You know that yoga helps you lose weight. It also helps your heart and flexibility. Over time, it improves muscle tone. Immediately, yoga helps your metabolism. Most people know how yoga helps the body. It can also help the mind.
Experts have recently found that yoga boosts your cognitive skills. In the study, they compared yoga to treadmill running. Yoga beat running in working memory tests. People had better speed and accuracy. The benefits of relaxation are for more than unwinding. As this study shows, yoga also boosts your memory.
Professor Neha Gothe from Wayne State University ran the study. Gothe found that yoga helped attention spans. Most people think of yoga as just exercise. It also helps mental health. The benefits of relaxation through yoga include increased mindfulness. It boosts your focus and memory. Your mind is able to relax and pay attention better.
Once you reach 40, the memory starts to go. It becomes harder to remember names. Mental function changes as we age. There is good news though. Studies show that we can slow down mental aging. Researchers found that exercising reduces your dementia risk. In addition, a weekly yoga class can boost thinking skills. It also offers the benefits of relaxation.
Exercise boosts mental health. Meditation also improves your brain function. Combine exercise and meditation to get yoga. You get the best of both activities. At the University of California, researchers found that yoga could change your brain.
In the study, 29 adults were found with mild cognitive impairment. This is considered a precursor to dementia. The volunteers went through a brain scan. Then, they were put in two groups. One started a brain training program. The other group was told to practice Kundalini yoga for one hour each week. They chose Kundalini yoga because it is gentler on the body. For people who do not exercise, it was an easier workout. In the yoga group, participants repeated mantras with hand motions. They also meditated 15 minutes a day.
Both groups remained in the study for 12 weeks. At the end, they had another brain scan. More cognitive tests were run. Both groups showed signs of improvement. The yoga and meditation group did best on memory tests. They also had lower depression risks. The parts of the brain in charge of focusing worked better. This showed that they could be better at concentrating. The yoga group was also better at multitasking.
Researchers are still not sure why though. They believe yoga reduces stress hormones. Normally, these hormones hurt brain health. Other studies show links between the benefits of relaxation and better mental health. Exercise helps the brain. Thus, the movements in yoga may help boost brain health.
Stress and anxiety hurt the brain. Yoga lowers stress and anxiety. It reduces depression risks. This may be why yoga helps the memory. Once people relax, their stress hormones drop. Studies show that your weekly yoga practice can help your brain and body. If you want better health, stick to your yoga poses.