Abstract

EFFECT OF YOGA (YOGIC EXERCISES, PRANAYAMA AND MEDITATION) ON SERUM CORTISOL, PLASMA ADRENALINE, AND CARDIOVASCULAR PARAMETERS IN HYPER-REACTIVITY TO COLD PRESSOR TEST IN YOUNG HEALTHY MEDICAL STUDENTS

Shreya Nigoskar, Verma Rahul*, Rajak Chanda, M. S. Chandel and Prateek Prabhaker Awasthi

ABSTRACT

Background: Stress can affect one‘s health, work performance, social life, and the relationship with family members. The stress response is a complex emotion that produces physiological changes to prepare us for fight-or-flight, to defend ourselves from the threat or flee from it. Stress, anxiety and depression are known to be significant factors in the onset and progression of a wide spectrum of illness ranging from cardiovascular diseases, asthma, cancer, HIV-infection & affect multiple systems of body. The stress hormone cortisol, is public health enemy number one & elevated cortisol levels act as a potential trigger for mental illness and decreased resilience- especially in adolescence, affect multiple systems of body. Adrenaline is an important part of your body's ability to survive, but sometimes the body will release the hormone when it is under stress but not facing real danger. Objective: To study the effect of yoga on serum cortisol, plasma adrenaline, and cardiovascular parameters in hyper-reactivity to cold pressor test in young healthy medical students. Material and method: Two hundred fifty apparently-healthy male undergraduate students (aged, 18-27 years) were taken. After recording the basal blood pressure and pulse rate, the cardiovascular reactivity of all the 250 male students was measured by application of cold pressor test devised by Hines & Brown.180 were found to be hyper reactor to this test. These 180 hyper reactors underwent yogic exercises, pranayama and meditation 60 minutes, twice a day for six months. Before and After the yogic training period the serum cortisol, plasma adrenaline level, mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure and mean pulse rate was measured which was found to be significantly reduced, statistically by using student ―t‖ test. Result: Regular practice of yoga for six months significantly reduced the cardiovascular reactivity to cold pressor test, serum cortisol, plasma adrenaline level, basal blood pressure and pulse rate. Conclusion: We concluded that regular practice of yoga for six months reduced the plasma Adrenaline level and cardiovascular parameters and possibly by inducing parasympathetic predominance and cortico- hypothalamo-medullary inhibition.

Keywords: Stress, Yoga, Cold pressor test, Serum Cortisol, Plasma Adrenaline, Blood Pressure, Pulse rate.