Efficacy of yoga for caregivers of persons with dementia: An integrative review.
Scandinavian journal of caring sciences December 1, 2023 Suzanne Parkman, Jill Olausson 10 citations
Caring for a person with dementia at home can improve outcomes for the person but often leads to stress and self-neglect for the caregiver. Yoga, which includes postures, breathing, relaxation, and meditation, may help reduce these negative effects. An integrative review of four studies—two randomized controlled trials, a non-randomized intervention, and a pilot cohort—found that yoga may reduce stress, depression, and anxiety while improving quality of life, vitality, self-compassion, mindful attention, sleep quality, and diastolic blood pressure. Caregiver burden, systolic blood pressure, and heart rate showed no significant change. The evidence was moderate, with small samples, indicating a need for larger trials.