Abstract
Sleep disturbance and stress in postmenopausal women pose physical, mental, and emotional health hazards. Researchers examined the effect of a yoga intervention on sleep, stress, anxiety, and depression in postmenopausal women. The study employed a randomized, controlled trial with: (1) a treatment group (yoga intervention) and (2) an attention-control group (health education). All participants completed three PROMIS® – Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System – tools and collected saliva samples before and after the eight-week intervention. The PROMIS® tools measured sleep, anxiety, and depression. Salivary alpha-amylase quantified sleep; salivary cortisol measured stress; and participants self-reported hours of sleep.
Thirty-one women completed the study: 18 in the treatment group and 13 in the attention-control. The yogic intervention had a strong inverse correlation with hours of sleep (r = -0.7717; p = < 0.0001) as revealed by Pearson’s correlation coefficient. We saw a moderate inverse correlation between change in depression and PROMIS pre-intervention depression scores (r = -0.3960; p = 0.0303). Hours of sleep pre-intervention compared to hours of sleep post-intervention were lower (p < 0.0001). Change in alpha-amylase reached statistical significance from beginning to end (p = < 0.0001) in the intervention group. Compared with those who received only health education, those in the yoga group experienced improved sleep. Findings are limited due to the small sample size.
Recommended Citation
Arrant, K. (2019). The Effects of a Yoga Intervention. Journal of Interprofessional Practice and Collaboration, 1(1). Retrieved from https://repository.ulm.edu/ojihp/vol1/iss1/1
