Yoga Improves Cognitive Function in Sedentary Seniors

University of Illinois researchers have found that practicing hatha yoga 3 times a week for 8 weeks increased the everyday cognitive ability of seniors living a sedentary lifestyle.

In the study, a team of investigators recruited 108 participants between the ages of 55 and 79. A group of 61 participants were selected to take part in hatha yoga—a set of physical exercises designed to align the skin, muscles, and bones—while the remaining participants performed non-yoga stretching and toning exercises.
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Neha Gothe, a graduate student at the University of Illinois and lead author of the study, and colleagues found that those taking part in yoga reported more accurate scores on tests of information recall, mental flexibility, and task switching than they did before beginning the yoga classes 8 weeks earlier. Those participating in stretching and toning exercises, however, demonstrated no cognitive improvements, according to the researchers, who note that the differences between the two groups were not a result of age, gender, or social status discrepancies, or other demographic factors.

“In recommending patients to become physically active, yoga maybe a useful alternative to other forms of exercise that are known to have beneficial effects on cognitive function,” says Edward McAuley, PhD, a professor in the department of kinesiology and community health at the University of Illinois, and a co-author of the study.

“Yoga can relieve anxiety, depression, and stress, which are known to affect cognitive performance,” he continues, adding that yoga had significant effects on executive function among study participants. For example, says McAuley, the older adults in the study who participated in yoga were able to maintain focused attention and retrieve information from working memory more accurately.

Yoga is a “very adaptable and, hence, suitable form of exercise for older adults,” adds Gothe.

It is gentle, requires minimal equipment and can be modified for persons who may have functional limitations,” continues Gothe. While noting that scientific evidence is just coming in, Gothe says that “clinicians should consider recommending yoga as a form of physical as well as mental exercise to patients, especially older adults, to maintain and potentially improve their mental health in old age.

“We certainly need more evidence-base in terms of establishing guidelines and recommendations, or precise "dosage" of yoga in terms of type, duration, time of practice, as well as frequency,” says Gothe.

—Mark McGraw

Reference

Gothe N, Kramer A, et al. The Effects of an 8-Week Hatha Yoga Intervention on Executive Function in Older Adults. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2014.