Depressive Symptoms May Be Alleviated by Heated Yoga
Hyperthermic yoga shows promise in treating individuals with depression, according to a recent study. Findings were presented by Maren Nyer, PhD, and colleagues on August 3, 2017, at the 125th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in Washington, DC.
Depression remains one of the most burdensome public health concerns, and patients are often not completely and sustainably healthy with current antidepressant treatments. According to the researchers, heated yoga shows promise as a novel, integrative, and fast-acting treatment for depression. In particular, Bikram yoga combines the thermal therapy, yoga postures, and breathing exercises that are considered antidepressant components of yoga.
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In their study, the researchers evaluated 29 adults who attended Bikram yoga classes at least twice weekly for up to 8 weeks. All participants had 17-item Hamilton-Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D-17) scores of 10.
A modified-intention-to-treat analysis was performed on all participants who completed a week-1 assessment via the Last Observation Carried Forward method. Paired samples t-tests were used to compare primary outcome measures, and attendance data was analyzed.
Results indicated that depression scores decreased significantly in both clinician- and self-rated depression instruments among participants who attended twice-weekly Bikram yoga classes.
“Heated yoga appears to show promise, in a preliminary open-label pilot study, as a treatment for depressive symptoms,” the researchers concluded. “Future, more rigorous investigation is warranted.”
—Christina Vogt
Reference:
Nyer MB, Parkin S, Streeter C, Alpert J, Fava M, Mischoulon D. Hyperthermic yoga for the treatment of depressive symptoms. Paper presented at: 125th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association; August 3-6, 2017. Washington, DC. http://apps.apa.org/convsearch/article.aspx?id=5094&type=abstract&_ga=2.22238139.1813998005.1501848415-978626333.1497486469.