Physical Activity, Sport and Health Research Unit (UR18JS01), National Sport Observatory, Tunis, Tunisia.
High Institute of Sport and Physical Education, University of Gafsa, Gafsa, Tunisia.
Libyan J Med. 2022 Dec;17(1):2080799. doi: 10.1080/19932820.2022.2080799.
This study aimed to investigate the effects of Hatha yoga practice on cognitive functions in the elderly. Thirty healthy older men participated in this study. They belonged to 2 groups. The first group included 15 Hatha yoga practitioners for at least 2 years. The control group involved 15 male older adults who shared the same characteristics (age, years of formal education, and level of physical activity) as the Hatha yoga group but were naive to yoga, meditation, or any mind-body intervention. Neuropsychological tests were applied to measure selective attention, sustained attention, episodic memory, and processing speed. The following tests were administered: The French adaptation of the Victoria Stroop test, the Zazzo's Cancellation Task, the Five Word Test, and a battery of computerized tests to evaluate reaction time. Long-term Hatha yoga practice showed promising results related to executive functions and reaction time, but no significant difference was found between the two groups in episodic memory and sustained attention although a trend of improvement was observed in favor of Hatha yoga practitioners. In conclusion, long-term Hatha yoga practitioners have better cognitive abilities compared to the control group in certain aspects of cognitive functions. Further physiological and psychological variables need to be examined in order to highlight the correlation between yoga intervention and cognitive performance.
本研究旨在探讨哈他瑜伽练习对老年人认知功能的影响。30 名健康的老年男性参与了这项研究。他们分为两组。第一组包括 15 名至少练习哈他瑜伽 2 年的瑜伽练习者。对照组包括 15 名男性老年人，他们具有与哈他瑜伽组相同的特征（年龄、正规教育年限和身体活动水平），但对瑜伽、冥想或任何身心干预都不熟悉。神经心理学测试用于测量选择性注意、持续性注意、情景记忆和处理速度。以下是进行的测试：法语改编版维多利亚斯特鲁普测试、扎佐的取消任务、五个单词测试以及一系列计算机化测试，以评估反应时间。长期哈他瑜伽练习在执行功能和反应时间方面表现出有希望的结果，但在情景记忆和持续性注意方面，两组之间没有显著差异，尽管瑜伽练习者有改善的趋势。总之，与对照组相比，长期哈他瑜伽练习者在认知功能的某些方面具有更好的认知能力。需要进一步检查生理和心理变量，以突出瑜伽干预与认知表现之间的相关性。
