Abstract
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia are directly associated with autonomic flexibility, self-regulation and well-being, and inversely associated with physiological stress, psychological stress and pathology. Yoga enhances autonomic activity, mitigates stress and benefits stress-related clinical conditions, yet the relationship between autonomic activity and psychophysiological responses during yoga practices and stressful stimuli has not been widely explored. This experimental study explored the relationship between HRV, mood states and flow experiences in regular yoga practitioners (YP), non-yoga practitioners (NY) and people with metabolic syndrome (MetS), during Mental Arithmetic Stress Test (MAST) and various yoga practices. The study found that the MAST placed a cardio-autonomic burden in all participants with the YP group showing the greatest reactivity and the most rapid recovery, while the MetS group had significantly blunted recovery. The YP group also reported a heightened experience of flow and positive mood states compared to NY and MetS groups as well as having a higher vagal tone during all resting conditions. These results suggest yoga practitioners have a greater homeostatic capacity and autonomic, metabolic and physiological resilience. Further studies are now needed to determine if regular yoga practice may improve autonomic flexibility in non-yoga practitioners and metabolic syndrome patients.
Clinical Trial No ‘ACTRN 2614001075673’
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Benson, H. (1975). The relaxation response. New York: Morrow.
Bharshankar, J. R., Bharshankar, R. N., Deshpande, V. N., Kaore, S. B., & Gosavi, G. B. (2003). Effect of yoga on cardiovascular system in subjects above 40 years. Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 47(2), 202–206. http://www.scopus.com/scopus/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-0037390689&partnerID=40.
Bowman, A. J., Clayton, R. H., Murray, A., et al. (1997). Effects of aerobic exercise training and yoga on the baroreflex in healthy elderly persons. European Journal of Clinical Investigation, 27(5), 443–449. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2362.1997.1340681.x.
Carroll, D., Ginty, A. T., Der, G., Hunt, K., Benzeval, M., & Phillips, A. C. (2012). Increased blood pressure reactions to acute mental stress are associated with 16-year cardiovascular disease mortality. Psychophysiology, 49(10), 1444–1448. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.2012.01463.x.
Carroll, D., Phillips, A. C., & Balanos, G. M. (2009). Metabolically exaggerated cardiac reactions to acute psychological stress revisited. Psychophysiology, 46(2), 270–275.
Carroll, D., Phillips, A. C., Der, G., Hunt, K., & Benzeval, M. (2011). Blood pressure reactions to acute mental stress and future blood pressure status: data from the 12-year follow-up of the West of Scotland study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 73(9), 737–742. doi:10.1097/PSY.0b013e3182359808.
Chaya, M., Kurpad, A., Nagendra, H., & Nagarathna, R. (2006). The effect of long term combined yoga practice on the basal metabolic rate of healthy adults. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 6(1), 28. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/6/28.
Chida, Y., & Hamer, M. (2008). Chronic psychosocial factors and acute physiological responses to laboratory-induced stress in healthy populations: a quantitative review of 30 years of investigations. Psychological Bulletin, 134(6), 829–885. doi:10.1037/a0013342.
Chida, Y., & Steptoe, A. (2010). Greater cardiovascular responses to laboratory mental stress are associated with poor subsequent cardiovascular risk status: A meta-analysis of prospective evidence. Hypertension, 55(4), 1026–1032. doi:10.1161/hypertensionaha.109.146621.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2008). Flow : the psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper & Row.
Danucalov, M. A., Kozasa, E. H., Ribas, K. T., Galduroz, J. C., Garcia, M. C., Verreschi, I. T., et al. (2013). A yoga and compassion meditation program reduces stress in familial caregivers of Alzheimer’s disease patients. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2013, 513149. doi:10.1155/2013/513149.
Dillbeck, M. C., & Orme-Johnson, D. W. (1987). Physiological differences between transcendental meditation and rest. American Psychologist, 42(9), 879–881. doi:10.1037/0022-006x.44.3.45610.1037/0003-066x.42.9.879.
Elson, B. D., Hauri, P., & Cunis, D. (1977). Physiological changes in yoga meditation. Psychophysiology, 14(1), 52–57. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-0017362617&partnerID=40&md5=48bd4979016cf086268e4dc5758f5504.
