For years, scientists have studied how yoga can help reduce stress. A recent study led by Professor Ingunn Hagen from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has confirmed that even a small amount of yoga can bring real benefits.
Her research focused on teenagers and working professionals, and the results were clear—yoga helped people feel more relaxed and better able to handle stress.
Yoga Helps Teenagers Feel Less Stressed
One part of the study looked at how yoga affected teenagers. The young people attended only eight yoga sessions, yet many reported feeling much more relaxed afterward. This was surprising to the researchers because such a short time practicing yoga already made a difference.
The study was part of a larger European project that aimed to improve mental health in schools, especially for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The teenagers were encouraged to write about their experiences in a journal before and after each yoga session.
Many wrote that they felt less stressed and more at ease after doing yoga. It seemed to help them cope better with school pressures, improving their overall well-being.
Yoga Also Reduces Stress at Work
The study also looked at how yoga affected working adults. Many people today feel overwhelmed by work. Deadlines, long hours, and the need to always be available through technology create constant stress. Over time, this can harm both physical and mental health.
Researchers found that yoga helped workers relax and feel less tense. Some even used breathing techniques learned in yoga before meetings or during breaks. This helped them stay calm and perform better at work. Some participants said that yoga made them more approachable and improved their relationships with colleagues.
How Does Yoga Help?
When we are stressed, our bodies go into “fight or flight” mode. This is a survival response that prepares us to deal with danger by increasing our heart rate and making us more alert. In modern life, this reaction happens too often, even when we are not in real danger—just from work pressure, emails, and daily responsibilities.
Yoga helps by activating the body’s relaxation system, also called the “rest and digest” mode. This slows the heart rate, improves digestion, and helps the body recover from stress. It creates a balance between the body’s stress response and its relaxation response, which is essential for overall health.
The Good and Bad Sides of Yoga
While yoga has clear benefits, there are also some concerns. Yoga has become very popular in recent years, and some people see it as a competitive activity rather than a way to relax. Social media often shows yoga as something only for young, fit people doing difficult poses. This can make yoga feel intimidating rather than welcoming.
Additionally, pushing too hard in yoga can lead to injuries. Some researchers worry that yoga injuries are not studied enough because many studies on yoga are done by people who already love yoga. This could make it harder to recognize the risks.
Should Yoga Be in Schools and Workplaces?
Because yoga can help reduce stress, some researchers believe it should be offered in schools and workplaces. However, Professor Hagen warns that yoga should not be used as a way to ignore deeper problems. If a workplace is stressful because of bad management or too much work, then yoga alone will not fix it. Employers should still work to improve working conditions.
Despite this, many experts believe yoga can be a helpful tool for managing stress. Professor Hagen hopes that yoga can become part of psychology training at NTNU. She believes that psychologists, who often deal with high-stress situations, could use yoga for self-care and also recommend it to patients.
Conclusion
This research confirms that yoga is an effective way to reduce stress, both for students and working adults. Even a small amount of yoga can make a difference. However, it is important to practice yoga in a way that focuses on relaxation rather than performance. More research is needed to understand the best types of yoga for stress relief and to make yoga accessible to everyone.
While yoga cannot solve all problems, it is a simple and effective tool that can help people feel better in their daily lives.
If you care about health, please read studies that scientists find a core feature of depression and this metal in the brain strongly linked to depression.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about drug for mental health that may harm the brain, and results showing this therapy more effective than ketamine in treating severe depression.
The research findings can be found in Frontiers in Psychology.
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