DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2016.v04i03.067

Pages: 971-974

Depression is a major cause of morbidity worldwide. WHO ranked it fourth in a list of most urgent health problems of the world? Depression is twice as common in women as in men and is well known to be associated with hypercortisolemia. Stress increases cortisol level of the body and is known to precipitate depression. Time and again Yoga has been proved to be beneficial in combating such health issues. The aim of the study is to investigate the antidepressant effect of Yoga on depression patients by measuring serum cortisol level. It is an interventional study on 80 subjects clinically diagnosed as cases of mild to moderate depression. They were divided into two groups: study group (40) practising yoga for 3 months along with antidepressant medication and control group (40) taking medication alone. Serum cortisol was measured at baseline and at the end of 3 months. The data were statistically analysed by applying paired and unpaired t- test. A significant (p < 0.05) decrease (13.72 ± 5.72 to 9.45 ± 3.81 µg/dL) was observed in the serum cortisol level of subjects who practiced yoga. The study showed a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in mean serum cortisol of subjects practising yoga (9.45 ± 3.81µg/dL) when compared with controls (12.08 ± 4.96 µg/dL) at the end of 3 month. It was concluded that patients practising Yoga had a significant drop in their cortisol level and therefore Yoga may have a beneficial role in bringing relief in depression.