With the chaos of our everyday lives, it’s easy to neglect mental health. However, focusing on mental health can do wonders for our overall well-being. Practicing yoga on a regular basis is a great way to care for your mental health. This practice is safe and highly accessible to anyone. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of yoga on mental health.
Relieves depressive symptoms
Recent research indicates that hot yoga could put depression into remission. A study found that just one session of hot yoga per week led to a significant decrease in symptoms compared to no treatment. In the study, 80 participants with major depression were analyzed over a period of eight weeks. The participants were split into two groups. One group received 80 minutes of hot yoga per week. The other group did not receive any treatment. Two-thirds of people in the hot yoga group had a reduction in depression symptoms. Forty-four percent of people in the hot yoga group experienced such a reduction in symptoms that they were considered to be in remission.
Improves anxiety
A large body of evidence supports the fact that yoga can help with anxiety. A study led by scientists with the NYU Grossman School of Medicine found that yoga can help improve symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). In the study, 226 women and men with GAD were placed into one of three groups —yoga, stress management, or CBT. The researchers found that yoga was an effective treatment for generalized anxiety disorder, as well as cognitive-behavioral therapy. Both interventions were shown to be more effective than stress management.
Leads to a more restful sleep
Regular yoga practice is correlated with better sleep. Yoga helps sleep by reducing arousal, anxiety, and stress. Studies have found that the more you practice yoga, the less likely you are to experience insomnia and other sleep problems. Even if you don’t have difficulty falling asleep, yoga can help you get a more restful, restorative sleep.
One study looked at the impact of yoga and breathing practice on sleep. Twenty people in the study did yoga every night before going to bed. After eight weeks, it was found that the participants slept, on average, 36 minutes longer than those who did not do yoga. They also woke up less during the night compared to control subjects.
Can help people with post-traumatic stress disorder heal
Regular yoga practice fosters a connection between the mind and the body. This can help some people with PTSD overcome the disorder. People with PTSD are often in a heightened state of arousal. They may commonly experience fight or flight syndrome even when there is no danger. Yoga helps calm this response. Yoga can reduce blood pressure, lower heart rate, and increase feelings of relaxation. These things all help counteract the fight-or-flight response.
In one study, patients who had PTSD experienced significantly improved PTSD symptoms after practicing yoga for just three months. The improvements were found to be equivalent to cognitive processing therapy, which is the gold standard for PTSD.
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