Effects of an eight-week yoga intervention on cognitive, mental, and autonomic function in female students with elevated stress: A randomized controlled trial protocol

IF 2.6 3区医学 Q2 PSYCHIATRY

Mental Health and Physical Activity Pub Date : 2025-07-11 DOI:10.1016/j.mhpa.2025.100709

Juhi Kumawat, Kashinath G. Metri

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Stress has been a highly prevalent mental health issue among the student community, which affects their academic growth by hampering cognitive abilities, and it also increases their future risk of cardiovascular disease. Yoga, a comprehensive mind-body practice, has emerged as a promising non-pharmacological intervention to manage stress and promote overall well-being.

Aim

This study protocol aims to investigate the effects of an eight-week yoga intervention on cognitive functions, mental health, and HRV in female students experiencing elevated stress levels.

Methods

Ninety-six female University students with a perceived stress scale (PSS) score>14 will be randomly allocated to either the yoga intervention group (n = 48) or wait-list control group (n = 48). Students in the yoga group will receive four weekly sessions of a 60-min structured yoga for eight weeks. Control group students will follow their daily activities. All students will be assessed for cognitive functions (selective and sustained attention, planning, visuospatial working memory, processing speed, and cognitive flexibility), heart rate variability (HRV), mental health parameters (stress, anxiety, and depression), and sleep quality at baseline and eight weeks.

Conclusion

This study seeks to provide robust evidence on the efficacy of yoga to improve mental health, cognitive functions, and sleep quality among female university students with elevated stress levels.

查看原文本刊更多论文

八周瑜伽干预对压力升高女学生认知、精神和自主神经功能的影响：一项随机对照试验方案

压力一直是学生群体中非常普遍的心理健康问题，它通过阻碍认知能力影响他们的学业成长，也增加了他们未来患心血管疾病的风险。瑜伽，一种全面的身心练习，已经成为一种有希望的非药物干预来管理压力和促进整体健康。目的本研究旨在探讨为期8周的瑜伽干预对压力水平升高的女学生认知功能、心理健康和HRV的影响。方法将96名压力感知量表（PSS）得分为14分的女大学生随机分为瑜伽干预组（n = 48）和候补对照组（n = 48）。瑜伽组的学生将接受为期八周、每周四次、每次60分钟的结构化瑜伽训练。对照组的学生将跟随他们的日常活动。所有学生将在基线和八周时接受认知功能（选择性和持续性注意力、计划、视觉空间工作记忆、处理速度和认知灵活性）、心率变异性（HRV）、心理健康参数（压力、焦虑和抑郁）和睡眠质量的评估。结论本研究旨在为瑜伽对高压力女大学生的心理健康、认知功能和睡眠质量的改善提供有力的证据。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Mental Health and Physical Activity PSYCHIATRY-

CiteScore

6.70

自引率

6.40%

发文量

审稿时长

32 days

期刊介绍： The aims of Mental Health and Physical Activity will be: (1) to foster the inter-disciplinary development and understanding of the mental health and physical activity field; (2) to develop research designs and methods to advance our understanding; (3) to promote the publication of high quality research on the effects of physical activity (interventions and a single session) on a wide range of dimensions of mental health and psychological well-being (eg, depression, anxiety and stress responses, mood, cognitive functioning and neurological disorders, such as dementia, self-esteem and related constructs, psychological aspects of quality of life among people with physical and mental illness, sleep, addictive disorders, eating disorders), from both efficacy and effectiveness trials;