Practicing yoga for the long-term is known to improve mental health and reduce stress. A recent study has found that having just a one-hour session of yoga is sufficient to reduce physiological stress effects and improve psychological health as well.
Extreme stress can disrupt the body’s homeostasis, impacting a person’s physical and mental health negatively. This stress activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, increasing the release of cortisol, the stress hormone. Sustained exposure to cortisol may lead to health problems like depression, insomnia and a weakened immune system.
The study was led by Molly Sullivan of Elon University. It examined how lower intensity stretch yoga and higher intensity power yoga will affect the body’s response to stress and mental health. It was conducted on 33 female participants aged 18 to 30.
Power yoga was found to be the most enjoyable and energizing, but salivary cortisol levels decreased significantly after sessions for both types of yoga. This suggests that just participating in one session of either type of yoga is an effective way of decreasing stress levels for university-aged females.
Category(s):Stress Management
Source material from PsyPost
