Introduction: Hatha Yoga is a widely used form of holistic mind-body therapy for promoting health, and disease prevention like cardiovascular risks and part of treatment for neurological disorders. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Hatha yoga on the autonomic nervous system by tracking acute changes in the time-domain and frequency-domain metrics of heart rate variability (HRV) in healthy International Baccalaureate students arranged in 3 different groups. Methods: The prospective interventional study was conducted among adolescent students in China. Thirty-six adolescent students were divided in three groups: 12 Hatha yoga experimental group participants; a control group of 12 students without participation in any activity and a recreational sport group of 12 other students. Outcomes measured were HRV parameters such as SDNN, RMSSD LF, HF, and LF/HF. Also, a Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 was used to measure stress and anxiety score in terms of Cognitive stress, Somatic Stress and Self Confidence. Results: Compared to baseline values, the Hatha yoga experiment group demonstrated a significant increase in HRV indices: SDNN 87.62 ± 13.89 (>0.0001) and RMSDD 86.61 ± 7.78 (>0.0001) respectively. In contrast it was documented after the 3 weeks of exposure to yoga training a statistically significant decrease in the frequency domain of LF 1911.53 ± 882.15 (0.0464) compared to baseline values. After completion of intervention the yoga experiment group HF (ms2) values were increased 3430.40 ± 858.38 (>0.0001). Decrease and increase in the HF (ms2) in the control and Hatha yoga group were statistically significant after following Hatha yoga. Cognitive anxiety 18.08 ± 6.30 (>0.0001) and Somatic anxiety 17.50 ± 6.33 (>0.0001) decreased after intervention with yoga and self-confidence increased significantly 32.50 ± 1.17 (>0.0001). Conclusions: The investigation showed a significant increase of HRV parameters and cardiac autonomic function as a result of exposure to Yoga practice. Also, there was significant evidence of decrease in cognitive stress and somatic stress; increased values of self-confidence at the end of three weeks yoga exposure in comparison to the baseline values.
References
[1]
Vinay, A.V., Venkatesh, D. and Ambarish, V. (2016) Impact of Short-Term Practice of Yoga on Heart Rate Variability. International Journal of Yoga, 9, 62-66. https://doi.org/10.4103/0973-6131.171714
[2]
Santaella, D.F., Devesa, C.R., Rojo, M.R., et al. (2011) Yoga Respiratory Training Improves Respiratory Function and Cardiac Sympathovagal Balance in Elderly Subjects: A Randomized Controlled Trial. BMJ Open, 1, e000085. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000085
[3]
Goldstein, M.R., Lewin, R.K. and Allen, J.J.B. (2022) Improvements in Well-Being and Cardiac Metrics of Stress Following a Yogic Breathing Workshop: Randomized Controlled Trial with Active Comparison. Journal of American College Health, 70, 918-928. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2020.1781867
[4]
Schmidt, J.E., et al. (2017) The Effects of Slow-Paced Versus Mechanically Assisted Breathing on Autonomic Function in Fibromyalgia Patients. Journal of Pain Research, 10, 2761-2768. https://doi.org/10.2147/JPR.S139642
[5]
Siaplaouras, J., et al. (2021) Effects of Exercise Training on Heart Rate Variability in Children and Adolescents with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: A Pilot Study. Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Therapy, 11, 1028-1036. https://doi.org/10.21037/cdt-20-263
[6]
Sevoz-Couche, C. and Laborde, S. (2022) Heart Rate Variability and Slow-Paced Breathing: When Coherence Meets Resonance. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 135, Article ID: 104576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104576
[7]
Estévez-González, A.J., Pérez-Ruiz, M., Cobo-Vicente, F., Donadio, M.V.F. and Larumbe-Zabala, E. (2022) Effects of Physical Training on Heart Rate Variability in Children and Adolescents with Chronic Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. International Journal of Sports Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-1524-2421
[8]
Ainslie, R.C., et al. (1996) Mediators of Adolescents’ Stress in a College Preparatory Environment. Adolescence, 31, 913-924.
[9]
Suldo, S.M., Shaunessy, E., Thalji, A., Michalowski, J. and Shaffer, E. (2009) Sources of Stress for Students in High School College Preparatory and General Education Programs: Group Differences and Associations with Adjustment. Adolescence, 44, 925-948.
[10]
Divaris, K., et al. (2008) The Academic Environment: The Students’ Perspective. European Journal of Dental Education, 12, 120-130.
