Practicing yoga can help you feel less depressed, suggests study

When it comes to working out, yoga is one of the best ways to get yourself in shape, not just physically but mentally as well. While a lot of scientific research has widely documented the benefits of yoga, the researchers have now found a link between yoga and decreased depressive symptoms.

According to a latest study, published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, yoga can increase levels of Gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) in the short-term and completing one yoga class per week may maintain elevated GABA that could mitigate depressive symptoms. Interesting, right?

GABA is an amino acid that acts as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system and has been associated with decreased depressive symptoms.

“The findings suggest that the associated increase in GABA levels after a yoga session are ‘time-limited’ similar to that of pharmacologic treatments such that completing one session of yoga per week may maintain elevated levels of GABA,” said study researcher Chris Streeter from Boston University in the US.

Depression has become the leading cause of disability worldwide and affects 16 million people in the US. every year, as per the World Health Organisation (WHO).

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Given its high morbidity, extensive research has been done on effective treatment modalities for depression.

For the study analysis, a group of 30 clinically depressed patients was randomly divided into two groups.

Both groups engaged in lyengar yoga and coherent breathing with the only difference being the number of 90-minute yoga sessions and home sessions in which each group participated.

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Over three months, the high-dose group (HDG) was assigned three sessions per week while the low-intensity group (LIG) was assigned two sessions per week.

For further analysis, the participants were supposed to undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of their brain before the first yoga session and after the last yoga session. To monitor the symptoms, they also completed a clinical depression scale.

Results showed that both groups had improvement in depressive symptoms after three months, the researchers said.

MRI analysis found that GABA levels after three months of yoga were elevated (as compared to prior to starting yoga) for approximately four days after the last yoga session but the increase was no longer observed after approximately eight days.

“A unique strength of this study is that pairing the yoga intervention with brain imaging provides important neurobiological insight as to ‘how’ yoga may help to alleviate depression and anxiety,” said study co-author Marisa Silveri.