A recent study published on January 14th, 2020 in JACM (The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine) states that yoga helps patients suffering from MDD(major depressive disorder) in elevating mood, sleep, and anxiety by increasing the levels of GABA(gamma-amino butyric acid) in the brain.
What is GABA?
GABA is a naturally occurring amino acid neurotransmitter that acts as a chemical messenger. GABA attaches itself to GABA receptors in our brain which results in mood upliftment, decreases stress, anxiety and stops seizure disorder.
Principal investigator Chris Streeter (associate professor of psychiatry and neurology) said in the press release that one yoga session per week has been found linked with increased levels of GABA in the brain which are time-limited. The research revealed that 40% of patients suffering from a depressive disorder are not fully treated with the help of pharmacologic treatments and antidepressants.
Chris Streeter stated that when these depressed patients started doing yoga they improved a lot. She added that doctors should give their patients antidepressants but should not totally rely on pills for a full recovery, yoga should be included along with taking pills. If you are willing to join a yoga classes, then you can go through Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh.
How did research happen?
Each year there is more evidence that yoga helps in reducing depression but no one really knows how yoga helps in exerting a positive effect on mental health. To dive deep into this matter the researchers divided the MDD patients into two groups ((high dose group and low dose group)) to a Yoga Intervention and brain imaging was done on a regular basis.
The routine of these two patient groups during Yoga Intervention?
High dose group patients completed 3 ninety-minute yoga sessions and 4 thirty-minute homework sessions per week
Low dose group patients completed 2 ninety-minute sessions and 3 sessions per week.
Each 90-minute yoga session included?
1. 60 minutes of Iyengar yoga
2. 20 minutes of deep breathing
3. 10 minutes of relaxation.
Each 30-minute homework included?
15-15 minutes of posture practicing and deep breathing.
How did the researchers examine the change in GABA levels in the brain?
Using Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) the changes in levels of GABA in the brain were examined. The first brain scan was done just before the yoga intervention, then after 12 weeks and the last scan was done after the 90-minutes yoga session. The time period between the second and last brain scans was just 4 hours. As well as they finished a clinical depression scale to scan their symptoms.
The Result?
The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score:
24.38 for High Dose Group.
27.73 for the Low Dose Group.
The analysis found that the total number of 28 patients after practicing 3 months of yoga showed a positive increase in their brain GABA levels. MRI analysis found that GABA levels were elevated after 3 months of yoga as compared to the beginning of the yoga intervention. The increase in GABA levels was noted for straight 4 days after the yoga session but the increase was no longer observed after 8 days. The research has successfully proved that Yoga is beneficial for depression.
Boston University Clinical, Translational Science Institute, and the General Clinical Research Unit funded this yoga study and made the research successfully happened. Also, if you have great interest to learn yoga, you can join 300-hour yoga teacher training in Rishikesh.
