Effect of yoga nidra on the brain activity in individuals with migraine

Abstract

Background: Migraine is a frequent neurological problem that carries the largest burden in terms of years spent disabled among neurological conditions. The conventional management has not been able to successfully treat migraine and hence, there was a need for combating these disorders through conventional therapies like yoga with an evidence-based approach. As there are only few evidence in this aspect, this research aims at finding evidence for yoga and naturopathy on migraine. Materials and Methods: Participants (n = 60) were randomly allocated into two groups, control group (n = 30) and intervention group (n = 30). The intervention group received Yoga Nidra and the control group was given supine rest (Rest without conscious awareness). The electroencephalogram data were recorded both at baseline and postintervention for both groups. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 (IBM Corp. Released 2011. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Armonk, NY: IBM Corp), and the results were tabulated. Results: The results of the current study showed increased frequency in alpha waves in the interventional group compared to the control group. The control group showed no significant changes in the brain activity. Conclusion: The results indicate that Yoga Nidra induces relaxation through enhanced alpha waves. This shows that Yoga Nidra helps in parasympathetic dominance and hence decreases sympathetic activation. Hence, this study suggests that Yoga Nidra could be used as an effective tool in combating stress and neuropsychiatric symptoms in migraine patients.

Effects of Nadishodhana and Bhramari Pranayama on heart rate variability, auditory reaction time, and blood pressure: A randomized clinical trial in hypertensive patients

“…Similar changes in HRV can be seen in the study done by Supriya et al. following the Nadi Shodhana Pranayama [ 29 ]. A significant decrease in the ART following Nadi Shodhana Pranayama may be due to the voluntary change in the breathing pattern and the state of the parasympathetic dominance followed by the distressing effect and relaxation effect of Nadi Shodhana Pranayama [ 30 ].…”

Functional connectivity changes in meditators and novices during yoga nidra practice

“…YN is an easy to practice and accessible meditation technique that has demonstrated impact on physiological, psychological, and cognitive improvements, making it a promising technique for clinical interventions 2 , 6 . Specific examples include improvement in symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety 7 – 11 , migraine 12 , pain 13 , menstrual abnormalities 14 , 15 , somatoform disorders 16 , diabetes 17 , and hypertension 10 , 18 . YN practice has also shown benefits in improving the outcomes related to insomnia and sleep quality in several clinical studies 19 – 22 .…”

Brain Connectivity Changes in Meditators and Novices during Yoga Nidra: A Novel fMRI Study

“…1 Following this, numerous intervention studies have highlighted the notable impact of YN practice on physiological, psychological, and cognitive improvements, making it a promising technique for clinical interventions 2,7 . Specific examples include improvement in symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety [8][9][10][11][12] , migraine 13 , pain 14 , menstrual abnormalities 15,16 , somatoform disorders 17 , diabetes 18 , and hypertension 11,19 . Further, there is an assertion that one hour of Yoga Nidra (YN) practice can potentially yield benefits equivalent to that of 3-4 hours of traditional sleep 1 .…”