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Cited by 281Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic ControlPhysical Activity and HealthWorkplace Health and Well-being

Effect of an office worksite-based yoga program on heart rate variability: outcomes of a randomized controlled trial

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Cheema, Birinder S, Houridis, Angelique, Busch, Lisa, Raschke-Cheema, Verena, Melville, Geoff W, Marshall, Paul W, Chang, Dennis, Machliss, Bianca +3 more·2013·BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
DOI 10.1186/1472-6882-13-82PMC PMC3648394
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Chronic work-related stress is an independent risk factor for cardiometabolic diseases and associated mortality, particularly when compounded by a sedentary work environment. The purpose of this study was to determine if an office worksite-based hatha yoga program could improve physiological stress, evaluated via heart rate variability (HRV), and associated health-related outcomes in a cohort of office workers. METHODS: Thirty-seven adults employed in university-based office positions were randomized upon the completion of baseline testing to an experimental or control group. The experimental group completed a 10-week yoga program prescribed three sessions per week during lunch hour (50 min per session). An experienced instructor led the sessions, which emphasized asanas (postures) and vinyasa (exercises). The primary outcome was the high frequency (HF) power component of HRV. Secondary outcomes included additional HRV parameters, musculoskeletal fitness (i.e. push-up, side-bridge, and sit & reach tests) and psychological indices (i.e. state and trait anxiety, quality of life and job satisfaction). RESULTS: All measures of HRV failed to change in the experimental group versus the control group, except that the experimental group significantly increased LF:HF (p = 0.04) and reduced pNN50 (p = 0.04) versus control, contrary to our hypotheses. Flexibility, evaluated via sit & reach test increased in the experimental group versus the control group (p < 0.001). No other adaptations were noted. Post hoc analysis comparing participants who completed ≥70% of yoga sessions (n = 11) to control (n = 19) yielded the same findings, except that the high adherers also reduced state anxiety (p = 0.02) and RMSSD (p = 0.05), and tended to improve the push-up test (p = 0.07) versus control. CONCLUSIONS: A 10-week hatha yoga intervention delivered at the office worksite during lunch hour did not improve HF power or other HRV parameters. However, improvements in flexibility, state anxiety and musculoskeletal fitness were noted with high adherence. Future investigations should incorporate strategies to promote adherence, involve more frequent and longer durations of yoga training, and enrol cohorts who suffer from higher levels of work-related stress. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ACTRN12611000536965.

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  • The risk assessment here may be considered more conservative than in Vonderlin et al. (2020), as they did not judge the risk for performance bias and detection bias; these were included here because some analyzed studies aimed at solving the problem of blinding staff and participants.

    “The risk assessment here may be considered more conservative as in Vonderlin et al. (2020), as they did not judge the risk for two domains that usually result in high risks: performance bias and detection bias. These were included here, however, because some of the analyzed studies (e.g., Cheema et al., 2013) aimed at solving the problem of blinding staff and participants.”

    From Mindfulness-Based and Mindfulness-Informed Interventions at the Workplace: A Systematic Review and Meta-Regression Analysis of RCTs (2023) · cites this paper as Cheema et al., 2013

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. Kivimaki M Virtanen M Elovainio M Kouvonen A Vaananen A Vahtera J Work stress in the etiology of coronary heart disease: a meta-analysis Scand J Environ Health 2006 32 6 431 442 10.5271/sjweh.1049 17173200 · DOI

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Authors
Cheema, B. S., Houridis, A., Busch, L., Raschke-Cheema, V., Melville, G. W., Marshall, P. W., Chang, D., Machliss, B., Lonsdale, C., Bowman, J., & Colagiuri, B.
Affiliations
  • Western Sydney University (AU)
  • The University of Sydney (AU)
Corresponding author
Cheema, Birinder S
ORCID
Venue
BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2013-04-10
Volume
13
Issue
1
Pages
82-82
ISSN
1472-6882 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/1472-6882-13-82
PMC
PMC3648394
OpenAlex
W2164469254
Cited by
281
References
48
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 41 · 2020: 29 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 49 · 2016: 42 · 2015: 29 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 3
FWCI
20.64
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Bank (Australian Catholic University) (submittedVersion)
  • Research Online (University of Wollongong) (submittedVersion)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion)
Funders
University of Western Sydney
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Workplace Health and Well-being
Keywords
hatha yoga, heart rate variability, office workers, occupational stress, sedentary work, workplace wellness interventions, flexibility, musculoskeletal fitness, state anxiety, quality of life, job satisfaction, cardiometabolic risk
MeSH terms
Adult, Exercise Therapy, Female, Heart Rate, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Stress, Psychological, Universities, Yoga, Cohort Studies, Treatment Outcome, Workplace, Young Adult

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