Tele-Yoga strengthens health: Less stress and better immune levels in COVID-19 personnel

Tele-Yoga strengthens health: Less stress and better immune levels in COVID-19 personnel

The COVID-19 pandemic placed an immense burden on the healthcare system and significantly impacted the mental health of healthcare professionals. One method that could help reduce your mental stress is yoga. The research project presented here examined whether yoga delivered over video calls (known as tele-yoga) could help healthcare workers better deal with stress, sleep problems and emotional challenges.

In terms of future changes, the successful implementation of Tele-Yoga could mean that such digital health programs will continue to be used even when there is no pandemic. Telemedicine approaches could find greater acceptance and become an integral part of healthcare, especially in stressful or particularly demanding times.

To understand the investigation, a few terms are important:

• Tele-Yoga: Yogaübungen, die über eine digitale Plattform durchgeführt werden, sodass die Teilnehmer von überall aus teilnehmen können.
• Burnout: Ein Zustand emotionaler, körperlicher und geistiger Erschöpfung, oft in Verbindung mit beruflichem Stress.
• Schlafqualität: Wie gut oder schlecht der Schlaf ist; dazu zählen Faktoren wie Einschlafzeit, Durchschlafen und Erholtheit am Morgen.
• Depression, Angst und Stress: Psychische Zustände, die das Wohlbefinden und die tägliche Funktion beeinträchtigen können.
• IL-6, TNF-α, Serum-Cortisol: Biologische Marker, die das Immunsystem und Stresslevel des Körpers anzeigen können.

Abbreviations:

• SPFI: Stanford Professional Fulfilment Index
• PSQI: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index
• DASS-21: Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale
• MAAS: Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale
• PPA: Per Protocol Analyse
• ITT: Intention to Treat Analyse

Tele-Yoga Alleviates Stress and Inflammatory Markers in Healthcare Workers

This study examines the feasibility and effectiveness of tele-yoga on mental and physical health status of healthcare workers during their COVID-19 services. The focus was on measuring burnout rates, sleep quality, depression, anxiety, stress, mindfulness and immunological markers. A randomized controlled trial was conducted in a tertiary hospital in India to evaluate the effects.

Study design and methodology

The study design included a tele-yoga intervention delivered five times per week over a period of eight weeks. Established scales were used to assess the various parameters: Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index (SPFI) to record burnout, the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for sleep quality, the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). Additionally, blood samples were collected to analyze TNF-α, IL-6, and serum cortisol concentrations.

Results of the study

Of the originally 147 participants screened, the final sample comprised 90 test subjects, divided into 45 participants each in the tele-yoga and control groups. 35 participants in the intervention group attended at least 50% of the sessions, with 37.14% of participants attending more than 70% of the sessions.

The results showed a significant reduction in burnout index, PSQI scores, and anxiety and stress scores. The levels of the pro-inflammatory markers IL-6 and serum cortisol were also significantly lower in the tele-yoga group than in the control group (p<0.05).

Conclusions

The study finds that tele-yoga offers a viable and accessible method for improving mental health aspects and reducing inflammatory markers in healthcare workers during the pandemic conditions. However, due to the limited number of participants and implementation context within a single institution, the applicability of the results is limited.

Further information about the study is available at the following external link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39521190