Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Health & Fitness

Can yoga really help depression and support mental health? New research

Does regularly practicing yoga improve your mental health?

By
two men doing yoga on a pier water outdoors
Asad Photo / Pexels

While many people don’t talk about depression, in 2020, an estimated 14.8 million adults in the United States had at least one major depressive episode, according to the National Institute of Mental Health or NIMH. People explore different treatments and therapies to help with depression, and recently, researchers wanted to understand if yoga could ease depressive symptoms and support mental health. 

Yoga is a meditative movement practice with a long and rich history originating in India. This type of exercise involves specific physical poses, postures, and deep breathing. Yoga is undoubtedly becoming more popular. Recent data from Strava reveals that the share of men uploading and practicing Pilates or yoga increased by 15%. With all the known and proven benefits of yoga, researchers wanted to know more about how practicing yoga affects various mental health conditions.

Recommended Videos

The research

Man with strong arm muscles holding a blue yoga mat outdoors
Ketut Subiyanto / Pexels

In a review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers assessed 19 studies from six countries involving 1,080 adult participants. All participants had been diagnosed with at least one mental health condition, such as depression, panic disorders, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. For just over two months, participants engaged in weekly yoga sessions lasting between 20 and 90 minutes.

Related: 
Upgrade your daily routine with the best smartwatches for men

The results

Man doing yoga looking up sitting down in front of trees
Nick Wehrli / Pexels

The researchers concluded that a regular yoga practice had more significant effects on depressive symptoms compared to having no treatment or the patient’s typical treatment. The more often and the longer the yoga practice, the more significant the effects. The researchers stated that movement-based yoga improved mental health and the symptoms of depression for individuals dealing with anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and more. 

Proven benefits of yoga

Man doing yoga outdoors
abhishek gaur / Pexels

Mounting research shows us the many benefits of yoga, from improving strength, balance, and flexibility to reducing chronic back pain and lifting your mood. Multiple studies show practicing yoga can improve the symptoms of arthritis, which often develops following sports injuries.

The takeaway

forward fold men's yoga
Raw Pixel / Getty Images

This study gives us another reason to consider trying a regular yoga practice to get our bodies moving. This movement practice has stayed popular for so long due to the many benefits, including reducing the symptoms of depression.

Steph Green
Steph Green
Steph Green is a content writer specializing in healthcare, wellness, and nutrition. With over ten years of experience, she…
Topics

Editors’ Recommendations

Should you lift weights before or after cardio to maximize gains? New study
Should you run first or pick up those dumbbells? What does the latest research show?
man lifting weights dumbbells woman training

We all have our preferences, but many fitness enthusiasts prefer to do cardio before strength training. While lots of people like to get their blood circulating with cardio first, others prefer to get started on the weights or machines. Does it matter? Which is best when it comes to losing fat while gaining strength? While many are still recommending that you do what feels best for you, others are touting the research on the benefits of doing weight training first. Recently, researchers explored whether weight training before hitting the treadmill is more efficient for fat reduction and improving strength. 

The research

Read more
Does building muscle help protect your brain from dementia? Interesting study
Can working out keep your brain sharp throughout the years?
man holding dumbbell bicep curl

Protecting our brains helps us stay sharper later in life so we can continue to do the cognitive tasks and activities we love. Some days, I feel like my brain is working better than other days, and lots of factors tend to come into it, such as how well I slept and how I’ve been eating. One factor that plays a role is exercise. I’m impressed by much of the research so far, which shows us how regular exercise is beneficial for our brains and boosts BDNF. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a protein that aids in the survival and growth of neurons and allows your brain to change and adapt over time, which is crucial for learning and memory.

Recently, researchers wanted to know whether working out and building muscle are protective against the risk of dementia. Are you at a higher risk of dementia if you have muscle loss over the years? Let’s take a look at the research.

Read more
What does exercise have to do with your vitamin D levels? Fascinating new study
Researchers explore how 10 weeks of exercise impacts vitamin D levels.
man getting sunlight vitamin D

Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin, which makes it more difficult to get enough in certain places and at certain times of the year. You can get vitamin D from the sunlight on your skin, a supplement, and from a few foods like fatty fish, mushrooms, and eggs. Your body needs vitamin D to absorb calcium, which is an important part of your bones. Vitamin D also supports your immune system and helps your muscles and brain cells function properly.

What does exercise have to do with your vitamin D levels? In this interesting hot-off-the-press study, researchers find out. Let’s look at the research.

Read more