Exercise to beat depression highlighted by scientists can be prescribed by family doctors

Just one yoga session a week can combat the symptoms of depression and can be prescribed by general practitioners, scientists say.

The clinical trial, involving 80 adults with moderate to severe depression, found that 44% of those in the yoga groups achieved lower symptom scores, so their depression was considered to be in remission. Participants were divided into two groups, one of which was offered traditional exercise carried out in hot and humid conditions. The other half were told they were on a “waiting list”.

So-called “hot yoga” – favored by celebrities such as Meghan Markle and Drew Barrymore – seeks to replicate the heat and humidity of India, where forms of yoga originated. Study leader Maren Nyer from Harvard Medical School in the US said: “Yoga and heat-based interventions could potentially change the course of treatment for patients with depression, providing a non-drug-based approach with added physical benefits as a bonus. ”. .”

The study comes amid a current shift in the NHS towards “social prescribing” and attempts to avoid leaving patients permanently dependent on antidepressant medication. During the eight-week trial, half of the participants received 90-minute sessions of Bikram yoga practiced at 105 F (40.5 C). They attended an average of 10.3 classes over eight weeks.

After eight weeks, yoga participants had a significantly greater reduction in depressive symptoms than waitlist participants. The research team also found that 59% of yoga participants experienced a 50% or greater reduction in symptoms, compared to 6.3% of waitlist participants.

And 44% in the yoga group achieved scores so low that their depression was considered in remission, compared with 6.3% in the waitlist group. The researchers said that depressive symptoms were reduced even in participants who received just half the prescribed yoga “dose” – suggesting that hot yoga sessions just once a week could be beneficial.

The study, published in the journal Clinical Psychiatry, concluded that hot yoga could be a “viable treatment option” for depressed patients. Dr Nyer added: “We are currently developing further studies aimed at determining the specific contributions of each element – ​​heat and yoga – to the clinical effects we see in depression.”

Co-author Dr. David Mischoulon of Massachusetts General Hospital added: “Future research is needed to compare heated versus unheated yoga for depression to explore whether heat has benefits beyond those of yoga for treating depression. depression”.