Gururaja Derebail, Harano Kaori, Toyotake Ikenaga, Kobayashi Haruo
Department of Medical Welfare, Kawasaki University of Medical Welfare, Okayama, Japan.
Int J Yoga. 2011 Jan;4(1):7-12. doi: 10.4103/0973-6131.78173.
Japan has a large number of senior citizens. Yoga can be wisely applied in old age care. There is no any age restriction to practice yoga. The effect may differ by age. There is a need to study the mechanism of action of yoga with respect to age.
This study was conducted in Japan to find the effect of yoga on mental health between young and senior people.
Twenty-five normal healthy volunteers of both sexes were divided into two groups according to age. Fifteen participants of the age group between 65 to 75 years and 10 participants of the age group between 20 to 30 years were selected. This study was approved by the ethical committee of Kawasaki University of Medical Welfare. Selected individuals were subjected to 90 min of yoga classes once or twice a week for a month. Salivary amylase activity was assessed before and after yoga practice. State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was given before yoga on the first day and after one month of practice to assess the change in State anxiety and Trait anxiety.
Senior group - Salivary amylase activity decreased from 111.2±42.7 to 83.48±39.5 kU/L [average±standard deviation]. Younger group - Salivary amylase activity reduced from 60.74±31.8 to 42.39±24 kU/L. Senior group - State anxiety score decreased from 41.13 ±8.43 to 30.8±6.49, Trait anxiety score reduced from 45.66±7.5 to 40.73±8.3. Younger group - State anxiety score reduced from 38.7±4.8 to 30.8±4.1,Trait anxiety score reduced from 46.2±7.9 to 42.9±9.1. Changes were statistically significant with P<0.05.
Decrease in Salivary amylase activity may be due to reduction in sympathetic response. Reduction in State and Trait anxiety score signifies that yoga has both immediate as well as long-term effect on anxiety reduction. Thus yoga helps to improve the mental health in both the groups.
日本有大量老年人。瑜伽可明智地应用于老年护理。练习瑜伽没有年龄限制。其效果可能因年龄而异。有必要研究瑜伽作用机制与年龄的关系。
本研究在日本进行，旨在探寻瑜伽对年轻人和老年人心理健康的影响。
25名正常健康的志愿者按年龄分为两组。选取了15名年龄在65至75岁之间的参与者和10名年龄在20至30岁之间的参与者。本研究得到了川崎医疗福利大学伦理委员会的批准。选定的个体每周接受一次或两次90分钟的瑜伽课程，为期一个月。在瑜伽练习前后评估唾液淀粉酶活性。在第一天瑜伽练习前和练习一个月后进行状态-特质焦虑量表（STAI）测试，以评估状态焦虑和特质焦虑的变化。
老年组——唾液淀粉酶活性从111.2±42.7降至83.48±39.5 kU/L[平均值±标准差]。年轻组——唾液淀粉酶活性从60.74±31.8降至42.39±24 kU/L。老年组——状态焦虑评分从41.13±8.43降至30.8±6.49，特质焦虑评分从45.66±7.5降至40.73±8.3。年轻组——状态焦虑评分从38.7±4.8降至30.8±4.1，特质焦虑评分从46.2±7.9降至42.9±9.1。变化具有统计学意义，P<0.05。
唾液淀粉酶活性降低可能是由于交感神经反应减弱。状态和特质焦虑评分降低表明瑜伽对减轻焦虑有即时和长期效果。因此，瑜伽有助于改善两组人群的心理健康。