Flaa, A., Aksnes, T. A., Kjeldsen, S. E., Eide, I., & Rostrup, M. (2008a). Increased sympathetic reactivity may predict insulin resistance: an 18-year follow-up study. Metabolism, Clinical and Experimental, 57(10), 1422–1427. doi:10.1016/j.metabol.2008.05.012.
Flaa, A., Eide, I. K., Kjeldsen, S. E., & Rostrup, M. (2008b). Sympathoadrenal stress reactivity is a predictor of future blood pressure. Hypertension, 52(2), 336–341. doi:10.1161/hypertensionaha.108.111625.
Flaa, A., Mundal, H. H., Eide, I., Kjeldsen, S., & Rostrup, M. (2006). Sympathetic activity and cardiovascular risk factors in young men in the low, normal, and high blood pressure ranges. Hypertension, 47(3), 396–402. doi:10.1161/01.hyp.0000203952.27988.79.
Goleman, D. J., & Schwartz, G. E. (1976). Meditation as an intervention in stress reactivity. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 44(3), 456–466. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-0017158402&partnerID=40&md5=eeb32623d515a5d43b0172985c9231bb.
Gothe, N., Pontifex, M. B., Hillman, C., & McAuley, E. (2013). The acute effects of yoga on executive function. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 10(4), 488–495.
Graham, J. W. (2009). Missing data analysis: Making it work in the real world. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 549–576.
Granath, J., Ingvarsson, S., von Thiele, U., & Lundberg, U. (2006). Stress management: A randomized study of cognitive behavioural therapy and yoga. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 35(1), 3–10.
Heathers, J. A. (2014). Everything Hertz: Methodological issues in short-term frequency-domain HRV. Frontiers in Physiology, 5, 177. doi:10.3389/fphys.2014.00177.
Heponiemi, T., Elovainio, M., Pulkki, L., Puttonen, S., Raitakari, O., & Keltikangas-Järvinen, L. (2007). Cardiac autonomic reactivity and recovery in predicting carotid atherosclerosis: The cardiovascular risk in young finns study. Health Psychology, 26(1), 13–21. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.26.1.13.
Huang, F. J., Chien, D. K., & Chung, U. L. (2013). Effects of Hatha yoga on stress in middle-aged women. The Journal of Nursing Research: JNR, 21(1), 59–66. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84878819335&partnerID=40&md5=917597a9fc3985aa25a854b95123aa20.
IDF. (2005). The IDF Concensus Worldwide Definition of The Metabolic Syndrome. International Diebetes Federation International Diabetes Federation. http://www.idf.org/webdata/docs/IDF_Meta_def_final.pdf.
Innes, K. E., Bourguignon, C., & Taylor, A. G. (2005). Risk indices associated with the insulin resistance syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and possible protection with yoga: A systematic review. Journal of the American Board of Family Practice, 18(6), 491–519. http://www.scopus.com/scopus/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-29244469607&partnerID=40.
Jarczok, M. N., Jarczok, M., Mauss, D., Koenig, J., Li, J., Herr, R. M., et al. (2013). Autonomic nervous system activity and workplace stressors: A systematic review. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 37(8), 1810–1823. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.07.004.
Khattab, K., Khattab, A. A., Ortak, J., Richardt, G., & Bonnemeier, H. (2007). Iyengar Yoga increases cardiac parasympathetic nervous modulation among healthy yoga practitioners. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 4(4), 511–517. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-38149072408&partnerID=40&md5=a5bf35f6781a1f0832ae18f0f9d56a61.
Lehrer, P. M. (2007). Biofeedback training to increase heart rate variability. In P. M. Lehrer, R. L. Woolfolf, & W. E. Sime (Eds.), Principles and practices of stress management. New York: The Guliford Publications.
Lehrer, P. M., Schoicket, S., Carrington, P., & Woolfolk, R. L. (1980). Psychophysiological and cognitive responses to stressful stimuli in subjects practicing progressive relaxation and clinically standardized meditation. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 18(4), 293–303.
Lehrer, P. M., Vaschillo, E., Trost, Z., & France, C. R. (2009). Effects of rhythmical muscle tension at 0.1 Hz on cardiovascular resonance and the baroreflex. Biological Psychology, 81(1), 24–30. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-62649102690&partnerID=40&md5=25f691749ddeeac7b23d29505009522e.
Lehrer, P. M., Woolfolk, R. L., & Sime, W. E. (2007). Principles and practice of stress management. New York: Guilford Press.
