The effect of web-based Hatha yoga on psychological distress and sleep quality in older adults: A randomized controlled trial


Author: Souad Baklouti1, Feten Fekih-Romdhane2, Noomen Guelmami3, Tore Bonsaksen4, Hana Baklouti5, Asma Aloui6, Liwa Masmoudi7, Nizar Souissi8, Mohamed Jarraya9

Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> Physical Activity, Sport and Health Research Unit (UR18JS01), National Sport Observatory, Tunis, Tunisia; High Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Sfax, University of Sfax, Sfax, 3000, Tunisia. Electronic address: souad-baklouti@hotmail.com.

<sup>2</sup> Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, Tunis El Manar University, Tunis, Tunisia; Department of Psychiatry Ibn Omrane, Razi Hospital, Manouba, Tunisia. Electronic address: feten.fekih@gmail.com.

<sup>3</sup> Department of Human and Social Sciences, Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Kef, University of Jendouba, Jendouba, Tunisia; Postgraduate School of Public Health, Department of Health Sciences (DISSAL), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy. Electronic address: noomen4@yahoo.fr.

<sup>4</sup> Department of Health and Nursing Science, Faculty of Social and Health Science, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Elverum, Norway; Department of Health, Faculty of Health Studies, VID Specialized University, Sandnes, Norway. Electronic address: tore.bonsaksen@inn.no.

<sup>5</sup> Physical Activity, Sport and Health Research Unit (UR18JS01), National Sport Observatory, Tunis, Tunisia. Electronic address: baklouti.hana@gmail.com.

<sup>6</sup> Physical Activity, Sport and Health Research Unit (UR18JS01), National Sport Observatory, Tunis, Tunisia; High Institute of Sport and Physical Education, University of Gafsa, Gafsa, Tunisia. Electronic address: aloui.asma@gmail.com.

<sup>7</sup> High Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Sfax, University of Sfax, Sfax, 3000, Tunisia. Electronic address: liwa.masmoudi@yahoo.fr.

<sup>8</sup> Physical Activity, Sport and Health Research Unit (UR18JS01), National Sport Observatory, Tunis, Tunisia. Electronic address: n_souissi@yahoo.fr.

<sup>9</sup> High Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Sfax, University of Sfax, Sfax, 3000, Tunisia. Electronic address: jarrayam@yahoo.fr.
Conference/Journal: Complement Ther Clin Pract
Date published: 2022 Dec 13
Other:
 Volume ID: 50   ,  Pages: 101715   ,  Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2022.101715.   ,  Word Count: 235  
    Background:

To date, there has been very limited experimental research on the impact of Yoga on older adults' mental health during the COVID-19 crisis. We aimed to explore the effect of a web-based Hatha yoga program on psychological and quality of sleep in older adults who self-isolated at home during the initial stage of the COVID-19 outbreak.



Methods:

Two hundred volunteers of both sexes were split into experimental (Yoga group, YG) and control (Control group, CG) groups, in a web-based randomized controlled study. All participants were administered the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21) and the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI); at baseline and following an eight-week online Hatha yoga intervention.



Results:

The YG showed significant reductions in depression (-56.1%; Z = 5.67, p < 0.01, r = 0.70) anxiety (-64.3%; Z = 5.27, p < 0.01, r = 0.65) and stress (-68.2%; Z = 5.86, r = 0.73) scores, while the CG showed a significant increase in depression. In addition, the total PSQI score of the YG was considerably lower during follow-up (3.38 ± 2.02, p < 0.05) than at baseline (4.8 ± 32, p < 0.05), which indicates an improvement of the quality of sleep. The proportion of individuals experiencing good sleep from the YG increased from 63% to 85% after the Hatha yoga intervention.



Conclusion:

The use of a web-based Hatha Yoga intervention program was associated with a beneficial effect on the mental health and quality of sleep in older adults.



Keywords: COVID-19; Distress; Older adults; Quality of sleep; Yoga.



PMID: 36521407 PMCID: PMC9744484 DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2022.101715