Effects of Yoga on Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability Responses to Stress

NCT ID: NCT04897230

Last Updated: 2021-05-21

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 44 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2013-09-01
• Study Completion Date: 2015-03-30

Brief Summary

Introduction: Yoga has been shown to reduce stress and have benefits for a number of stress-related disorders. However, the effects of an acute bout of yoga practice on cardiac autonomic response to and recovery from stress remain unclear. This study aimed to examine the effect of a single bout of yoga on heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) response to and recovery from mental stress.

Materials and Methods: This study was conducted with a randomized, counterbalanced, crossover design. A total of 44 participants completed two sessions (yoga and video watching (VW)) in randomly assigned order. After each condition, participants underwent a Stroop task and mental arithmetic task. Electrocardiogram was measured and HR and HRV for resting, each condition, and the stress and recovery periods were analyzed.

Conditions

Cardiovascular Reactivity to Stress

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Primary Study Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Hatha Yoga Condition

An experienced yoga instructor led the 30 minutes yoga condition session which consisted of 5 minutes warm up, 5 minutes breathing exercises, and 20 minutes yoga poses practice. The yoga props were used according to each participant's particular body type and needs to help he/she achieve precise yoga postures safely and comfortably.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Hatha Yoga

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

The yoga poses were chosen for providing a restorative session based on their purported relationship to restorative effects to best promote cardiac autonomic recovery from mental stress.

Control Condition

Participants in the control condition were watching a neutral video on a television.

Group Type: PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Video Watching

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

The video was about the history of the Earth which encompasses the development of the planet Earth from its formation to the present day.

Interventions

Hatha Yoga

The yoga poses were chosen for providing a restorative session based on their purported relationship to restorative effects to best promote cardiac autonomic recovery from mental stress.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Video Watching

The video was about the history of the Earth which encompasses the development of the planet Earth from its formation to the present day.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• aged between 20 and 40 years old
• a body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 30
• being sedentary

Exclusion Criteria

• Electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities (e.g., arrhythmia, atrioventricular blocks)
• history of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or renal disease
• contraindications for exercise (e.g., orthopedic problems)
• involvement in any yoga practice
• being pregnant or nursing
• use of tobacco products or medications that may affect cardiovascular function

• Minimum Eligible Age: 20 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 40 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Other Identifiers

KMUH-IRB-20120375

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id