Recreational Yoga and Emotional-Autonomic Health in Older Adults

January 6, 2026 updated by: Hüseyin Gümüş, Mersin University

THE RHYTHM OF CALM: EFFECTS OF RECREATIONAL YOGA ON EMOTIONAL AND AUTONOMIC HEALTH AMONG NURSING HOME RESIDENTS

Older adults living in nursing homes often experience depression, reduced satisfaction with daily activities, and changes in heart rhythm related to the autonomic nervous system. Non-drug approaches that are safe and easy to apply may help improve both emotional well-being and physical health in this population.

This randomized controlled study investigates the effects of a recreational therapy-based yoga program on emotional health and autonomic nervous system function in nursing home residents aged 65 years and older. Participants are randomly assigned to either a yoga intervention group or a control group. The yoga group participates in supervised yoga sessions twice a week for 10 weeks, including gentle yoga postures, breathing exercises, relaxation, and meditation. The control group does not receive any structured intervention during the study period.

Depression levels, leisure time satisfaction, and heart rate variability are measured before and after the intervention. Heart rate variability is used as an indicator of autonomic nervous system regulation. The study aims to determine whether recreational yoga can be a safe, low-cost, and effective non-pharmacological approach to improve emotional well-being and autonomic health among older adults living in nursing homes.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

36

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Aged 65 years or older.
  • Living in a nursing home.
  • Able to communicate and follow instructions.
  • Voluntary participation with signed informed consent.
  • Available to participate in the 10-week study protocol

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Participation in therapy-based practices (e.g., yoga, reiki, massage) within the last month.
  • Being bedridden.
  • Use of psychiatric medications.
  • Irregular participation in the 10-week yoga program.
  • Failure to complete pre-test or post-test assessments

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Recreational Yoga Intervention Group
Participants in this group take part in a recreational therapy-based yoga program conducted twice weekly for 10 weeks. Each session lasts approximately 40-60 minutes and includes gentle yoga postures, breathing exercises, relaxation techniques, and meditation. The yoga program is designed to be safe and appropriate for older adults living in a nursing home and is supervised throughout the intervention period.
Behavioral: Recreational Therapy-Based Yoga
The yoga intervention consists of supervised group sessions including relaxation exercises, basic and progressive yoga postures (asanas), breathing exercises, and meditation. Sessions are held twice per week for 10 weeks. Supportive equipment such as chairs, cushions, blocks, and towels is used to ensure participant comfort and minimize injury risk.
No Intervention: Control Group
Participants in the control group do not receive any structured exercise or recreational intervention during the study period and continue their usual daily activities within the nursing home.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Depression Level
Time Frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the 10-week intervention period
Depression levels are assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15), a validated self-report questionnaire for older adults. Higher scores indicate greater depressive symptoms.
Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the 10-week intervention period
Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
Time Frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the 10-week intervention period
Autonomic nervous system function is evaluated using heart rate variability parameters measured with a chest-worn heart rate monitor. Time-domain, frequency-domain, and non-linear HRV parameters are analyzed to assess sympathetic and parasympathetic activity.
Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the 10-week intervention period

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Mersin University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

June 10, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 15, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 6, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 6, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

January 14, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 14, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 6, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • MU Ethics Committee 2023/020

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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