Harvard Study Shows Hot Yoga Improves Mental Health

Written by Rupsa Chakraborty and published on indianexpress.com, February 17, 2024

Doing yoga in a hot room, say one heated to almost 38 to 40 degrees celsius, may alleviate your moderate to severe depression, says a Harvard Medical School study.

In a study, published by the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, researchers assigned 65 adults with depression to attend hot yoga sessions or be on a waiting list. Those in the yoga group showed significantly reduced symptoms of depression, indicating it could complement psychiatric therapies. Dr Shobha Subramanian-Itolikar, Consultant, Internal Medicine, Fortis Hospital, believes incorporating alternative practices alongside traditional treatments often have a beneficial effect.

What is hot yoga?

“Hot yoga” and “Bikram yoga” are often used interchangeably but differ significantly. Bikram involves 26 poses and two breathing exercises in a room heated to 40°C, lasting 90 minutes. Hot yoga denotes a heated room, typically 27-38°C, with varied poses and durations, often including music and interaction.

Does the heightened temperature impact neurotransmitter activity, influence mood regulation and alleviate depression symptoms?

Practitioners and instructors say that hot yoga induces the release of neurotransmitters — endorphins, dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin — associated with positive mood. When you do yoga in a hot room, the elevated temperature stimulates excitatory neurotransmitters. These basically “excite” the neuron and cause it to “fire off the message,” meaning, the message continues to be passed along to the next cell. This improves your mood and alleviates stress.

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