Can Yoga Improve Brain Health?

The physical and spiritual benefits of yoga, including relaxation, flexibility, and mindfulness, are well known, but recently this age-old practice has caught the attention of the neuroscience community. It's now believed that yoga may help in the treatment of brain disease.

One meta-analysis of 11 studies looked at yoga’s impact on brain health, including cerebral blood flow, brain function, and changes in brain structures. Changes were measured using MRIs, functional MRIs, and single-photo emission computerized tomography. Each study either looked at participants’ brain health before and after they started a yoga practice, or compared the brain health of participants who regularly practiced yoga to those who did not.

Though several of the studies were exploratory and not conclusive, overall, yoga was found to benefit brain structure and function, especially in regions of the brain associated with age-related neurodegenerative diseases. Additionally, yoga may enhance cognition and improve emotional regulation.

Studies found that several brain structures increased in size for participants that practiced yoga, potentially increasing functioning associated with those structures. Areas such as the amygdala, which is involved in emotion, the hippocampus, which is related to memory, and the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in decision making, attention span, and impulse control, grew in size with regular yoga practice. This growth may be credited with participants’ improved emotional regulation and executive functioning, as well as hold potential to combat neurodegeneration in the elderly.

Yoga was also shown to improve the cortisol stress response. A hormone responsible for fight or flight in moments of stress, cortisol may have detrimental effects on an individual when it is present in the body for long periods of time, including inflammation, anxiety, and increased blood pressure. However, a regular yoga practice may counteract these effects while improving brain function.

While more research is needed to conclusively determine the exact benefits yoga may have on the brain, early studies show promising results in increased growth in brain structures and improved overall brain function, pointing to possible neuroprotective effects.