The Effect of Hatha Yoga on Mental Health

Depression Clinical Trial

Official title:

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

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Active, not recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05777044
• Other study ID #: Yoga RCT
• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: September 9, 2022
• Est. completion date: August 1, 2023

Study information

• Verified date: March 2023
• Source: Auburn University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

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.

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.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Enrollment: 45
• Est. completion date: August 1, 2023
• Est. primary completion date: November 12, 2022
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 35 Years

Eligibility

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

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Mental Health Issue

Intervention

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.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Auburn University	Auburn	Alabama

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Auburn University

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	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
Primary	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
Primary	Depression	Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI) scores as measured by the Beck's Depression Inventory	10 weeks
Primary	Anxiety	Beck's Anxiety Inventory (BAI) scores as measured by the Beck's Anxiety Inventory	10 weeks
Secondary	Blood Pressure	Resting blood pressure will be assessed with a automatic blood pressure cuff.	10 weeks
Secondary	Body Fat Percentage	• Body Composition as measured by changes in body fat percentage (ratio of lean mass to fat mass)	10 weeks
Secondary	Flexbility	Changes in shoulder and hamstring flexibility assessed with the Fitnessgram.	10 weeks
Secondary	Muscular Endurance	Changes in push-up fitnessgram tests	10 weeks
Secondary	Aerobic capacity	3-minute YMCA step-test which will be an index of aerobic capacity	10 weeks