Mason, H., Vandoni, M., Debarbieri, G., Codrons, E., Ugargol, V., & Bernardi, L. (2013). Cardiovascular and respiratory effect of yogic slow breathing in the yoga beginner: what is the best approach? Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2013, 743504. doi:10.1155/2013/743504.
McEwen, B. S. (1998). Stress, adaptation, and disease. Allostasis and allostatic load. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 840, 33–44.
Muralikrishnan, K., Balakrishnan, B., Balasubramanian, K., & Visnegarawla, F. (2012). Measurement of the effect of Isha Yoga on cardiac autonomic nervous system using short-term heart rate variability. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, 3(2), 91–96. doi:10.4103/0975-9476.96528.
Pagani, M., Malliani, A., Lombardi, F., & Cerutti, S. (1991). Cardiovascular neural regulation explored in the frequency domain. Circulation, 84(2), 482–492. http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/84/2/482.
Peifer, C. (2012). Psychophysiological correlates of flow-experience. In S. Engeser (Ed.), Advances in flow research. Springer.
Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. New York: W. W. Norton.
Razzini, C., Bianchi, F., Leo, R., Fortuna, E., Siracusano, A., & Romeo, F. (2008). Correlations between personality factors and coronary artery disease: From type A behaviour pattern to type D personality. Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine, 9(8), 761–768. doi:10.2459/JCM.0b013e3282f39494.
Santaella, D. F., Lorenzi-Filho, G., Rodrigues, M. R., Tinucci, T., Malinauskas, A. P., Mion-Júnior, D., et al. (2014). Yoga Relaxation (savasana) decreases cardiac sympathovagal balance in hypertensive patients. MEDICALEXPRESS, 1(5). Retrieved from 87.
Saraswati, N. (1994). Prana, Pranayama, Pran Vidya. Munger, India: Bihar School of Yoga.
Selye, H. (1956). The stress of life. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Selye, H. (1983). Selye’s guide to stress research. New York: Wiley & Sons.
Sharma, G., Mahajan, K. K., & Sharma, L. (2007). Shavasana–Relaxation technique to combat stress. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 11(2), 173–180. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6WHF-4N6FP36-1/2/ec14786aa932f50b5b5aec969c76eb09.
Souza, G., Mendonça-De-Souza, A., Barros, E., Coutinho, E., Oliveira, L., Mendlowicz, M., et al. (2007). Resilience and vagal tone predict cardiac recovery from acute social stress. Stress: The International Journal on the Biology of Stress, 10(4), 368–374.
Streeter, C. C., Gerbarg, P. L., Saper, R. B., Ciraulo, D. A., & Brown, R. P. (2012). Effects of yoga on the autonomic nervous system, gamma-aminobutyric-acid, and allostasis in epilepsy, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Medical Hypotheses, 78(5), 571–579. doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2012.01.021.
Takahashi, T., Murata, T., Hamada, T., Omori, M., Kosaka, H., Kikuchi, M., Wada, Y. (2005). Changes in EEG and autonomic nervous activity during meditation and their association with personality traits. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 55(2), 199–207. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T3M-4D7CJWK-1/2/8ca88922919556fff1c2aacba36f6e7d.
Tang, Y.-Y., Ma, Y., Fan, Y., Feng, H., Wang, J., Feng, S., et al. (2009). Central and autonomic nervous system interaction is altered by short-term meditation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(22), 8865–8870. doi:10.1073/pnas.0904031106.
Tarvainen, M., Niskanen, J. P., Lipponen, J. A., Ranta-aho, P. O., & Karjalainen, P. A. (2009). Kubios HRV: A software for advanced heart rate variability analysis. In J. Sloten, P. Verdonck, M. Nyssen, & J. Haueisen (Eds.), 4th European conference of the international federation for medical and biological engineering (Vol. 22, pp. 1022–1025). Berlin Heidelberg: Springer.
Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology the North American Society of Pacing. (1996). Heart rate variability: Standards of measurement, physiological interpretation, and clinical use. Circulation, 93(5), 1043–1065. doi:10.1161/01.cir.93.5.1043.
Taylor, A. G., Goehler, L. E., Galper, D. I., Innes, K. E., & Bourguignon, C. (2010). Top–down and bottom–up mechanisms in mind-body medicine: Development of an integrative framework for psychophysiological research. Explore (NY), 6(1), 29–41. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-72949118144&partnerID=40&md5=dd514e75b1d8c49b6bb77c29665c1b43.
