Description
Impact of Yoga on Perceived Stress and Sleep Quality among Female Teachers Suffering from Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, A Pilot Study - S. Tangalakshmi, Pailoor Subramanya, Natesh Babu, Kashinath Metri
Abstract:
Background: Existing literature suggests increased stress levels and stress-born health issues among teachers. Yoga is a mind-body intervention known to have tremendous health benefits.
Objectives: Present study was intended to see the impact of one month of integrated yoga intervention on blood glucose level, sleep quality and stress among female teachers suffering from Type 2 diabetes
mellitus.
Methodology: Thirty-nine female teachers within the age range 30–50 years (with the average age 44 } 6.6 years) were enrolled in this study. All the participants received 1 hour of integrated yoga intervention consisting of asanas, pranayama, relaxation techniques and meditation five days a week for one month. Participants who had cardiac disease, psychiatric illness, recent surgery or pregnancy were excluded from the study. Fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels, perceived stress and sleep quality were assessed at baseline and after intervention. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 10. Paired sample test was used to find the pre-post differences in all variables.
Results: Significant decrease in fasting blood glucose (p<0.001, –24.45%) postprandial blood glucose (p<0.001, –26.53%), perceived stress (p<0.001, –37.89%) and significant improvement in sleep quality
(p<0.001, –50.58%) was observed after one month of IY.
Conclusion: Present study indicates the potential role of yoga intervention in improving blood glucose level, stress and sleep quality among female teachers suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, further randomized controlled studies with larger sample size should be encouraged in future.
Keywords: Teacher, yoga, perceived stress, emotional regulation, diabetes mellitus, sleep