Effect of a single session of yoga and meditation on stress reactivity: A systematic review.
Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress – June 01, 2024
Source: PubMed
Summary
A single session of yoga or its components can significantly reduce acute stress reactivity in healthy adults. An analysis of 21 studies involving 2,574 participants revealed that 71% of those measuring physiological outcomes and 65% measuring psychological outcomes reported stress reduction. Techniques like meditation, breathing exercises, and yoga showed promise for immediate stress relief. These findings suggest that incorporating these practices into stress management routines could be beneficial, highlighting the potential of simple interventions to enhance well-being.
Abstract
This systematic review synthesises the evidence for the effectiveness of a single session of yoga or its components including meditation and breathing techniques in reducing acute stress reactivity in healthy adults. Following the PRISMA guidelines, we searched Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane, CINAHL, and PsycINFO on 30th July 2023 for randomised controlled or crossover trials of yoga components and reporting physiological and/or psychological outcome measure(s) related to stress reactivity. Risk of bias (ROB) was assessed using the Cochrane ROB 2 tool. Data were synthesised narratively. Twenty-one out of 28 eligible studies (n = 2574) relating to 31 interventions (meditation [n = 22], breathing [n = 4] and yoga [n = 5]) reported outcomes in favour of the intervention. Stress reactivity was reported to be reduced by 71% of studies measuring physiological outcomes and 65% of studies measuring psychological outcomes. These studies show that a single session of yoga components is effective in reducing acute stress reactivity in adults and could be recommended for stress management. Future studies with larger populations and a more equal representation of genders and age groups are warranted.