NCT04386291

Meditation and Kundalini Yoga for Heightened Anxiety Related to COVID-19

Meditation and Yoga for Heightened Anxiety Related to COVID-19

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 256 (actual)
• Sponsor: Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc. · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 70 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This randomized clinical on-line study examines whether whether a daily practice of meditation or Kundalini Yoga with anxiety reduction training leads to a greater reduction in anxiety than anxiety reduction training alone.

Detailed description

The individual and societal costs of the COVID-19 pandemic are wide-ranging. Based on past epidemics and on emerging data, anxiety and depression rates will increase, along with anger, grief, somatic complaints, and post-traumatic stress. Coping skills will be challenged, particularly as anxiety, uncertainty, and personal loss increase. While anxiety is a healthy response to danger, excessive anxiety can be debilitating and impair our coping skills. Illness anxiety may also increase given concerns about infection risks to self and others. This randomized on-line study is for individuals with anxiety and distress triggered by COVID-19 who have not yet been infected with the novel corona virus. . The primary study goal is to examine the extent to which anxiety can be reduced through the use of on-line training programs. All participants will receive Anxiety Reduction Training using cognitive-behavioral methods known to be helpful in reducing stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. In addition, two-thirds of participants will be randomly assigned to receive training in either Kundalini Yoga (KY) or mindfulness meditation. The investigators will assess the degree to which each of these training programs lead to reduced stress, improved well-being, decreased multisystem symptoms, enhanced mood, and reduced cognitive complaints. Participants will complete self-report assessments at 2-week intervals during the 8 weeks of the acute phase of the study and then again 3- and 6-months later. The current study may reveal that addressing emergent anxiety early through online self-guided treatment approaches can lead to improved short- and long-term outcome. Findings from this study may reveal that these inexpensive easily disseminated on-line programs can be helpful to enhance coping and improve mental health in the context of large-scale public health crises.

Conditions

• Generalized Anxiety
• Health Anxiety

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Anxiety Reduction Training	Educational material will be provided every two weeks that address different aspects of anxiety and cognitive-behavioral approaches to reduce anxiety and stress.
BEHAVIORAL	Kundalini Yoga and Anxiety Reduction Training	Daily practice of Kundalini Yoga (light stretching, breathing exercises, and meditation) guided by on-line video instruction, as well as the biweekly anxiety reduction psychoeducation.
BEHAVIORAL	Meditation and Anxiety Reduction Training	Daily practice of meditation (muscle relaxation, breathing, and meditation) guided by on-line video instruction, as well as the biweekly anxiety reduction psychoeducation.

Timeline

• Start date: 2020-05-25
• Primary completion: 2021-04-19
• Completion: 2022-01-30
• First posted: 2020-05-13
• Last updated: 2024-09-19
• Results posted: 2024-09-19

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: United States