Sauna Yoga's effects on recovery from work-related stress based on heart rate variability
Leskelä, Antti (2019)
Satakunnan ammattikorkeakoulu
2019
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201902202538
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201902202538
Tiivistelmä
Stress and lack of recovery both disrupt the balance of the autonomic nervous system. Measures of heart rate variability (HRV) reflect these disruptions. Earlier research suggests yoga may influence HRV positively. Sauna Yoga is a recently developed Finnish form of yoga that is practiced seated in a dry sauna heated to 40-50 °C.
In this study, the stress-recovery balance of a group of health care workers with varying work schedules who all already practiced Sauna Yoga was assessed using Firstbeat Lifestyle Assessment (FLA), an HRV analysis tool. The study also sought to answer whether Sauna Yoga affected their balance of stress and recovery, including sleep. All participants completed one three-day FLA with a Sauna Yoga session on the second day.
No statistically significant differences were found due to the small sample size and partly because of the heterogeneity of the group. The balance of stress of stress and recovery varied between participants, a small part of the group scored excellently compared to normative values. Daily amounts of stress reactions were in normal range for most participants. While all participants practiced some form of physical exercise in addition to Sauna Yoga, some would benefit from more aerobic physical activity. Amount of recovery during the day (24 hours) varied from poor to good. Most recovery happened during sleep. While only one participant had insufficient length of sleep, amount of recovery varied from poor to good and quality of recovery varied from moderate to good. Some participants did not have periods of recovery during work while others recovered during night shift work. In the long-term, there needs to be a balance between stress and recovery. About half of the group ended up with increased resources at the end of their measurement period while some showed decreasing resources during consecutive work days. However, not all participants’ data included days off work.
Sauna Yoga increased all participants’ physiological stress level during the Sauna Yoga sessions, most likely through a combination of heat stress and stress from the exercise. Most participants had the day with most stress reactions and all participants had the day with the least amount of recovery on the Sauna Yoga day. Sauna Yoga may lead to better recovery one day later as most participants had their best amount of daily recovery and their best amount of recovery during sleep one day after the Sauna Yoga day. Studies with a larger sample size and more homogeneous group and work schedules are needed in the future to assess Sauna Yoga’s effects on recovery.
In this study, the stress-recovery balance of a group of health care workers with varying work schedules who all already practiced Sauna Yoga was assessed using Firstbeat Lifestyle Assessment (FLA), an HRV analysis tool. The study also sought to answer whether Sauna Yoga affected their balance of stress and recovery, including sleep. All participants completed one three-day FLA with a Sauna Yoga session on the second day.
No statistically significant differences were found due to the small sample size and partly because of the heterogeneity of the group. The balance of stress of stress and recovery varied between participants, a small part of the group scored excellently compared to normative values. Daily amounts of stress reactions were in normal range for most participants. While all participants practiced some form of physical exercise in addition to Sauna Yoga, some would benefit from more aerobic physical activity. Amount of recovery during the day (24 hours) varied from poor to good. Most recovery happened during sleep. While only one participant had insufficient length of sleep, amount of recovery varied from poor to good and quality of recovery varied from moderate to good. Some participants did not have periods of recovery during work while others recovered during night shift work. In the long-term, there needs to be a balance between stress and recovery. About half of the group ended up with increased resources at the end of their measurement period while some showed decreasing resources during consecutive work days. However, not all participants’ data included days off work.
Sauna Yoga increased all participants’ physiological stress level during the Sauna Yoga sessions, most likely through a combination of heat stress and stress from the exercise. Most participants had the day with most stress reactions and all participants had the day with the least amount of recovery on the Sauna Yoga day. Sauna Yoga may lead to better recovery one day later as most participants had their best amount of daily recovery and their best amount of recovery during sleep one day after the Sauna Yoga day. Studies with a larger sample size and more homogeneous group and work schedules are needed in the future to assess Sauna Yoga’s effects on recovery.