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Using Yogic Breathing to Reduce Stress in Anesthesia Personnel As Measured by Hair Cortisol

Using Yogic Breathing to Reduce Stress in Anesthesia Personnel As Measured by Hair Cortisol

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04858815
Enrollment
57
Registered
2021-04-26
Start date
2021-04-26
Completion date
2022-07-07
Last updated
2024-10-24

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Burnout, Professional, Stress

Brief summary

Mind body exercises have long been used as a way for individuals to reduce stress and improve well-being. Recent studies indicate that yogic breathing (YB, also known as pranayama) could potentially impact both the mind and body by engaging both the physiological and neural elements and can thus be a specific tool that can be utilized by healthcare workers to combat burnout and decrease perceived levels of stress. Our aim is to understand and measure both subjectively and objectively the effects of long-term yogic breathing on stress levels in anesthesia personnel. This will be a single arm longitudinal trial designed to evaluate the feasibility and estimate the efficacy of implementing a yogic breathing program for stress reduction among anesthesiology practitioners at one academic medical center. The primary aim of the trial is to estimate the correlation between participant stress with average duration of yogic breathing over time. Secondarily the feasibility of implementing yogic breathing practices among anesthesiology practitioners will be evaluated. Feasibility measures will include recruitment rates, retention at 1year follow-up, and adherence to the yogic breathing program at 12 months.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALyogic breathing

participation in yogic breathing

Sponsors

Medical University of South Carolina
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Intervention model description

single arm longitudinal trial

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* All clinical members of the MUSC anesthesia department (Attending physicians, resident physicians, and CRNAs)

Exclusion criteria

* Pregnancy (or anticipated pregnancy) * chronic steroid use * inadequate hair length for testing (less than 3cm at the back of the head) * residents with anticipated graduation within the next one year.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Correlation of participant stress with average duration of yogic breathing over timebaseline & 12 month visitThe study will estimate the efficacy of self-administered yogic breathing on participant stress over time using (a) cortisol levels measured in hair and (b) using validated survey instruments estimated as the change in stress from baseline to 12 months. The primary measure of efficacy is correlation between cortisol/stress levels with average weekly duration of yogic breathing in minutes.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026