The Effect of Hatha Yoga on Mental Health

A Comparison of Hatha Yoga and Mediation on Mental Health Outcomes.

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine the effects of a 10-week (2x a week; 45-minute per session) Hatha yoga intervention in adults ages 18-25 (n = 45) on mental health outcomes. The main questions it aims to answer are:

What is the effect of a hatha yoga intervention on depression and anxiety symptoms?

What is the effect of a hatha yoga intervention on electroencephalogram (EEG) alpha and theta band power?

What is the effect of hatha yoga intervention on heart rate variability?

Participants will be randomized to three groups: waitlist control (usual routine), Hatha yoga (experimental group), and meditation (active comparative group). Participants in the Hatha yoga experimental group will attend 10 weeks of twice-weekly 45-minute yoga sessions.

The active comparison meditation group will participate in 10 weeks of twice-weekly 45-minute meditation sessions. The control group will continue with their usual routine.

Researchers will compare changes in depression and anxiety symptoms, EEG alpha and theta band power, and heart rate variability between the three groups.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Depression; Anxiety; Mental Health Issue
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Yoga

Detailed Description

There are knowledge gaps that need to be addressed in understanding the effects of yoga, specifically long-term interventions, on physiological markers, electroencephalography (EEG) and heart rate variability (HRV) and elevated mental health symptoms in young adults. The present study will address the knowledge gaps by evaluating the effect of a 10-week (2x a week; 45-minute per session) Hatha yoga intervention in adults ages 18-25 (n = 45). Participants will be truly randomized to three groups: waitlist control (usual routine), Hatha yoga (experimental group), and meditation (active comparative group). This design will allow the investigators to determine the effects of Hatha yoga on relevant outcome measures. Changes in depression symptoms (BDI), anxiety symptoms (BAI), EEG alpha and theta band power, heart rate variability indices (RMSSD, LF/HF) will be assessed. Compared to the control group, investigators hypothesize that both the Hatha yoga and meditation groups will exhibit an improvement in depression and anxiety symptoms, an increased alpha and theta band power at rest, and an increased RMSSD and decreased LF/HF at rest. Moreover, the investigators hypothesize that the Hatha yoga group will improve body composition, flexibility, muscular endurance and strength, and cardiovascular recovery more than the meditation group.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 45
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Alabama
    • Auburn, Alabama, United States, 36849
      • Auburn University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 35 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Ages 18-35
• Medically healthy to participate in physical activity as determined by the Physical Activity Reading Questionnaire (PAR-Q)
• Concerned about or experiencing heightened anxiety, depression, and/or stress symptoms

Exclusion Criteria:

• Those with diagnosed with an intellectual or developmental disability, currently diagnosed with a concussion, physically unhealthy to participate in physical activity
• Anyone currently taking beta-blockers

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control- No Intervention/treatment; Participants in the control group will maintain their usual daily routine. The participants will complete the pre-test, 10 weeks of normal daily activities, and post-test. No changes to their daily schedule will be made by the researcher.
Active Comparator: Active Comparator- 10-week, 2x/week, 45-minute sessions of guided meditation; The active comparator meditation group will complete a 10-week meditation yoga intervention (2x/week, 45 minutes per session). Each session will consist of yogic breathing, imagery, and meditation, specifically with a focus on each of the yogic limbs. The yogic limbs that will be incorporated during the meditation intervention are yamas, niyamas, pranayamas, and sense withdrawal/meditative techniques.	Behavioral: Yoga; Participation in Hatha Yoga twice a week for 45 minutes for 10 weeks. The total potential dose is 900 minutes over the course of the intervention.
Experimental: Experimental- 10-week, 2x/week, 45-minute Hatha yoga sessions; The experimental hatha yoga group will complete a 10-week yoga intervention (2x/week, 45 minutes per session). Each session will consist of a centering, integration, awakening, vitality, equanimity, grounding, igniting, opening, release, and deep rest; all of which are specific hatha yoga practice sections. This group will complete the pre-test and post-test measures.	Behavioral: Yoga; Participation in Hatha Yoga twice a week for 45 minutes for 10 weeks. The total potential dose is 900 minutes over the course of the intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
EEG	Frontal (F7/F8) and Temporoparietal (TP9/TP10) Alpha and Theta EEG power. 5-minute recording at rest; measured using the MUSE-2 system and Mind Monitor application.	10 weeks
Heart rate variability	Root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) and low-frequency/high-frequency ratio (LF/HF) indices of heart rate variability (HRV), 5-minute recording at rest; measured using the Polar H8/H9 HR monitors and HRVLogger application.	10 weeks
Depression	Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI) scores as measured by the Beck's Depression Inventory	10 weeks
Anxiety	Beck's Anxiety Inventory (BAI) scores as measured by the Beck's Anxiety Inventory	10 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Blood Pressure	Resting blood pressure will be assessed with a automatic blood pressure cuff.	10 weeks
Body Fat Percentage	• Body Composition as measured by changes in body fat percentage (ratio of lean mass to fat mass)	10 weeks
Flexbility	Changes in shoulder and hamstring flexibility assessed with the Fitnessgram.	10 weeks
Muscular Endurance	Changes in push-up fitnessgram tests	10 weeks
Aerobic capacity	3-minute YMCA step-test which will be an index of aerobic capacity	10 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Auburn University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 9, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 12, 2022
• Study Completion (Anticipated): August 1, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 9, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 9, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): March 20, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 20, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 9, 2023
• Last Verified: March 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Depression
• Other Study ID Numbers: Yoga RCT

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Individual participant data will not be shared.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No