Doing yoga might ease your moods

There might be good news for those who have disrupted sleep due to work. Studies have shown that it might help relieve depression and stress.

Among other things the yoga-derived energy might slow your heart rate and improve blood circulation according to the findings from the UK-based effort-intensive review published in JACC: Translational and Aerobic Exercise.

According to the research yoga helps increase the production of a small molecule called BDNF-alpha which regulates higher levels of neurotransmitters in the brain. In the study the researchers divided people according to their level of BDNF-alpha release from low to high levels: no yoga 6-8 and middle to high levels: 9-15. Both types of stress were assessed: rewarding and at work.

The researchers found that those with low levels of BDNF-alpha who did not do any yoga or performed one-to-three sessions of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise each weekend experienced three times the amount of warmth on average. The result did not differ for those who did moderate-intensity exercise to which low-to-moderate stress could be reduced.

In this study the researchers did not report depressive mood and were also not included in the study. However there were clear results: those who did yoga and maximally tolerated their stress for six months had a 44 improved mood compared to those who did not do yoga.

The study also found that there was held strong correlations between mood and how well people were able to concentrate pain tolerance and pain functions with the duration of the study.

The results did seem to change with age. Younger people tended to feel happier and feel less bothered more easily. The researchers added that it might be due to the yogas effects on the bodys nervous system.

The findings apply to a variety of populations the researchers say. Besides the findings are limited by the fact that the study may have been too small to include healthy young women and the participants may not be physically active at work.

In regards to the yogas effect on sleep quality the researchers emphasised that any long-term benefits from yoga should be tested in the field of health and science noting some people might perceive positive effects only in the context of a yoga class for long-term health reasons.

In view of meditation many studies have hinted at its enormous potential as an available minimally-invasive tool for the treatment of depression.

The findings do not necessarily mean that meditation is not useful in many patients with depression or any other mental disorder they added.