[11]
Terry, J.D. and Cunningham, C.J.L. (2020) The Sacred and Stressed: Testing a Model of Clergy Health. Journal of Religion & Health, 59, 1541-1566. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00920-9
[12]
van der Doef, M. and Maes, S. (1999) The Leiden Quality of Work Questionnaire: Its Construction, Factor Structure, and Psychometric Qualities. Psychological Reports, 85, 954-962. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1999.85.3.954
[13]
Meshram, N.H., Jackson, D., Varghese, T., et al. (2019) A Cross-Sectional Investigation of Cognition and Ultrasound-Based Vascular Strain Indices. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 35, 46-55. https://doi.org/10.1093/arclin/acz006
[14]
Kuppusamy, M., et al. (2020) Effects of Yoga Breathing Practice on Heart Rate Variability in Healthy Adolescents: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Integrative Medicine Research, 9, 28-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imr.2020.01.006
[15]
Kalla, M., Herring, N. and Paterson, D.J. (2016) Cardiac Sympatho-Vagal Balance and Ventricular Arrhythmia. Autonomic Neuroscience, 199, 29-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autneu.2016.08.016
[16]
Besnier, F., Labrunée, M., Pathak, A., et al. (2017) Exercise Training-Induced Modification in Autonomic Nervous System: An Update for Cardiac Patients. Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, 60, 27-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rehab.2016.07.002
[17]
Danasegaran, M., Pal, G.K., Sahoo, J., Pal, P., Nanda, N. and Renugasundari, M. (2021) Effects of 12 Weeks Practice of Yoga on Heart Rate Variability in Males with Type 2 Diabetes Receiving Oral Antidiabetic Drugs: A Randomized Control Trial. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 27, 1105-1115. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2020.0489
[18]
Muralikrishnan, K., et al. (2012) Measurement of the Effect of Isha Yoga on Cardiac Autonomic Nervous System Using Short-Term Heart Rate Variability. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, 3, 91-96. https://doi.org/10.4103/0975-9476.96528
[19]
Patil, S.G., et al. (2013) Effect of Yoga on Short-Term Heart Rate Variability Measure as a Stress Index in Subjunior Cyclists: A Pilot Study. Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 57, 153-158.
[20]
Shaffer, F. and Ginsberg, J.P. (2017) An Overview of Heart Rate Variability Metrics and Norms. Frontiers in Public Health, 5, Article No. 258. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2017.00258
[21]
Papp, M., Lindfors, P., Storck, N. and Wändell, P. (2013) Increased Heart Rate Variability But No Effect on Blood Pressure from 8 Weeks of Hatha Yoga—A Pilot Study. BMC Research Notes, 6, Article No. 59. https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-0500-6-59
[22]
Fisher, J.P., Fernandes, I.A., Barbosa, T.C., et al. (2015) Diving and Exercise: The Interaction of Trigeminal Receptors and Muscle Metaboreceptors on Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity in Humans. The American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 308, H367-H375. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00728.2014
[23]
Noda, A., Hayano, J., Ito, N., Miyata, S., Yasuma, F. and Yasuda, Y. (2019) Very Low Frequency Component of Heart Rate Variability as a Marker for Therapeutic Efficacy in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Preliminary Study. Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 24, 84. https://doi.org/10.4103/jrms.JRMS_62_18
[24]
Baek, H.J., et al. (2015) Reliability of Ultra-Short-Term Analysis as a Surrogate of Standard 5-min Analysis of Heart Rate Variability. Telemedicine Journal and e-Health, 21, 404-414. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2014.0104
[25]
Chandla, S.S., Sood, S., Dogra, R., Das, S., Shukla, S.K. and Gupta, S. (2013) Effect of Short-Term Practice of Pranayamic Breathing Exercises on Cognition, Anxiety, General Well Being and Heart Rate Variability. Journal of Indian Medical Association, 111, 662-665.
[26]
Rao, R.M., Raghuram, N., Nagendra, H.R., et al. (2015) Effects of an Integrated Yoga Program on Self-Reported Depression Scores in Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Conventional Treatment: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Indian Journal of Palliative Care, 21, 174-181. https://doi.org/10.4103/0973-1075.156486
[27]
Nagendra, H., Kumar, V. and Mukherjee, S. (2015) Cognitive Behavior Evaluation Based on Physiological Parameters among Young Healthy Subjects with Yoga as Intervention. Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine, 2015, Article ID: 821061. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/821061
