Effect of yoga practices on general mental ability in urban residential school children

The psychosomatic impact of Yoga in medical education: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Non-clinical approaches such as meditation, yoga, and mindfulness are popular traditional therapeutical interventions adopted by many educational institutions to improve the physical and mental well-being of learners. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of yoga intervention in improving cardiopulmonary parameters such as blood pressure, heart rate, pulmonary function tests and psychosomatic symptoms such as depression, anxiety and stress in medical and dental students. Using the PRISMA protocol, a search from databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and Embase resulted in 304 relevant articles. After screening the title and abstracts, 47 papers were analyzed thoroughly and included in the qualitative analysis. 18 articles with homogenous statistical data on physiology and psychological parameters were included for meta-analysis. In comparison to the control group, the study showed a significant reduction of systolic blood pressure (SBP: 6.82 mmHg, z = -3.06, p = 0.002), diastolic blood pressure (DBP: 2.92 mmHg, z = -2.22, p = 0.03), and heart rate (HR: 2.55 beats/min, z = -2.77, p = 0.006). Additionally, data from 4 studies yielded a significant overall effect of a stress reduction of 0.77 on standardized assessments due to the yoga intervention (z = 5.29, p < 0.0001). Lastly, the results also showed a significant (z = -2.52, p = 0.01) reduction of 1.2 in standardized anxiety tests in intervention group compared to the control. The findings offer promising prospects for medical educators globally, encouraging them to consider reformation and policymaking in medical curricula to enhance academic success and improve the overall quality of life for medical students worldwide.

Scoping Review of Yoga in Schools: Mental Health and Cognitive Outcomes in Both Neurotypical and Neurodiverse Youth Populations

Yoga is used widely as a therapeutic tool for physical and mental well-being. The mind-body activity could be an inclusive and cost-effective intervention used within schools to help tackle the mental health crisis in youth populations. To date, research has focused on mainly neurotypical youth populations. However, greater acknowledgement of the impact for neurodiverse youth populations is warranted. Therefore, the aim of this scoping review is to understand what is known about the relationships between yoga in schools and mental health and cognition in neurotypical and neurodiverse youth populations. Methods: This review followed O’Malley and Arskey’s methodological framework. A comprehensive database search using fundamental keywords and index terms was conducted. Screening was carried out in CovidenceTM software. Results: Substantial evidence to support the use of school-based yoga programmes for the improvement of anxiety, self-concept, resilience, depression, self-esteem, subjective and psychological well-being, executive function, inhibition, working memory, attention and academic performance in neurotypical populations was found. Evidence to support school-based yoga programmes in neurodiverse populations with improvements in self-concept, subjective well-being, executive function, academic performance and attention was also found. Conclusions: The findings support the provision of yoga in schools to improve mental health and cognition whilst also creating clear pathways for future research and school-based yoga intervention development.

Recommendations for Resuming PA after Prolonged Rest in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Integrative Review of Relevance for Immunity

This systematic integrative review aims to summarize the protective effect of PA on children and adolescents, with special reference to the immune system. Periods of prolonged inactivity in children and adolescents are rare and due to exceptional events, such as illness or environmental circumstances, e.g., natural disasters, wars, or epidemics. The recent COVID-19 pandemic forced billions of children in developmental ages into inactivity. This exceptional event was the reason for studying the compensational behavioral strategies adopted by children and adolescents to counteract physical inactivity. Several studies showed the rise of spontaneous physical activity (PA) among children and adolescents to compensate for sedentarism. However, for some children, sedentarism could in turn foster other sedentarism. With the restart of "normal daily life" worldwide, a question is posed on both how to resume PA without causing damage and how to improve the immune response. Some key points emerged from the literature. Children must resume PA gradually using different methods, considering age, sex, health status, and the presence of overweight conditions. Immunity can be stimulated with PA by aerobic exercise, resistance training, flexibility exercise, relaxation, and coordinative exercises.

Effects of school-based before-school physical activity programmes on children's physical activity levels, health and learning-related outcomes: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE

To review and evaluate the impact of school-based, before-school physical activity (PA) programmes on children's PA levels, health and learning-related outcomes.

DESIGN

Systematic review.

DATA SOURCES

PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, Embase and ERIC were searched in January 2021. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES: (1) Original research published in English, (2) sample included typically developing school-age children and/or adolescents, (3) examined school-based PA programmes delivered before school, (4) included a comparator and (5) reported associations with PA, physical health, learning-related and/or psychosocial outcomes. Studies examining before-school active transport or sport were excluded.

RESULTS

Thirteen articles representing 10 studies were included (published 2012-2020); seven conducted in primary schools. Programmes ranged between 3 weeks and 6 months, primarily operating daily and for 25-40 min. One study examined a programme informed by theory; six incorporated fidelity measures. Data synthesis, considering consistency of findings, showed indeterminate associations for the domains of physical health, learning-related and psychosocial outcomes. Among subdomains, synthesis showed positive associations with before-school and daily PA, cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, readiness to learn and an inverse association with adiposity. Risk of bias was high/serious or insufficiently detailed across studies and outcome domains, except PA, which included moderate-risk studies.

CONCLUSION

There is limited available evidence on school-based, before-school PA programmes, with some positive associations at domain and subdomain levels. Continued research is justified to understand the role of before-school programmes for facilitating PA. Future research should follow recommended practice for intervention design and process evaluation, and address under-represented contexts, including secondary schools.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42020181108.

Chemopreventive effects of aloin against 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced preneoplastic lesions in the colon of Wistar rats

Chemoprevention opens new window in the prevention of all types of cancers including colon cancer. Aloin, an anthracycline in plant pigment, can be utilized as a protective agent in cancer induction. In the present study, we have evaluated the chemopreventive efficacy of aloin against 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced preneoplastic lesions in the colon of Wistar rats. DMH-induced aberrant crypt foci (ACF) and mucin-depleted foci (MDF) have been used as biomarkers of colon cancer. Efficacy of aloin against the colon toxicity was evaluated in terms of biochemical estimation of antioxidant enzyme activities, lipid peroxidation, ACF, MDF, histopathological changes, and expression levels of molecular markers of inflammation and tumor promotion. Aloin pretreatment ameliorates the damaging effects induced by DMH through a protective mechanism that involved reduction in increased oxidative stress enzymes (p < 0.001), ACF, MDF, cyclooxygenase-2, inducible nitric oxide synthase, interleukin-6, proliferating cell nuclear antigen protein expression, and tumor necrosis factor-α (p < 0.001) release. From the results, it could be concluded that aloin clearly protects against chemically induced colon toxicity and acts reasonably by inducing antioxidant level, anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative markers.