Effect of a single session of yoga and meditation on stress reactivity: A systematic review.
Gandhar V Mandlik, George Siopis, Binh Nguyen, Ding Ding, Kate M Edwards
Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress June 1, 2024 DOI: 10.1002/smi.3324 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 2,574 |
| Population | Healthy adults |
| Intervention | breathing techniques |
| Topics | Breathwork Meditation |
| Keywords | Breathing Stress Yoga |
| Citations | 18 |
| Key findings | A single session of yoga components (meditation, breathing, yoga) reduces acute stress reactivity in healthy adults, as supported by 21 of 28 eligible studies. |
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.