Effects of Yoga on Cognitive Functions Among Adolescents

Context: Yoga is beneficial in enhancing mental health and consequently cognitive growth. Some studies have show that yoga practice can improve cognitive functioning in children. Objective: The study intended to evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based yoga intervention on the cognitive abilities-attention and memory-of adolescents. Design: The research team conducted a one-group, pretest-posttest study. Setting: The study occurred at a rural residential school in Udupi, Karnataka, and South India. Participants: Participants were a convenience sample of 36 adolescents, with a mean age of 12.19 ± 0.4 years, in the seventh grade at the school. Intervention: A senior yoga expert prepared a structured, yoga-intervention module, which was implemented, with each session lasting one hour and occurring five days a week for 12 weeks. Outcome Measures: The Digit Span Forward (DSF) and Digit Span Backward (DSB) tests and Letter-Number Sequencing (LNS) test were used by a trained research examiner to evaluate cognition. Results: Comparing the mean DSB, total digit span score, and LNS at baseline and postintervention showed significantly higher posttest scores than pretest ones, with P = .005, P = .005, and P = .001, respectively. Conclusions: Yoga training improves cognitive functions and is a simple, low-cost, and effective adjuvant modality.