Telles, S., Sharma, S. K., & Balkrishna, A. (2014). Blood pressure and heart rate variability during yoga-based alternate nostril breathing practice and breath awareness. Medical Science Monitor Basic Research, 20, 184–193. doi:10.12659/MSMBR.892063.
Thayer, J. F., Ahs, F., Fredrikson, M., Sollers, J. J, 3rd, & Wager, T. D. (2012). A meta-analysis of heart rate variability and neuroimaging studies: implications for heart rate variability as a marker of stress and health. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 36(2), 747–756. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.11.009.
Thayer, J. F., Hansen, A. L., Saus-Rose, E., & Johnsen, B. H. (2009). Heart rate variability, prefrontal neural function, and cognitive performance: The neurovisceral integration perspective on self-regulation, adaptation, and health. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 37(2), 141–153. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-67649458193&partnerID=40&md5=e4e7428957099290c861f0ce41b5ac4c.
Thayer, J. F., Yamamoto, S. S., & Brosschot, J. F. (2010). The relationship of autonomic imbalance, heart rate variability and cardiovascular disease risk factors. International Journal of Cardiology, 141(2), 122–131. doi:10.1016/j.ijcard.2009.09.543.
Tyagi, A., Cohen, M., Reece, J., & Telles, S. (2014). An explorative study of metabolic responses to mental stress and yoga practices in yoga practitioners, non-yoga practitioners and individuals with metabolic syndrome. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 14(1), 445. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/14/445.
van de Weijer, T., Sparks, L. M., Phielix, E., Meex, R. C., van Herpen, N. A., Hesselink, M. K., et al. (2013). Relationships between mitochondrial function and metabolic flexibility in type 2 diabetes mellitus. PLoS ONE, 8(2), e51648. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0051648.
Weber, C. S., Thayer, J. F., Rudat, M., Wirtz, P. H., Zimmermann-Viehoff, F., Thomas, A., et al. (2010). Low vagal tone is associated with impaired post stress recovery of cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune markers. European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology, 109(2), 201–211. doi:10.1007/s00421-009-1341-x.
Wenneberg, S. R., Scheider, R. H., Walton, K. G., et al. (1997). A controlled study of the effects of the transcendental meditation® program on cardiovascular reactivity and ambulatory blood pressure. International Journal of Neuroscience, 89(1–2), 15–28. doi:10.3109/00207459708988461.
WHO. (2008). Waist circumference and waist–hip ratio: Report of a WHO expert consultation. Geneva. http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/expert_consultaion_wc_whr/en/. Accessed 20 Apr 2010.
Wu, S. D., & Lo, P. C. (2008). Inward-attention meditation increases parasympathetic activity: A study based on heart rate variability. Biomedical Research, 29(5), 245–250. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-58149355796&partnerID=40&md5=b4b885be96398d831482971148bf7e43.
Wyrwich, K. W., & Yu, H. (2011). Validation of POMS questionnaire in postmenopausal women. Quality of Life Research: An International Journal of Quality of Life Aspects of Treatment, Care and Rehabilitation, 20(7), 1111–1121.
Yadav, R. K., Magan, D., Mehta, M., Mehta, N., & Mahapatra, S. C. (2012). A short-term, comprehensive, yoga-based lifestyle intervention is efficacious in reducing anxiety, improving subjective well-being and personality. International Journal of Yoga, 5(2), 134–139. doi:10.4103/0973-6131.98235.
Acknowledgments
This article is prepared as a part of Anupama Tyagi’s Ph.D. research at RMIT University. The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of RMIT library for providing articles. The data was conducted at the research laboratory Patanjali Yogapeeth, India. The authors would like to thank the Head of Management of Patanjali Yogpeeth, ‘Achayra Balkrishna’ for granting access to the laboratory. We would thank senior research fellow, N. Singh and all the staff of research foundation of Patanjali Yogpeeth, India and all the participants who contributed their time to the study.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of the article.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Ethical Approval
Ethical approval was obtained from necessary sources and written informed consent from the participants was also taken prior to their involvement.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tyagi, A., Cohen, M., Reece, J. et al. Heart Rate Variability, Flow, Mood and Mental Stress During Yoga Practices in Yoga Practitioners, Non-yoga Practitioners and People with Metabolic Syndrome. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback 41, 381–393 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-016-9340-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-016-9340-2