Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have garnished the attention of researchers as effective treatments for stress, chronic pain, anxiety, and recurrent depression in both clinical and nonclinical populations. Within the workplace, MBIs have also been shown to enhance overall well-being.
Kundalini yoga has been used to decrease perceived stress, depression symptoms and salivary cortisol levels, treat generalized anxiety and improve participants’ quality of life.
Both mindfulness and yoga influence individual brain networks, integrated brain states, and brain-body interactions. Furthermore, both time-honored practices place particular emphasis on posture, breath, the autonomous nervous system, and the major neural networks involved in the regulation of cognition and emotion.
Healthcare workers (HCWs) face daily stressors while working in hospital settings leading to consequences on their quality of life and mental and physical health, which inturn, impacts the entire healthcare system at large. This single-arm clinical trial (CT) assesses the effectiveness of a YoMin intervention (yoga and mindfulness; specifically MBSR) in improving mental well-being in HCWs. Here, researchers analyzed participants’ quality of life, work-related stress, positive and negative affect, and state and trait anxiety.
Torre and colleagues recruited 70 HCWs from two hospitals in Rome, Italy for a 4-week course in yoga and mindfulness. Each week, participants attended one 2-hour section of yoga and one 2-hour section of mindfulness on the same day. Each yoga class emphasized elements of kundalini yoga and invited participants to pay specific attention to posture and breathing as a valuable method to manage their mind. Each mindfulness class included a body scan, focused attention exercises, a walking meditation, an open monitoring meditation, a period of inquiry about the practice with feedback from the mindfulness teachers, and instructions about homework at the end.
Participants were instructed to complete surveys at baseline, before starting each 4-hour session, at the end of each 4-hour session and 21 days after course completion. Of the 70 HCWs that initially enrolled, 40 were included in the final analysis with 34 females and 6 males, 13 physicians, 15 nurses, and 12 other HCWs.
Study results revealed that participants reported an immediate reduction in anxiety after a one day 4-hour YoMin session. Moreover, participants reported sustained decreased trait anxiety 3-4 weeks after the end of the course. It is interesting to note that while there was no significant difference in pre- and post-intervention scores with regards to positive affect, negative affect had an improvement. This means that while aspects such as energy, enthusiasm, and self-confidence were not affected, aspects such as fear, weakness, and anger were effectively diminished. Furthermore, while no significant results were found regarding physical health, the HCWs mental well-being significantly improved.
“This study highlights the ever increasing need for healthcare systems to implement in-house interventions that will improve HCWs mental well-being and reduce burnout.”
While a notable advantage of this study is the combination of yoga and mindfulness practices into one 4-week YoMin intervention, this study has substantial limitations. This study aimed to specifically help HCWs in the hospital environment; however, results from the only work-related questionnaire were not significant. Participants reported no change in perceived decision latitude, job demand, nor job strain. Also, results only included a 21-day follow up and future studies should look to incorporate 6-month to 1-year follow-ups to examine lasting effects. Future studies should also seek to incorporate physical and biochemical parameters.
In a time when HCWs are on the frontlines of a global pandemic, the findings from this study are especially pertinent. This study highlights the ever increasing need for healthcare systems to implement in-house interventions that will improve HCWs mental well-being and reduce burnout. Brief 4-week interventions such as yoga and MBIs can be used to reduce stress and anxiety in HCWs and their respective communities.
Emily is a certified yoga teacher with specializations in children, adolescent, prenatal, and postpartum yoga.
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