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Research: WANG and COLLEAGUES,
Listed in Issue 219
Abstract
WANG and COLLEAGUES, Department of Nursing, Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital, Taiwan, ROC. chang369@gmail.com in this review, synthesized and characterized findings related to the effects of yoga on depression and quality of sleep in the elderly.
Background
Ageing and age-related health problems are major issues of concern for community health services. Yoga is an exercise with both physiological and psychological effects on aging. Although many studies have assessed the effectiveness of yoga in the elderly, little information is available in the literature to support empirical conclusions.
Methodology
Researchers used keywords including yoga, elderly, aged / older adult, depression, sleep, and quality to search 6 electronic databases for relevant studies published prior to March 2013. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were used to screen identified study abstracts. The Jadad scale appraised the quality of identified studies.
Results
Seven studies met the inclusion criteria. Five studies found significant changes in participant depression symptoms after doing yoga. Three studies found significant effects on the quality of sleep of participants after 6 months of doing yoga.
Conclusion
Yoga significantly reduced the depressive symptoms of elderly participants and improved their quality of sleep after 6 months. Findings were similar for elderly living in institutions and in the community. However, the majority of participants in the assessed studies were women characterized by a high level of social participation and proactive participation in health promotion activities. Future studies should broaden the scope of research to address different ageing populations and use long-term cohort observations in order to better elicit the effectiveness of yoga and to develop strategies to introduce yoga into daily activities.
References
Hu Li Za Zhi. [Systematic review of yoga for depression and quality of sleep in the elderly]. [Article in Chinese; Abstract available in Chinese from the publisher]. Feb 2014; 61(1):85-92. doi: 10.6224/JN.61.1.85.
Comment
The above research demonstrated significant changes in symptoms of depression and upon the quality of sleep in participants after doing yoga for 6 months.
