Unlike other anxiety treatments, such as tranquilizers or cognitive behavioral therapy, yoga is quite accessible and has many health benefits. A study by a group of scientists from the USA showed that this gymnastics effectively improves the emotional background not only in adults, but also in children.
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Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a mental disorder that is characterized by chronic feelings of anxiety and worry for no apparent reason. At least 4% of people worldwide suffer from GAD, and the disease is twice as common in women as in men. The authors of the study, published in the Journal of Pediatric Health Care, mentioned that anxiety is becoming more common among children and can negatively affect their socialization and academic performance.
Scientists set a goal to analyze the effectiveness of yoga in reducing anxiety among children 8-10 years old. Before the start of the study and after its completion, participants were administered a questionnaire to assess emotional disorders associated with anxiety.
In the study, third and fourth grade students performed simple exercises for 10 minutes during the school week. After eight weeks, the researchers compared the initial and final scores and found that all participants had significantly reduced anxiety scores. The study authors concluded that yoga can be a simple and effective tool for improving the emotional well-being of children.
Previously, a group of American scientists compared the effectiveness of several methods of reducing anxiety: cognitive behavioral therapy, stress management and kundalini yoga – a practice that combines physical exercise with meditation and chanting mantras. The randomized trial involved 226 men and women with GAD who were divided into three groups. Over the course of 12 weeks, one group received CBT, a second did kundalini yoga, and a third received stress management training. At the end of the experiment, the scientists found that CBT and yoga were more effective than stress management. However, CBT showed the greatest effectiveness – in this group, improvement in symptoms was observed in 71% of participants, compared to 54% who practiced yoga. Among the volunteers who learned to manage stress, positive dynamics were noted in only 33%.
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