In a recent clinical trial conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital, adults experiencing moderate-to-severe depression showed promising results when engaging in heated yoga sessions. The randomized controlled trial, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, revealed that those participating in these heated yoga classes experienced a significant reduction in depressive symptoms compared to a control group.
The Team and the study -
Dr. Maren Nyer and her Harvard Medical School research team have spearheaded this pioneering investigation, reshaping our perspective on yoga's potential role in addressing depression.
The Study That Elevated Yoga's Status
Published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, this Harvard study introduced an innovative strategy for addressing depression: the inclusion of hot yoga. The study concentrated on individuals grappling with moderate to severe depression and aimed to evaluate whether weekly hot yoga sessions could offer a non-pharmaceutical remedy for their condition.
The Trial and The Prescription
During the eight-week trial, 80 participants were divided into two groups: one practiced Bikram yoga in a 105°F room, while the other was placed on a waitlist to begin the yoga intervention later. After the trial, it was observed that participants who engaged in heated yoga had a noteworthy reduction in depressive symptoms, as assessed through the clinician-rated Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (IDS-CR) scale. Intriguingly, even those who attended only half of the prescribed yoga sessions still experienced a positive impact, suggesting that heated yoga once a week can be beneficial.
The Results-
The results revealed that 59.3% of yoga participants experienced a 50% or greater decrease in symptoms, compared to only 6.3% of waitlist participants. Furthermore, 44% of the yoga group achieved such low IDS-CR scores that their depression was considered in remission, compared to 6.3% in the waitlist group. These findings provide hope that heated yoga, as a non-medication-based approach, could positively impact the treatment of depression. Lead author Maren Nyer, director of Yoga Studies at the Depression Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, stated that further studies are underway to determine the specific contributions of heat and yoga to the observed clinical effects in depression.
This research underscores the potential of yoga, coupled with heat-based interventions, to offer a holistic approach to depression treatment, potentially providing additional physical benefits. The study's positive results have sparked interest in exploring whether heat has advantages over non-heated yoga in treating depression, considering the promising evidence of whole-body hyperthermia for major depressive disorder. This study was supported by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.
Source: [The Daily Gazette]
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