NCT04258540

The Effects of Yoga on Student Mental Health

The Effects of Yoga on Student Mental Health: A Randomised Controlled Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 202 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Oslo · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The investigators performed a randomised controlled trial with 202 healthy university students in the Oslo area, with 50:50 in a yoga intervention group and a waitlist control group. Measures included symptoms of depression and anxiety, sleep problems, heart rate variability (HRV), well-being and mindfulness at week 0 (baseline), week 12 (post-intervention) and week 24 (follow-up).

Detailed description

Universities around the world are facing an epidemic of mental health problems among their students. The problem is truly a public health issue, affecting many and with serious consequences. Moreover, the global burden of disease-agenda calls for effective interventions with lasting effects that have the potential to improve the mental health of young adults. In this study the investigators aimed to determine whether yoga, a popular and widely available mind-body practice, can improve student mental health. The participants were randomly assigned to a yoga group or waitlist control group in a 1:1 ratio by a simple online randomisation program. The intervention group was offered 24 yoga sessions over 12 weeks. Measurements were taken at week 0 (baseline), week 12 (post-intervention), and week 24 (follow-up). The primary outcome was psychological distress assessed by the HSCL-25 questionnaire. Analysis was performed based on the intention to treat-principle. The methods were laid out in a protocol, previously published on the website of the study. (available at http://yogastudy.tilda.ws/). The planned analyses were very straightforward and included a description of the study participants, and simple analyses of each of the a priori selected outcome measures. We have not included or excluded any variables post-hoc.

Conditions

• Mental Health
• Public Health
• Depression, Anxiety
• Sleep Problem
• University Students

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Yoga group	The intervention group received yoga 2 times a week for 12 weeks (á 1.25 hr).
BEHAVIORAL	yoga course	yoga course

Timeline

• Start date: 2016-12-16
• Primary completion: 2018-02-20
• Completion: 2018-02-20
• First posted: 2020-02-06
• Last updated: 2020-02-06

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Norway