Effect of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) on daytime and situational sleep propensity in novice practitioners: a prospective cohort study

Abstract

ObjectivesHectic, late-night lifestyle has reduced 90 min sleep in 20% adults resulting in insomnia and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). We assess the scope of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY), a 4-component, breathing process in reducing EDS, generally and situationally.MethodsThis is a prospective, controlled study involving randomized subjects without any sleep-wake cycle anomalies and prior experience in SKY. Subjects (n=52) performed 30 min of SKY for 6 days/week for 8 weeks, while controls (n=53) performed sitting activity and Suryanamaskar for 4-weeks each. Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) was used to measure EDS at 0, 4, and 8 weeks.ResultsSKY group showed significant ESS score improvements between 0–4 weeks and 4–8 weeks of 1.22 (p=0.0001) and 1.66 (p=0.001) respectively. Controls however failed to improve with score differences of 0.02 (p=0.892) and 0.02 (p=0.8212) respectively. SKY group showed significant ESS score improvement over controls at 4-weeks (difference=1.74; p=0.013) and 8-weeks (difference eight; p=0.0001). Improvement was most for obese people and those sitting in a halted car.ConclusionsImprovement in subjects’ nighttime sleep and daytime wakefulness in SKY practitioners can be attributed to polyvagal theory. Increased heart rate variability (HRV) alterations and sympathetic hyperarousal in chronic insomnia; and cholinergic and GABAergic dysregulation in anxiety disorders are countered by regulated vagal nerve stimulation post SKY. Our study establishes effectivity of SKY in reducing EDS (total and situational), provides a clinical correlation for prior polysomnographic evidence and paves way for larger trials directed towards SKY prescriptions for insomnia.

Differences in the prevalence of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases coinciding with clinical subtypes of obstructive sleep apnea

“…The present study found that the prevalence of CMD in ModSwDS was higher than that in ModS. This may be because insomnia can increase the excitability of the sympathetic nerve and the sympathetic‐adrenal medulla system hyperactivity, causing the level of catecholamines to rise, and increasing the burden on the circulatory system 3 , 26 , 27 ; insomnia can also cause excessive activation of the hypothalamus‐pituitary‐adrenergic axis, causing abnormal endocrine metabolism. 26 , 28 , 29 There was no significant difference in ESS between the two clinical subtypes.…”

Usefulness of controlled breathing in psychiatry. A review of recent findings. Part 1 – Eastern approach

“…za pomocą kwestionariuszy samoopisowych Generalized Anxiety Disorder i Patient Health Questionnaires). Dwa badania odnosiły się do związku SKY z jakością snu [43,44].…”

Effect of 4-day Online Breath Meditation Workshop on Ballistocardiography-based Sleep and Cardiac Health Assessments among Medical Professionals of a Tertiary Care Hospital in North India during COVID-19

“…12 A 20% attrition rate date. 2,13,14 Our work was different in utilizing objective measures for sleep, making it more robust to response bias. Only one study has used polysomnography-based outcomes to observe differences in sleep architecture of SKY practitioners and non-SKY practicing controls.…”

“…All outcome measures were assessed before, that is, on day 0 and after, that is, on day 4 of OBMW. Tables 1 and 2 2,13,14 For example, a cross-sectional survey of 385 adults showed an inverse association between the frequency of SKY practice and poor sleep quality. 13 Similarly, a significant reduction was seen in PSQI scores of health care professionals (n = 92) before and after a 4-day OBMW.…”

“…2 Likewise, a prospective controlled cohort study of randomized subjects found that the experimental group (n = 52) performing SKY (6 days a week for 8 weeks) showed a significant improvement in ESS over the control group (n = 53) performing a sitting activity and Surya Namaskar. 14 Previous studies have utilized subjective outcomes to measure a change in variables of sleep to A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.…”