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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Positive Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1436691

Validation and efficacy of a tele-yoga intervention for improving psychological stress, mental health and sleep difficulties of stressed adults diagnosed with long COVID: a prospective, multi-center, open-label single-arm study

Provisionally accepted
Hemant Bhargav Hemant Bhargav 1Vijaya Raghavan Vijaya Raghavan 2NAREN P. RAO NAREN P. RAO 1Kankan Gulati Kankan Gulati 1Binumon KV Binumon KV 1Anu Unni Anu Unni 1Sridhar Ravi Sridhar Ravi 1Nishitha Jasti Nishitha Jasti 1Bharath Holla Bharath Holla 1Shivarama Varambally Shivarama Varambally 1Padmavati Ramachandran Padmavati Ramachandran 2*
  • 1 National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India
  • 2 Schizophrenia Research Foundation, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The objective of this study was to validate and test the efficacy of a 16-week tele-yoga intervention for perceived stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia in individuals who had had COVID-19 infection in the previous year, and had reported moderately high levels of psychological stress (PSS 14). 25-minute and 50-minute versions of the program were developed. They were then validated using Lawshe's content validity ratio after obtaining feedback from 20 yoga therapy experts. The safety and efficacy of the two programs were subsequently tested in a prospective, multicenter, open-label single-arm study. Eighty-six adults (18 male, 68 female) were recruited from two tertiary mental healthcare institutions, 48 in NIMHANS, Bengaluru; and 38 in SCARF, Chennai. Participants were assessed at weeks zero, 4, and 16 using validated tools. Data were analyzed using a Mixed Model, Intention to Treat approach. After week 16, 31 subjects remained in the trial and continued to practice yoga without any side effects.Results at week 4 included significant reductions in levels of perceived stress, anxiety, and insomnia, but not depression; improvements were maintained at week 16. Correlations between number of yoga sessions and post-intervention PSS scores were negative (r = -0.49), and significant. Both tele-yoga programs proved safe, useful tools to counteract perceived stress, anxiety and insomnia. Future trials should explore the utility of tele-yoga as a tool to enhance wellbeing and manage stress.

    Keywords: Yoga, COVID-19, stress, Anxiety, Depression, insomnia

    Received: 22 May 2024; Accepted: 09 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Bhargav, Raghavan, RAO, Gulati, KV, Unni, Ravi, Jasti, Holla, Varambally and Ramachandran. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Padmavati Ramachandran, Schizophrenia Research Foundation, Chennai, 600102, Tamil Nadu, India

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.