JAMA Netw Open

Yoga breathing and meditation program improves physician wellness, reduces burnout

February 8, 2024

A daily breathing and meditation practice of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) significantly reduced stress, anxiety, and depression on the 42-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress scale by 4 to 6 points. Insomnia also decreased on the Regensburg Insomnia Scale by 3 points.

• This study was conducted online from November 11, 2021, to March 14, 2022, and included physicians from Turkey, Germany, and Dubai.
• Participants were randomly assigned 1:1 into 2 groups—the SKY group or the stress management education (SME; control) group. Both groups had a 3-day instruction period.
• SKY group participants practiced for approximately 30 minutes per day on their own and participated in a weekly 1-hour, group-based online follow-up practice.
• SME group participants reviewed and applied the notes from stress management education training at their initiative and had a weekly 1-hour group-based online follow-up session.
• 129 participants were included (SME, 63 participants; SKY, 66 participants; 115 females [89.2%]; 14 males [10.8%]; mean age, 46.2 years).
• Compared with the SME control group, participants in the SKY group had significantly decreased stress on the DASS-42 at posttraining (difference, −6.8 points; 95% CI, −9.6 to −4.1 points; P=.006) and at postintervention (difference, −6.0 points; 95% CI, −8.8 to −3.3 points; P=.03), significantly decreased depression at posttraining (difference, −5.7 points; 95% CI, −8.6 to −2.8 points; P< .001) and postintervention (difference, −5.4 points; 95% CI, −8.3 to −2.5 points; P< .001), and significantly decreased anxiety at postintervention.
• There was also a significant decrease in insomnia from baseline to postintervention in the SKY group (difference, −0.3 points; 95% CI, −2.3 to 1.7 points; P=.01).
• The SKY group also showed significantly increased professional fulfillment as well as significant decreases in work exhaustion, interpersonal disengagement, and burnout.
• There was no effect on self-reported medical errors.

Source:

Korkmaz A, et al. (2024, January 2). JAMA Netw Open. Sudarshan Kriya Yoga Breathing and a Meditation Program for Burnout Among Physicians: A Randomized Clinical Trial. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38294813/