Yoga as an intervention for stress: a meta-analysis.
Michael C Rhoads1, Madison E Barber2, Nels Grevstad2
1Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Colorado Mesa University, Grand Junction, CO, USA.
Health Psychology Review
|November 8, 2024
Summary
Yoga effectively reduces perceived stress, according to a meta-analysis of 36 studies. While stress severity influenced results, further research is needed to understand variations in yoga
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Mind-Body Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- Modern society faces an escalating stress epidemic impacting physical and mental health.
- Effective interventions are crucial to address widespread stress.
- Yoga, a mind-body practice, shows promise in stress mitigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct a meta-analysis estimating yoga's impact on perceived stress.
- To assess perceived stress using the Perceived Stress Scale.
- To explore potential moderators influencing yoga's effectiveness.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search identifying 36 relevant studies.
- Meta-analysis to calculate the overall effect size of yoga on perceived stress.
- Moderator analyses to investigate factors influencing effect size.
Main Results:
- Yoga demonstrated a statistically significant moderate effect in reducing perceived stress (g = 0.48).
- Substantial heterogeneity was observed across studies (74.90% of variation).
- Stress severity was a significant moderator, but other hypothesized moderators were not.
Conclusions:
- Yoga is an effective intervention for reducing perceived stress.
- Heterogeneity in study characteristics warrants further investigation.
- More research is needed to optimize yoga interventions for specific populations.
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