Effect of yoga on salivary cortisol in medical student

Authors

  • Pooja Tripathi Pandey Department of Physiology,Baba Raghavdas Medical College, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
  • Vinay Singh Department of Physiology,Baba Raghavdas Medical College, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
  • Devesh . Department of Physiology,Baba Raghavdas Medical College, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
  • Jamal Haider Department of Pharmacology, Baba Raghavdas Medical College, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20163805

Keywords:

Saliva, Salivary cortisol, Stress, Yoga

Abstract

Background: Yoga is a spiritual discipline for the development of a state of mental and physical health, well-being, it has also been used clinically as a therapeutic intervention. This study observes the effects of yoga poses on salivary cortisol. Salivary cortisol is potential biomarker of psychological stress. Nonetheless, psychobiological mechanisms stimulate the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA) can only indirectly be assessed by salivary cortisol measures. The unlike instances that control HPAA sensitivity (e.g.- hippocampus, hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenals) and their respective modulators, receptors, or binding proteins possibly will all have an effect on salivary cortisol measures. Possible fundamental mechanisms proposed leading to enhanced vagal activity and decrease cortisol. The drop in cortisol, sequentially, may give positive outcome.

Methods: Healthy medical student volunteers (N=40), males and females, ranged in age from 18 to 25 years (mean age: 23.3years), participated in the present study. They are divided in two groups one is Yoga Group and second is Control Group. Each group consist 20 subjects. Morning saliva samples were collected of both groups. Levels of cortisol in the saliva samples were determined and compared with levels in comparison samples of saliva obtained after three-month of yoga practice.

Results: In all subjects who received yoga (n=20), the change in salivary cortisol level was significant (10.27±2.54 ng/ml; 4.023±1.82ng/ml; P= 0.00); it was not so in those who were not practicing yoga (11.43±3.77ng/ml; 10.27±2.54 ng/ml; P=0.06). Salivary cortisol level significantly decreased and reacted positively to yoga practicing subjects.

Conclusions: The effort of comparing the effects of yoga on salivary cortisol seems to indicate that it is a promising modality for stress management. Everyone should practice yoga for stress management to improve their day today life because yoga as one of the approaches of stress reduction.

References

Kirschbaum C, Pirke KM, Hellhammer DH. The “Trier Social Stress Test”-A tool for investigating psychobiological stress responses in a laboratory setting. Neuropsychobiology. 1993;28:76-81.

Gatti R, Palo EFD. An update: salivary hormones and physical exercise. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2011:21:157-69.

Hines EA Jr, Brown GE. A Standard Stimulus for Measuring Vasomotor Reactions; Its Application in the Study of Hypertension. Proc Staff Meet Mayo Clin. 1932;7:332.

Sterling P. Principles of allostasis: Optimal design, predictive regulation, pathophysiology, and rational therapeutics. In: Schulkin J, ed. Allostasis, Homeostasis, and the Costs of Physiological Adaptation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004:17-64.

Uddupa KN, Sing RN, Yadav RA. Certain studies on physiological and biochemical responses to the practice of hatha yoga in normal volunteers. Ind J Med Res. 1973;61:237-44.

Udupa KN. Stress and its management by yoga 2nd ed. Narendra Prakash Jain, Delhi, 1985.

Potey GG. Effect of yoga practices on serum cortisol level & cardiovascular parameters in hyper reactors to cold pressure test in young healthy medical students. IJSR 2016;2277-8179.

Woolery A, Myers H, Stemlieb B, Zeltzer L. A yoga intervention for young adults with elevated symptoms of depression. Altern Ther Health Med. 2004;10(2);60-3.

Pruessner JC, Wolf OT, Hellhammer DH, Buske-Kirschbaum A, von AK, Jobst S, et al. Free cortisol levels after awakening: a reliable biological marker for the assessment of adrenocortical activity. Life Sci. 1997;61:2539-49.

Akerstedt T, Levi L. Circadian rhythms in the secretion of cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline. Eur J Clin Invest. 1978;8:57-8.

Stewart JS, Seeman T, San Francisco CA, John D, Catherine T. Salivary cortisol measurement. Available from. In: MacArthur research network on socioeconomic status and health http://www.macses.ucsf.edu/Research/ Allostatic/ notebook/ salivarycort. html; 2000 Jun 9 [cited 2009 Apr 1].

Sharma KN, Selvamurthy W, Battacharya N. Brain and psychophysiology of stress. Indian Council of Medical Research. 1983.

Iyengar BKS. Light on yoga. 7th ed. New Delhi: Harpercollins Publishers. 2002.

McEwen BS. Allostasis and allostatic load: Implications for neuropsycho pharmacology. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2000;22:108-24.

Gharote ML. Effect of yogic training on physical fitness. Yoga mimansa. 1973;15:31-5.

Gopal KC, Bhatnagar OP, Subramanian N, Nishith SD. Effect of ypgasanas & pranayamas on blood pressure, pulse rate & some respiratory functions. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. 1973;17(3):273-6.

Vyas, Rashmi, Dikshit N. Effect of meditation on respiratory system, cardiovascular system and lipid profile. Ind J Phy Pharmacol. 2002;46(4):487-91.

Michaels RR, Parra J, McCann DS, Vander AJ. Renin, cortisol, and aldosterone during transcendental meditation. Psychosom Med. 1979;41(1):50-4.

Walton KG, Fields JZ, Levitsky DK, Harris DA, Pugh ND, Schneider RH. Lowering cortisol and CVD risk in postmenopausal women: a pilot study using the transcendental meditationprogram. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 2004;1032:211-5.

MacLean CR, Walton KG, Wenneberg SR, Levitsky DK, Mandarino JP, Waziri R, et al. “Effects of the transcen¬dental meditation program on adaptive mechanisms: changes in hormone levels and responses to stress after 4 months of practice,” Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1997;22(4):277-95.

Maclean CRK, Walton KG, Wenneberg SR, Levitsky DK, Mandarino JV, Waziri R, et al. “Altered responses of cortisol, GH, TSH and testosterone to acute stress after four months’ practice of transcendental meditation (TM),” Ann New York Acad Sci. 1994;746:381-4.

Potey GG. Effect of yoga practices on serum cortisol level & cardiovascular parameters in hyper reactors to cold pressure test in young healthy medical students: IJSR. 2016;2277-8179.ue : 4.

Vatve M, Sahoo KD, Patil VV. Effect of specific “yogasanas” on cardiovascular autonomic function test. Pravara Med Rev. 2010;5(1).

Anita H, Sanjeev K, Surekharani C. Effect of yoga on cardio¬vascular and mental status in normal subjects above 30 years of age. Al Ameen J Med Sci. 2010;3(4):337-44.

Downloads

Published

2016-12-19

How to Cite

Pandey, P. T., Singh, V., ., D., & Haider, J. (2016). Effect of yoga on salivary cortisol in medical student. International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 4(11), 4995–4998. https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20163805

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles