How Body Awareness Promotes Mental Health During Yoga and Physical Exercise

Stress Clinical Trial

Official title:

How Body Awareness Promotes Mental Health During Yoga and Physical Exercise

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03553745
• Other study ID #: 2017P001710
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: March 1, 2018
• Est. completion date: February 23, 2021

Study information

• Verified date: February 2021
• Source: Massachusetts General Hospital
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The integrity of interoceptive networks is linked to resilience against depressive symptoms, whereas degradation of these networks is linked to apathy and deficits in emotion processing. The goal of this study is to compare two major styles of yoga and cardiovascular exercise through a 10-week training program to promote interoceptive awareness. The researchers hypothesize that improvement in affective symptomatology will be correlated with better interoceptive development. Changes in mood related symptoms and interoception will be assessed at baseline, week 12 and week 14, in a cohort of adults aged 18-55.

Description:

A recent annual survey of U.S. college freshman has found consistently declining levels of emotional health over the past 25 years. Exposure to such stress can have profound longitudinal effects on well being, influencing risk for disease later in life. Physical exercise is linked to benefits across a variety of physical and psychological domains. While the affective and physiological consequences of exercise are well-documented, how they work to improve subjective well-being is unclear. It has been suggested that exercise promotes well-being by increasing interoception. The integrity of interoceptive networks is linked to resilience against depressive symptoms, whereas degradation of these networks is linked to apathy and deficits in emotion processing. The goal of this study is to compare two major styles of yoga and cardiovascular exercise through a 10-week training program to promote interoceptive awareness. The researchers hypothesize that improvement in affective symptomatology will be correlated with better interoceptive development. Changes in mood related symptoms and interoception will be assessed at baseline, week 12 and week 14, in a cohort of adults aged 18-55.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 71
• Est. completion date: February 23, 2021
• Est. primary completion date: February 23, 2021
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 55 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18-55 years of age
• Have negative mood symptoms (depression, anxiety, stress)
• Is healthy and independent enough in daily life to attend study classes

Exclusion Criteria:

• Pregnant women or women who are planning to become pregnant during the study period
• History of structural brain disease, mass lesion, stroke, epilepsy
• History of addictive disorder or significant substance abuse
• Neurological disorders or reversible causes of dementia
• Suicidality or history of psychosis
• Currently attending regular yoga or aerobic exercise practice, or participated in more than 6 formal meditation, aerobic, or yoga classes in the past 12 months
• Self-reported cognitive impairment and other disorders which may preclude safe participation in the program including acute major depression, bipolar or severe personality disorder

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Depression
• Mild Depression
• Negative Thoughts
• Stress

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Gentle Yoga Intervention
10-week exercise program structured around gentle yoga practice.
• Rigorous Yoga Intervention
10-week exercise program structured around rigorous yoga practice.
• Physical Exercise Intervention
10-week exercise program structured around cardiovascular exercise.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Massachusetts General Hospital	Boston	Massachusetts

Sponsors (3)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Massachusetts General Hospital	University of Toronto, Yoga Science Foundation

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Change in Interoceptive Acuity	Interoceptive acuity will be assessed at baseline, week 12 and week 14. Data collection at three time points will be used to assess changes in interoceptive acuity over the timeline.	14 weeks
Secondary	Peripheral Inflammatory Markers of Stress by collecting Dried Blood Spot (DBS)	Dried Blood Spot (DBS) will be collected at baseline, week 12 and week 14. This will be used to assess changes in levels of peripheral markers of inflammation (C-reactive protein, cytokines [IL-6]) in the blood as an indicator of stress.	14 weeks