger amygdalae and cingulate cortices, both of which are part of the limbic system that regulates emotions. Brain scans also suggest increased efficiency in the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in decision-making, planning, and self-control.

5. Long-Term Depression Relief

For folks with persistent depression, yoga can be beneficial. A study found that while medication and psychotherapy are effective, yoga can offer additional improvements in depression symptoms over time (Uebelacker et al., 2017).

Participants taking antidepressants experienced better social functioning and less physical pain after attending weekly yoga classes for three to six months.

6. Sharper Mind

A single 20-minute session of yoga can sharpen the mind more than a comparable amount of walking or jogging, according to a study by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Gothe et al., 2013).

Participants who practiced yoga performed better on cognitive tests, highlighting yoga's remarkable mental benefits.

7. Enhanced Emotional and Habit Control

Just 25 minutes of yoga or meditation daily can boost cognitive functions, helping people control their habits, emotions, and goal-setting abilities (Luu & Hall, 2017).

Dr. Peter Hall, one of the study's authors, explained that focusing on breathing and posing can reduce the processing of nonessential information, improving everyday focus.

8. Improved Immune System

Three months of yoga practice can reduce inflammation and fatigue in breast cancer survivors (Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2014). Even three months after the practice ended, participants reported 57% less fatigue and 20% less inflammation compared to a non-yoga group. The yoga practitioners had lower levels of inflammation markers such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1B), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a).

9. Enhanced Memory and Attention

Older adults who practiced Hatha yoga three times a week for eight weeks showed significant improvements in memory and attention (Gothe et al., 2014). Compared to a control group performing stretching and toning exercises, the yoga group exhibited faster reaction times and better accuracy in cognitive tests.

Final thoughts

Yoga's benefits to mental health are multifaceted, involving meditation, breathing, stretching, and strengthening.

Professor Janice Kiecolt-Glaser notes that improved sleep could be a key mechanism behind yoga's positive effects, as better sleep may reduce inflammation and fatigue, enabling participants to engage in other activities. Yoga had demonstrably beneficial effects on cancer patients. That is perhaps the most urgent benefit on this list.

Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.

REFERENCES:

Gothe, N., Pontifex, M. B., Hillman, C. H., & McAuley, E. (2013). The acute effects of yoga on executive function. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 10(4), 488-495.

Gothe, N., Pontifex, M. B., Hillman, C. H., & McAuley, E. (2014). The effect of acute yoga exercise on cognitive performance. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 11(4), 889-898.

Gothe, N. P., Kramer, A. F., & McAuley, E. (2019). Hatha yoga practice improves attention and processing speed in older adults: Results from an 8-week randomized control trial. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 16(4), 338-344.

Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Bennett, J. M., Andridge, R., Peng, J., Shapiro, C. L., Malarkey, W. B., & Glaser, R. (2014). Yoga's impact on inflammation, mood, and fatigue in breast cancer survivors: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 32(10), 1040-1049.

Luu, K., & Hall, P. A. (2017). Hatha yoga and executive function: A systematic review. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 14(1), 58-65.

Neumark-Sztainer, D., MacLehose, R. F., Watts, A. W., Pacanowski, C. R., & Eisenberg, M. E. (2018). Yoga and body image: Findings from a large population-based study of young adults. Body Image, 24, 8-14.

Sivaramakrishna, D., Rao, M. R., Nagarathna, R., Patil, S., & Nagendra, H. R. (2019). The effect of yoga on sleep quality and depression in the elderly: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 113, 192-203.

Streeter, C. C., Whitfield, T. H., Owen, L., Rein, T., Karri, S. K., Yakhkind, A., ... & Jensen, J. E. (2010). Effects of yoga versus walking on mood, anxiety, and brain GABA levels: A randomized controlled MRS study. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 16(11), 1145-1152.

Uebelacker, L. A., Broughton, M. K., Weisberg, R. B., Lynch, T. R., & Epstein-Lubow, G. (2017). Hatha yoga for depression: Critical review of the evidence for efficacy, plausible mechanisms of action, and directions for future research. Journal of Psychiatric Practice, 23(3), 207-217.