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.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
44
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.
The video was about the history of the Earth which encompasses the development of the planet Earth from its formation to the present day.
Heart Rate
Heart rate was derived from continuous heart rate recording, at a sampling rate of 1024 Hz, using an electrocardiogram (ECG) system
Time frame: up to 5 minutes
Heart Rate Variability
Heart rate variability was derived from continuous heart rate recording, at a sampling rate of 1024 Hz, using an electrocardiogram (ECG) system
Time frame: up to 5 minutes
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