The influence of hatha yoga on stress, anxiety, and suppression: A randomized controlled trial.

An eight-week Hatha Yoga program for healthy yoga novices aged 18 to 40 reduced self-reported stress and stress reactivity and increased mindfulness, compared to a waitlist control group. However, the intervention did not significantly change state or trait anxiety, nor did it improve participants' ability to suppress distractions. The stress reductions were not explained by changes in distractor suppression, which remained unaffected. The findings suggest that regular Hatha Yoga practice can improve certain mental health outcomes without directly altering cognitive functions related to distraction suppression.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Engaging in yoga may mitigate stress and anxiety in individuals while potentially enhancing one's capacity to manage distractions. Our research aimed to explore the relation between these two outcomes: Can an eight-week yoga program foster distraction suppression, thereby reducing stress and discomfort? To answer this question, we used Hatha Yoga, the most commonly practiced form of yoga. We tested if the intervention improved participants' ability to suppress distractions and selectively decrease self-reported stress and stress reactivity. In Addition, we investigated whether such an intervention would increase participants' mindfulness. Our study included 98 healthy yoga novices between 18 and 40 years who were randomly assigned to either an experimental or a waitlist condition, with each participant completing pre- and post-intervention assessments, including questionnaires, as well as electrophysiological and behavioral measures. After eight weeks of yoga practice, significant reductions in self-reported stress and stress reactivity levels, as well as increased mindfulness, were observed among those participating in the intervention relative to those in the waitlist control group. There were, however, no significant changes in state or trait anxiety due to the intervention. Changes in stress measures could not be explained by changes in participants' ability to suppress distractors, which was not affected by the intervention. Overall, our findings suggest that regular participation in Hatha Yoga can improve mental health outcomes without impacting cognitive functioning directly related to distractor suppression. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05232422.