ERIC Number: EJ1059777
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: N/A
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-8981
EISSN: N/A
Effect of a 16-Week Yoga Program on Blood Pressure in Healthy College Students
Nelson, Debra; Reed, Justy; Buck, Sarah M.
Physical Educator, v71 n3 2014
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a 16-week yoga program on blood pressure (BP) in healthy college students. Twenty-five students (Mage = 28.24, SD = 10.64) participated in yoga class twice per week for 16 weeks. Thirty-one students (Mage = 28.77, SD = 7.23) attended a lecture (control condition) at approximately the same time as yoga. Resting systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were assessed at the beginning and end of the 16-week semester. Repeated measures ANCOVAs with pre-study BP as the covariate were used to test group BP differences across time (pre- to post-study). The SBP ANCOVA indicated yoga had a moderate statistically significant greater effect on lowering SBP compared to the control condition (p = 0.03, ES = 0.61). The DBP ANCOVA revealed that yoga produced a small statistically nonsignificant greater effect on lowering DBP compared to the control condition (p = 0.22, ES = 0.24). After the additional demographic variables were considered, regression analyses showed that the effect of yoga on lowering SBP compared to the control remained significant (p = 0.04), and the effect of yoga on lowering DBP compared to the control remained nonsignificant (p = 0.32). The results support regular yoga practice as a method of lowering SBP in healthy college students.
Descriptors: College Students, Physical Activities, Metacognition, Relaxation Training, Comparative Analysis, Experimental Groups, Control Groups, Metabolism, Program Effectiveness, Statistical Analysis, Pretests Posttests, Regression (Statistics)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A