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Exercise produces endorphins, and endorphins make you happy—at least according to Elle Woods in Legally Blonde. Now, a study has suggested that a specific type of exercise has significant impacts on depression.
Hot yoga classes are conducted in rooms heated between 90 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit, with controlled humidity levels.
Alive Studios explains the benefits: “The heat warms your muscles before you start moving, allowing deeper stretches and greater range of motion than room-temperature yoga.
“Your heart rate increases, you sweat significantly, and the workout feels more intense—even though the poses themselves may be the same.”
In the past, conventional yoga has been linked to an ease in depression symptoms in some people, while heat therapy has proven beneficial for mental health.
The new research, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, attempted to determine if combining these two factors can significantly benefit patients suffering from depression.
“Heat is proven to boost brain chemistry, and specifically a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which supports neuroplasticity, helps neurons grow and is often depleted in individuals with depression,” writes Vail Health on the theory behind heat treatment.
“Heat also enhances serotonin and endorphin release.”
The new study followed 80 adults with moderate-to-severe depression who were randomly divided into two groups.
The first group immediately began an eight-week period in which they attended at least two 90-minute heated yoga sessions per week in the Boston area.
The second group had a waitlist period of eight weeks before ultimately receiving the same “dose.”
Reductions in Depression Severity
Study authors explained that some participants often feel better simply by being involved in a study, so the waitlist period was intended to reveal to researchers whether the improvement was a result of the yoga or simply time passing.
Each class followed a specific sequence of 26 yoga poses and two breathing exercises.
Greater class attendance was reported to have a larger reduction in clinician-rated depressive symptoms. Additional class attendance was also correlated to further reduction in symptoms.
“Exposure to heated yoga was linearly associated with reductions in depression severity, with no evidence of a plateau across the observed dose range,” wrote the study.
Planned Research
The pattern of attendance and improvement was similar for participants in both groups. Among the 65 participants who completed follow-up check-ins, depression dropped by about 13 points.
The positive effects were consistent across all age, sex and education levels.
Future planned research includes examining different class schedules to determine how many heated yoga sessions are optimal and when results may begin to plateau.
While hot yoga may not necessarily be a replacement for traditional depression medication, the results of this study suggest that this type of exercise can have significant benefits for patients dealing with depression—an exciting prospect for mental health research.
Newsweek has reached out to study authors for comment via email.
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