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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- 1 National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India
- 2 Schizophrenia Research Foundation, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
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
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